Pricing Question....6,500 sq ft

Status
Not open for further replies.
Oh the subject of GCs, yuck. Sorta like working for a pimp. If you make them lots of money - they love you. But even still, many will still flirt with a new fresh face with sweet talk of getting all the good work.
 
Once opon a time I had a GC (of questionable reputation) ask me to bid a new home low because he was going to build 22 of these (1400sqft) houses so the volume and cash flow should work out for me. I told him that I would wire them for my standard price and that I would do #22 for free! He went for it and we actually did 14 of them before he went in the tank. I did the last one for 1/2 price.

Bob on the left coast.
 
romexking said:
RadioPet,

Many of us have made the same mistake that you are considering jumping into right now...that is adjusting your current price for the "I have more work for you later if this price is good" customer. You have been in business long enough to know that this is standard operating procedure for general contractors. A question that commonly gets overlooked is what happened to the last electrical contractor for this GC? Did he make sooooo much money that he could retire? Or could it be that the GC helped him into early retirement in another fashion?

As everyone has stated, your price is too low...way too low. With just the items you have listed and the nm to go with it, you have around $8,000 in material. Plus there are plenty of things not listed. I'm sure you will have a ton of smoke detectors, a few AHU's, pool pumps (a house of this size will probably have a panel at the equipment pad), exterior lighting, ect. These items that are not spelled out before the work starts will be a problem later. You may have the wrong wiring (or none at all), and you will lose productivity by trying to hunt down the proper information.

If the contractor wants a deal and you are interested in working for him/her, propose a discount amount from your regular, profit minded price. When you reach an amount you both are comfortable with, suggest that on all future work, a certain percentage discount will be given until the agreed upon price is reached. There is no reason that you should take the risk of giving a discount up front and not getting the future work. He is not doing you any favors by letting you work on his home, it is a mutually beneficial business arrangement, so I don't suggest the discount at all.

I am sure this contractor understands how job pricing works...from his point of view..."how can I get them to reduce their price so I can make more money? Before agreeing to a price, by all means speak to his other subcontractors (the owners) to see how long they have been working for him and how quickly he pays.

At the risk of rambling on, I again would ask you "what happened to the last guy?" It is a very important question that should be answered to your satisfaction BEFORE signing an agreement with this customer.

I'm sorry for the long post, and good luck, I hope it works out well for you.

Rich
Click to expand...

Rich,

Their is not guy before me, he is a new to the area but a huge builder from where he came from. So it is not an issue of what happened to the last builder. The guys is a super guy.......I trust him which is rare for GC...but he is straight up and just wants a ballpark to see if we are on the same page....I felt the $ 17,000 roughly was too low....but since I have not priced a 6,500 sq ft I was not sure and wanted something to guage it to.
 
LarryFine said:
Your homework is very important. Talk to all of the other trades, especially the HVAC; you need the actual nameplate data for every piece. Humidifiers? Condensate lift pumps? Also, service-equipment receptacles within 25' and on same level as every piece, and lighting indoors?

The plumber will know the specific for anything he's doing that needs power, such as a foundation or basement sump pump. Even some gas water heaters need electricity. Appliances have lights and fans. Microwave? Kitchen cabinet lighting?
Click to expand...

Larry,

As I stated I am trying to ballpark this as we know very well and informed me it will be more he is sure and will not haggle I am sure....but he wanted me to give him a base rounded idea now....so I was kinda just searching for view points on my pricing....if based even on the minimum info I listed...was I considered too low...that was really all ..

The POCO does not have a 600A option here in meter and we are limited in space as well......based on the assumption which is not set in stone I figured a 400A service would do fine...again that will be final calc. when I have all the info...right now the base pricing is what i am not trusting the Conest Software on right now......again 3,800 sq ft and less...not a problem.....6,500 sq ft...for me....uncharted pricing ground.
 
National Construction Estimator gives a rule of thumb price of 4.01 per square foot dependeing on your area I would not bid less than $27,000
 
HOLLY SMACK......guess it shocks me because I am accustom to doing homes 3,500 and less.....simply to think residential job in my area would be $ 25,000 just seems OVERBOARD.....wow.....

amazing...I bid all the time and answer support question and teach electrical training and am a NEC Consultant....but when it came to pricing my OWN large job.......MAN was I way off......

So...do you ever consider anything in pricing for location...Electricians around here get $ 14.00 hr and no benefits.....now I get more obviously it is my company...but thats what the normal electrician is being paid...

