Price per square foot

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patricknola

Electrical contractor/Generac Dealer
Location
new orleans, La, United States
Occupation
Electrical contractor.
Hey Guys, I'm transitioning from service to home wiring, the market is really hot in New Orleans. I'm trying to figure a price per square foot on an estimate I'm doing for a 5000 squre foot mansion with 3 ac units, no swimming pool. TIA
 
In my opinion, there s no good way to bid by area, especially in what will be a custom home.

So many options to do better than code minimum: general lighting, recessed lighting, ceiling fans, appliance receptacle circuits, cooking equipment, laundry, high-quality exhaust fans, split-wired receptacles, automation, audio/video, internet and other low-voltage, exterior lighting, etc., etc.

This is a job that requires a room-by-room walk-through with the customer and spouse.
 
Unless I had just done one identical to that size house, and knew what it took to complete it, there is no way I would attempt a sq ft price on that house. I usually bid "per opening" but even that can burn you on a house that size. The house I just finished was around 5200 sq ft. The problem was how it was built/layed out. I couldn't just run wire as normal. I had to go up/down/over/under etc. Took almost double the wire I had figured. Biggest thing was all the goofy pendant and sconce lights they had. Some of them took 30 mins just to assemble them. Another thing was the great room and back porch had 20' ceilings. I had to rig a pulley up to hang 2 chandelier lights and also use scaffolding. They also had 108 recessed LED lights inside and out.
So, you need to do as Larry said and do a walk through with the customer. That and a good set of prints to go by.

Another thing is you need to know EXACTLY what lights they are using, EXACTLY what appliances they will have, if they need CAT5/Cat6 cabling ran. Also ceiling heights, dimmers, decora devices, etc. Way too much for a sq ft price unless it is a repeat install.
 
Pricing a custom home by the foot is like pricing a car by the pound. Pricing by the foot for anything other than code minimum in production/tract housing is nonsense. Even that is questionable. Same for per opening pricing.
 
"5000 square feet" doesn't jibe with "mansion"

My honest opinion...
If 5,000 sf seems like a mansion to you, you might lose money no matter how high you price it.

Nothing burns time like being overwhelmed.

There are effective ways to price per opening or per unit, or a combination of the two, but it probably won't matter much if there's too much house to wrap your head around
 
IMO, 5000 sq ft is not a 'mansion' even for a guy whose largest home wired was about 4000 sq ft ground floor.
An area new home has a 1400 sq ft master bed room suite.

I never, ever thought of square foot pricing as even 'close enough'. I walked through every home with both owners. at which time an updated quote was given.

I transitioned from homes to service work. More money.
 
I would bet you are in the $8-$10 a sq.ft range. It also depends if you are supply fixtures, other than recessed cans. But as others have said I would not price it that way.... Perhaps as a ballpark but if you don't know the builders they may try and hold you to that price so make sure you have written this down and get it signed.
 
I agree with Dennis on that sq ft price. 8-10 . But it can not be inclusive on a custom home.
You may have an automatic generator or those Coffer ceilings. It's kind of hard to hit the center of each square with a light.
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