Service Upgrade Estimate

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celtic said:
Never say never :cool:
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You're right, but I'm rather confident that a house with a 60 amp service upgrading to a 200 amp will never need another service upgrade. Unless of course they bash and build a new house in the future. That's an entirely different animal altogether.
 
emahler said:
I know of 2 companies he can call in his area (not me) who will price it at over $4500. There are others that will price it under $2500

What's fair? The material is over $1000 when you figure it all out. 2 men for a day. Overhead.

I honestly don't know any more if that price is high or low.

But I do know, we will always get beat up by customers as long as we continue to kick eachother in the nads.

Oh, Celt and Satcom...how much fun is PSE&G to deal with?
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Your funny, the under/ over we did in East Brunswick, was a federal case, PSE&G came out to look it over, they say just cut down tree, but it looks like a bit more length then we run, you may need a pole, ok a week passes, finally the length is ok, now we go to the township and file the permit, hmmm
permit has to go to construction official, then to zoning, call again, zonning does not allow OH in that area, permit is returned by mail, call back talk to AHJ, He will go take a look at the job, week later call from AHJ, PSE&G needs to send him an approval, he found another OH in the area, township will allow it, by now the owner is going nuts, ya no problem lady we do this all the time.

How much fun can you ask for!
 
infinity said:
You're right, but I'm rather confident that a house with a 60 amp service upgrading to a 200 amp will never need another service upgrade. Unless of course they bash and build a new house in the future. That's an entirely different animal altogether.
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I can see you haven't had the pleasure, of finding a 60A service with 2 or 3 sub panels loaded.
 
Wow Never require a deposit??? I charge all my clients a 35% deposit to start a large custom home. On a service change I require all the money when complete with the job. IMO its better for the contractor... by the way have you ever had a check bounce ??????? You will wish you got that deposit.:confused:
 
1. Price seems reasonable. I just did one today in the 113 degree heat. I earned every dollar.

2. Out here a 200 amp panel costs LESS than a 150. The wire in the riser (if applicable) costs more but not enough to offset the panel amd I have upgraded panels that have been upgraded at least once before....so I always go 200 min.

PS. 50% deposit w/ balance upon completion.
 
guschash said:
I agree with electricguy61. Why wasn't this thread closed.
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I have been asked that very question in a Private Message. Let me summarize my reply.

The rules of this Forum prohibit us from giving assistance to persons who are not electricians and who plan to perform their own electrical installation work. However, there is no rule against homeowners joining the Forum, participating in discussions, and even posting their own questions.

This particular question does not, in my opinion, represent a DIY situation. The OP has received a bid for electrical services from (we must presume) a licensed contractor. We are being asked to comment on the proposed scope of work and the offered price. Feel free to decline to post any comments, if that is your desire. Or you may tell us what you think of the price, or whether you think a 150 amp panel is sufficient, or whether you think a 200 amp panel is worth the extra money.
 
How often do you plan to get a service upgrade?

I'd be more concerned with getting a quality installation than the price.

I've seen plenty of poorly done service upgrades. Some didn't even meet code but passed the inspection anyway. In some cases the homeowner paid me to redo the installation to meet code. They could not contact the original installer.

It costs money to do a job properly. I'm sure you could get it done cheaper. But at what expense to you.

The cheapest guy may do a better job than the most expensive guy. It's hard to know. But in my opinion your more likely to have problems when you go with the cheapest price. I believe the cheapest guy is usually cheaper because he cuts corners and uses cheap inexperienced labor. He may not even be licensed and insured to do the work.

For me price ranks low on the list of importance. I've heard plenty of my friends complain about contractors they've hired.
Guy doesn't show up when he says he will, makes a mess, they can't get a hold of him when they need to, they have to call him back several times to get the job done properly, or they can't get him to come back at all and they have to call someone else, etc.
When I ask why they chose that contractor they reply; "He was the lowest price"

The terms and price for this job sound more than fair to me.
I can't say what the quality of his service and work are like.

If this were my home I'd go with the 200amp service. It may be overkill but who cares? It's not that much money when you consider you'll probably only do this once in your lifetime.

Homeowners are getting great prices on construction projects these days. Regardless of what people may think contractors are not making a killing. http://www.bizstats.com/electrical.htm

With the net profits from this link the job would be less than $200 net profit.