So with that said...are you still saying $ 25,000.....Dont get me wrong fella...i LOVE that figure.....just seems excessive....but again If I really knew I would not be asking you guys for your help...SO trust me I am going back to the drawing board on this......
 
cesenergy said:
National Construction Estimator gives a rule of thumb price of 4.01 per square foot dependeing on your area...
Click to expand...
What page is that on?
I have to confess...even though I've been using TNE since '96...I never read any of it - strictly material time and price :rolleyes:
 
celtic said:
What page is that on?
I have to confess...even though I've been using TNE since '96...I never read any of it - strictly material time and price :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

Wish it was that simple here in this case...I love the T & M jobs.

I like ConEst but.......as stated once it gets up over 3,800 sq ft....the pricing on it starts to go IFFY.....

I also have the National Estimator.....used it before I got ConEst so it would be easier..and guess what.....as stated even ConEst is hard to get used to on large homes.
 
I'm at right under $25,000 plus cans.
400 amp/ two 200amp 40 circuit panels is the right size.

Figure if you can do it with cans for under $20K you should be able to get more than 500 more at that price.
Then you can file your business as a 501c charity non profit!
 
lol....very funny 77401....lol...very funny...lol

Look if I wanted to GIVE it away I would have just priced it at what I had...lol...thats why I posted it here...lol...for feedback..;)
 
Some are shocked to see the prices, talking to GC about a just completed home in the area 7,200 sq electrical was estimated at 92,000, completed job came in at 120,000, and the AV job was $270,000, the closets alone were 60K, custom homes that size are all different, but i belive he said they were building more of these homes, so after you do the first one, you can establish a sq ft price for it, i agree with the idea, of asking your full price for the first one.
 
Last edited:
Update- Larry you were 100% right.....I redid the entire job the OLD way and well.....I gave the guy a price and he did not question it.....now only 499 more to go.
 
I have read all the posts on this subject and agree with nearly all of them -especially the ones about GC's. Don't know about ya'lls area but around here if someone wants to be a GC, he goes to City Hall, hands over $75.00 and presto, he's a GC! No test, no questions.
I, too, have Conest and I plugged in the basics that radiopet supplied. I applied overhead and profit and came up with $27,500.00. That's with two electricians and a helper. This is a very basic price. A house of this square footage will require a lot more material and labor than that. A house that size will require a lot more amenities which will come in the form of the GC saying periodically, "While you're at it..." with no thought of add on or substitution pricing.
I'd quote the full price plus 10% and negotiate.
 
Last edited:
RPM,

you say you use Conest.....are you subscribed to Tracer or other updating pricing company.....I end up changing mine by hand and it is a pain.....figured I would see what others are doing that use Conest.

BTW....I figured on (2) employees...(1) Electrician and (1) Helper
 
I ran my figures for what you listed in the original post and came up with $24,755.00. I know it will be higher because I didn't see any bath exhaust fans, smokes, telephone, CATV, or A/C. A house that large is usually a custom home with custom tweeking of the electrical involved. The total bill from the sparky will come nearer to $30K, ceiling fans and luminaires not included. When folks building a house that big whine about the cost of the electric I tell them to build it in Lancaster, PA with the rest of the Amish.
 
amptech said:
I ran my figures for what you listed in the original post and came up with $24,755.00. I know it will be higher because I didn't see any bath exhaust fans, smokes, telephone, CATV, or A/C. A house that large is usually a custom home with custom tweeking of the electrical involved. The total bill from the sparky will come nearer to $30K, ceiling fans and luminaires not included. When folks building a house that big whine about the cost of the electric I tell them to build it in Lancaster, PA with the rest of the Amish.
Click to expand...

That equals $3.80 a ft/2. We have been getting $4 - $4.50 on customs. (Now before anybody jumps me, I figure the take off first and check the ft/2 as a personnel interest.) Point is OP figured $17,000 WITH 10' ceilings :confused:
 
prices are different in every area.....we are not doing TV's and Tel and this was base pricing......it has since been quoted at $ 25,000.00 and it was more like 5,000 sq ft once i redid it.....

Again...the OP..which is ME said that price was based on really what I listed....it was never set in stone...
 
I talked to another local EC and told him the same house I priced at $ 25,000 BASE and they had a heart attack practically...said I was $ 4,000 over priced and he would do it for much less.....and his company is no a hack....

So I guess it depends on the area...
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top