Rate for subpanel

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guschash

Senior Member
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Ohio
What is the going rate to install subpanel that is 140ft from main panel. All ladder work. Subpanel is 40amps, 12spaces. Big pole barn with a wall separating them. This in Ohio. Sorry about the lack of infro. Using # 6 NM cable, stapling to barn rafters, working off of extension ladder.
 
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There's no such thing as a going rate.

Not nearly enough info given anyhow.

NEMA 4X panel? Rob Roy pipe?

Homeline panel? UF cable?
 
The question is not "what is the going rate" it should be what is it worth for your to do the job? Who cares what other people will do the job for? If there are 10 electricians in town that will do the job for $1000 but you figure that it will cost you $1500 to do the job, will you do it for the lower price anyway? If you lose money on every job, you cannot "make it up with volume"!

Edited for spelling/gramar
 
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mdshunk said:
There's no such thing as a going rate.

Not nearly enough info given anyhow.

NEMA 4X panel? Rob Roy pipe?

Homeline panel? UF cable?
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Sure there are going rates. Some of my going rates are: for simple ceiling fan installs including fan support box with accessable attic and existing switch is $250. Simple Hot Tub is $1200. simple above ground pool is $1500, simple sub panel next to existing service is $600. simple generator with customer supplied panel is $600. adjust price according to what really needs to be done. These are basic prices that I use as guidelines when I price homeowner jobs. I share them so people don't have to learn the way I did and bid way low on jobs when they are first starting out cutting their own throat and waisting my time bidding jobs that homeowners are calling around checking prices when they get someone that is bidding that doesn't know how. These prices are derived from customer responses, contractor feedback, and what I have come up with that is profitable for me.
 
"The question is not "what is the going rate" it should be what is it worth for your to do the job? Who cares what other people will do the job for? If there are 10 electricians in town that will do the job for $1000 but you figure that it will cost you $1500 to do the job, will you do it for the lower price anyway? If you lose money on every job, you cannot "make it up with volume"!"


Good advice!
 
All the "going rate" guys can form in a single file line to bankruptcy court. I have no idea what other contractors in my area might charge, and frankly don't care. I have plenty of work, and I make profit. I have a feeling I'm a tad higher than others, but I offer no apology for that.
 
mdshunk said:
All the "going rate" guys can form in a single file line to bankruptcy court. I have no idea what other contractors in my area might charge, and frankly don't care. I have plenty of work, and I make profit. I have a feeling I'm a tad higher than others, but I offer no apology for that.
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AMEN brother! I agree with everything you said, except I do like to know what others are charging.
 
I really don't think all the going rate guys are going to form a single file line headed for bankruptcy. I do think that guys that call other people and blindly use there numbers are in trouble. Again these are guidelines and I certainly don't fault anyone that can get more than this for any job going. I would like to be the most expensive contractor in the area, and bid along those lines whenever possible. Those are just a starting point for someone to start gathering there own pricing information from. Those starting points should net well in excess of $100/hr before adding material costs in. My residential service labor rates are $85- $105 an hour, and when I give bid pricing on residential work, my aim is to excede those rates by as large a margin as I think I can and still get the job. If you believe that that would land me in bankruptcy, so be it. I am not advocating "find out what the other guy is charging and beat it" by any stretch of the imagination, just offering a fair starting point for someone that has no idea how to bid this style work without cutting anyones throat.
 
mdshunk said:
I have a feeling I'm a tad higher than others, but I offer no apology for that.
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How do you bid work of this nature? I certainly don't feel you have to apologise for making a fair wage. If you can educate me, I may be able to make more money myself. I'm all for that, I've got a 12 yo son, and a girlfriend with 3 daughters and a grandchild. I need all the money I can get my hands on. I know all about figuring material costs, figuring amount of time it takes an average electrician to perform each task, multipling total time by the average wage I pay X wage burden X overhead X profit, write proposal. Do that all the time on commercial construction jobs. My profit margin is a lot highter on these smaller jobs though, and I don't have to wait net 30 if they actually decide to cut the check in that amount of time either. I'm all for the exchange of information to help raise all of our stanard of living.
 
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bradleyelectric said:
How do you bid work of this nature?
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Sure, public readings of bids let me know where I stand from time to time. I have plenty of work. I mostly do service. This is an area of electrical work where there is much less competition. The rush-rush of new work is somewhat less appealing to me. I do bid new work, mind you, but I bid my price. If I get it fine, if not, fine again. Everybody gets a full 8 hour day, so I must be doing something right. All the worry about what other people are charging puzzles me to no end. You know what your costs are... go from there. Don't worry about other people. Develop a clientele that pays you for your work and not a clientele of price shoppers.
 
bradleyelectric said:
Sure there are going rates. Some of my going rates are: for simple ceiling fan installs including fan support box with accessable attic and existing switch is $250. Simple Hot Tub is $1200. simple above ground pool is $1500, simple sub panel next to existing service is $600. simple generator with customer supplied panel is $600. adjust price according to what really needs to be done. These are basic prices that I use as guidelines when I price homeowner jobs. I share them so people don't have to learn the way I did and bid way low on jobs when they are first starting out cutting their own throat and waisting my time bidding jobs that homeowners are calling around checking prices when they get someone that is bidding that doesn't know how. These prices are derived from customer responses, contractor feedback, and what I have come up with that is profitable for me.
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After wasting my time bidding the 4th hot tub in a row last week I decided on the same route, for now on they get a minimum price over the phone and I won't waste another second looking at a damn hot tub job.
 
mdshunk said:
Sure, public readings of bids let me know where I stand from time to time. I have plenty of work. I mostly do service. This is an area of electrical work where there is much less competition. The rush-rush of new work is somewhat less appealing to me. I do bid new work, mind you, but I bid my price. If I get it fine, if not, fine again. Everybody gets a full 8 hour day, so I must be doing something right. All the worry about what other people are charging puzzles me to no end. You know what your costs are... go from there. Don't worry about other people. Develop a clientele that pays you for your work and not a clientele of price shoppers.
Click to expand...

I've never been to a public opening of bids for a subpanel in someones home, or any other service work. I'm sure you are doing a lot right. I'm hoping you can enlighten me and the rest of us so we can all make more money and raise the standard of living for the whole industry. You are right about me knowing what my price is and going from there. The budget numbers I gave previously far excede what my costs for doing the job with my normal service hourly rate added. You wrote that using that method was going to put me and those that use that method in bankruptcy, so I'm looking for your help and wisdom. I don't want to end in bankruptcy. I'm just confused on how to find a public opening for small residential jobs and service work. That wouldn't tell me anything except weither I got the job and what other people are charging anyway I believe and that is a waist of time according to what you stated above. None of us is ever going to be able to build a clientel that will pay us for our work unless we can give them a price to do it. I'm hoping you can give me a method I can use so I can do just that.

Lets take mounting a sub panel sitting next to a full panel. Somebody went to the expence of a QO panel in the house, and I like to use something that interchanges with what is already there, so we will use it in this example.
I can buy a main lug panel at the closest sub panel dealer with some miscellaneous breakers in it for $100.
10' #6 $50.
square d qo 260 $15.
clamps and hangers $10.
4 hours @ $21. * 1.27 burden $110.
cost to do job $285. *10% OH *10% profit
total new construction method to do job $344.85
Hmm, I'm not going to the trouble to do it like that. Let's try pricing it as a service job.
material still costs $175.
4 hours @ $85 $340.
total $515.
Looks a little better this way. I've still got time to make another service call. You may find you can buy materials for less than this example. I sure can. My budget price was $600. Where am I going wrong?
 
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