Residential remodel

N

nizak

Senior Member
I’m looking to price a residential remodel. 1800 sq ft Tri level built in 1965.

Due to the extent of work, township is requiring all electrical be brought to current code.

Contractor wants to do the entire job without removal of ceiling drywall ( double layer due to delaminating) or wall finish.

- 4’ crawl space
- 4/12 attic space with blown in insulation
- Lower level built on slab.
- 3 interior non load bearing walls being removed.
-Existing 100A split bus panel in finished garage wall.

-Entirely new kitchen space.
-Total of 50 6” LED Wafer lights cut into existing 1” thick drywall ceilings throughout.
- Adding approximately 12 new switch locations, combination of single pole and 3 ways.
- Adding 5 ceiling fans.

Not quite sure how to even start figuring labor.

Thoughts?

Thanks
 
We would only charge time + materials for a job like this. Typically we are $25-27/ft² probably more with recent price increases. You didn't mention if you're planning to upgrade the service. The added switches seem irrelevant since you're rewiring the whole house. There would be a lot of holes to be patched behind you.

Where is the job?

Rob G
Seattle
 
marmathsen said:
We would only charge time + materials for a job like this. Typically we are $25-27/ft² probably more with recent price increases. You didn't mention if you're planning to upgrade the service. The added switches seem irrelevant since you're rewiring the whole house. There would be a lot of holes to be patched behind you.

Where is the job?

Rob G
Seattle
Click to expand...
Yes to service upgrade. I can accurately figure that because it’s isolated to one specific spot.

The General Contractors intent is to have basically no patching. Therefore cutting in the switches and associated wiring ( drilling through top plates and floor plates ) would all be done from the crawl or the attic.
 
marmathsen said:
We would only charge time + materials for a job like this. Typically we are $25-27/ft² probably more with recent price increases. You didn't mention if you're planning to upgrade the service. The added switches seem irrelevant since you're rewiring the whole house. There would be a lot of holes to be patched behind you.

Where is the job?

Rob G
Seattle
Click to expand...
So you’re saying an approximate cost for you to do the job is near $46K?
 
nizak said:
The General Contractors intent is to have basically no patching. Therefore cutting in the switches and associated wiring ( drilling through top plates and floor plates ) would all be done from the crawl or the attic.
Click to expand...
This your idea or is the contractor saying that's what you need to do? He's re-doing the whole house, removing partitions, so patching holes in sheetrock along with the rest shouldn't be a problem. Unless you are comfortable with doing it that way, for me that would be a deal breaker. If he's going to be unreasonable with you on that, what's it going to be like later on? Give him a high price to make it worth your while or walk away.

-Hal
 
nizak said:
The General Contractors intent is to have basically no patching. Therefore cutting in the switches and associated wiring ( drilling through top plates and floor plates ) would all be done from the crawl or the attic.
Click to expand...

That seems typical for a rewire, where it's possible. In a try level I would assume a lot of locations where it's not possible to avoid cutting holes. Don't give yourself unrealistic expectations because of the GC.

nizak said:
So you’re saying an approximate cost for you to do the job is near $46K?
Click to expand...

$45K - 49K, yes.

nizak said:
My estimate was around $21K . Doubling puts me relatively close to the other posters cost.
Click to expand...

From us a 1000 ft² one story with good access and above and below would be $20k which I consider to a minimum starting point for a rewire. A tri-level would be more involved. We charge T&M for rewires though so these numbers would only be estimates for budgeting.

Rob G
Seattle
 
I don't see how you are going to do a rewire of a 3 level building where the only access is the attic above the top floor without cutting/patching. I would tell the GC to get a price to remove and replace the drywall. He might find its less expensive than paying the additional labor to the EC.
 
hbiss said:
This your idea or is the contractor saying that's what you need to do? He's re-doing the whole house, removing partitions, so patching holes in sheetrock along with the rest shouldn't be a problem. Unless you are comfortable with doing it that way, for me that would be a deal breaker. If he's going to be unreasonable with you on that, what's it going to be like later on? Give him a high price to make it worth your while or walk away
curt swartz said:
I don't see how you are going to do a rewire of a 3 level building where the only access is the attic above the top floor without cutting/patching. I would tell the GC to get a price to remove and replace the drywall. He might find its less expensive than paying the additional labor to
Click to expand...
Click to expand...

curt swartz said:
I don't see how you are going to do a rewire of a 3 level building where the only access is the attic above the top floor without cutting/patching. I would tell the GC to get a price to remove and replace the drywall. He might find its less expensive than paying the additional labor to the EC.
Click to expand...

hbiss said:
This your idea or is the contractor saying that's what you need to do? He's re-doing the whole house, removing partitions, so patching holes in sheetrock along with the rest shouldn't be a problem. Unless you are comfortable with doing it that way, for me that would be a deal breaker. If he's going to be unreasonable with you on that, what's it going to be like later on? Give him a high price to make it worth your while or walk away.

-Hal
Click to expand...
The GC is the one who’s saying the drywall stays.

I’m submitting a bid for $40K and I suspect he will reject it.
Will see what happens.
 
To be honest the GC is not one I would work for. He is passing the buck so that if he has to patch he can back charge. I would put money no matter how much you make off this, it will not be worth the headache. I have seen GC do things like this is to : save money" but in the end all it does is cause delays and problems. People seems to forget that time is also worth money. Snaking walls takes long then just running wire. I would think you could save a day or two labor by opening up the sheetrock where its needed. Am I the only one who is seeing a shift in the construction business? No one seems to care about anything but getting paid. I get that but what about doing the correct job and doing it well?
 
I do a decent amount of that type of work, and the no patching drywall thing would be a non-starter for me.

Any attempt to get wiring down the eave wall on a 4:12 is usually impossible without cutting an access at the top of the wall. The angle doesn’t allow you to even get close enough to drill and feed, let alone physically fitting a drill motor and bit above the plate.

I just completed a rewire of an approximately 1,000 sf house that was undergoing a pretty extensive remodel. We had drywall removed all over just for reconfiguring the walls, and holes everywhere. Rough in took a couple days, drywall patch took a couple days, and all together we weren’t near the numbers you are talking about.

He’s not going to save a penny by not patching drywall. Even if it were possible, it would take 3-4 times as long. I’ve worked for hours on a single device box where I couldn’t cut wallboard. An entire house done that way would be prohibitively expensive.

The GC doesnt know what he’s talking about and needs to be educated.
 
nizak said:
The GC is the one who’s saying the drywall stays.

I’m submitting a bid for $40K and I suspect he will reject it.
Will see what happens.
Click to expand...
Contractor rejected the bid. I suspect if he gets additional quotes he will find that drywall removal is the only cost effective route.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top