Note the proprietor table does not include owners salary, retirement fund, etc. in the expenses so the percentage is higher than corporations. But after taking these expenses into consideration it would be much lower than what's shown. Read yellow bars.
 
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aline said:
I'd be more concerned with getting a quality installation than the price.
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I think both are important, and they are not mutually exclusive, and I am not even sure they are that closely related. I had some siding work done a few years back. I got several quotes. The lowest quote got the bid. He was half the price of the highest quote. He did a superb job. Same brand of siding. Why would I want to pay an extra $7000 to the high bidder? Because he had a nationally recognized name?

About the same time, I got bids for bathroom remodeling. Against my better judgment I went with the high bidder based on my ex-wife's theory that the higher price meant higher quality. I can tell you with some certainty it only meant a higher price.

aline said:
The terms and price for this job sound more than fair to me.
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me too.
aline said:
I can't say what the quality of his service and work are like.
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You are right about that one.
aline said:
If this were my home I'd go with the 200amp service. It may be overkill but who cares? It's not that much money when you consider you'll probably only do this once in your lifetime.
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Salesman always tell you that about everything you buy. You have to draw the line somewhere, and especially when the EC directly involved thinks it is not worth doing, what makes you think it is?
aline said:
Homeowners are getting great prices on construction projects these days. Regardless of what people may think contractors are not making a killing. http://www.bizstats.com/electrical.htm
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Interesting note at the bottom of the table that you either chose to ignore, or just missed.
Tip: Due to significant variances in owner compensation, it may be more meaningful to compare Net Income prior to Compensation of Officers.
That means that in reality, small EC are netting about 16.6% profits, rather than the 6.9% reported. Considering that WalMart is lucky to net 1-2%, that is a huge amount.
aline said:
With the net profits from this link the job would be less than $200 net profit.

Note the proprietor table does not include owners salary, retirement fund, etc. in the expenses so the percentage is higher. But after taking these expenses into consideration it would be much lower.
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Actually, there is a line item in the table for benefits and owner compensation, despite your claim to the contrary.
I don't know what the "true" profit is on a job like this. It might be nothing to someone who is not very good at such things. And keep in mind, the main variable, government interference (aka permits and inspections) is not part of the cost shown.
 
petersonra said:
Salesman always tell you that about everything you buy. You have to draw the line somewhere, and especially when the EC directly involved thinks it is not worth doing, what makes you think it is?.
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One of the reasons he may be pushing the 150A is he will not have to up the GEC size, putting more in his pocket.

petersonra said:
Interesting note at the bottom of the table that you either chose to ignore, or just missed.
Tip: Due to significant variances in owner compensation, it may be more meaningful to compare Net Income prior to Compensation of Officers.
That means that in reality, small EC are netting about 16.6% profits, rather than the 6.9% reported. Considering that WalMart is lucky to net 1-2%, that is a huge amount.
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WalMart has a much higher net profit that 1 to 2% translates into huge profits when your working on the volume numbers they produce daily, in some cases it can 2 to 3 times that 16% .

petersonra said:
keep in mind, the main variable, government interference (aka permits and inspections) is not part of the cost shown.
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Far from goverment interference, permits and inspections, are an insurance underwriting requirement, cities implement inspection services, usually at a cost, not to make money, without inspections your insurance preimums, would be much higher.


"I agree with electricguy61. Why wasn't this thread closed."

Yes, it should be closed, the OP was asking for us to conferm a price, something we don't usually do here.
 
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McDonald's operates on a 22% NET profit...own a McDonalds..after all payments, the owner takes home $250,000 on a $1,000,000 gross.

Don't lock the thread...it's fun to watch us actually throw eachother under the bus in real time...you don't always see this happen in person, you just hear about it...
 
petersonra said:
I got bids for bathroom remodeling. Against my better judgment I went with the high bidder based on my ex-wife's theory that the higher price meant higher quality. I can tell you with some certainty it only meant a higher price.
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P. T. Barnum said " There's a sucker born every minute".

Now I ask you, " why should the circus be the only one to fleece the rubes"? It's all business. You bought that extended warranty didn't you ?:smile:
 
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