time to wire house
- Thread starter shorts
- Start date
- Status
- Location
- Windsor, CO NEC: 2017
- Occupation
- Service Manager
Re: time to wire house
How much time are you given per house? How big are the houses? Are the houses ready (framing, HVAC, plumbing, siding done) before you start?
How much time are you given per house? How big are the houses? Are the houses ready (framing, HVAC, plumbing, siding done) before you start?
petersonra
Senior Member
- Location
- Northern illinois
- Occupation
- engineer
Re: time to wire house
4 days sounds pretty reasonable if you have a big enough crew.
<added>
I hit send before I finished my thought. I figure it this way.
The service is already in because they need power for other things.
The first 2 days, you get how ever many guys it takes to rough in the boxes and run the romex, cable and phone wires. If it takes 10 guys so be it. It seems to me this is both the easiest but most time consuming thing to do.
Schedule the rough in inspection for late on the second day.
Get your best finishers in the 3rd and fourth days and hook everything up.
There are bound to be some changes, but thats on whomever wants the changes.
of course I don't do residential, so i could be way off base.
[ January 15, 2005, 12:18 PM: Message edited by: petersonra ]
4 days sounds pretty reasonable if you have a big enough crew.
<added>
I hit send before I finished my thought. I figure it this way.
The service is already in because they need power for other things.
The first 2 days, you get how ever many guys it takes to rough in the boxes and run the romex, cable and phone wires. If it takes 10 guys so be it. It seems to me this is both the easiest but most time consuming thing to do.
Schedule the rough in inspection for late on the second day.
Get your best finishers in the 3rd and fourth days and hook everything up.
There are bound to be some changes, but thats on whomever wants the changes.
of course I don't do residential, so i could be way off base.
[ January 15, 2005, 12:18 PM: Message edited by: petersonra ]
jimwalker
Senior Member
- Location
- TAMPA FLORIDA
Re: time to wire house
Part of your problem is travel time.If possible the lead man should have the van and one journeyman besides him and a good helper.The other 2 men should drive to the job site.Helpers should be able to run all the home runs and take care of the cans.I no longer do residential because of this rush type thing.What i use to figure is 15 min to opening on a rough plus 4 hours for a simple back to back 200 amp service.
Simply put your loosing 2 hrs a day per man in travel thats 16 man hours
[ January 15, 2005, 12:45 PM: Message edited by: jimwalker ]
Part of your problem is travel time.If possible the lead man should have the van and one journeyman besides him and a good helper.The other 2 men should drive to the job site.Helpers should be able to run all the home runs and take care of the cans.I no longer do residential because of this rush type thing.What i use to figure is 15 min to opening on a rough plus 4 hours for a simple back to back 200 amp service.
Simply put your loosing 2 hrs a day per man in travel thats 16 man hours
[ January 15, 2005, 12:45 PM: Message edited by: jimwalker ]
electricmanscott
Senior Member
- Location
- Boston, MA
Re: time to wire house
If it isn't readi don't even start. If they want to give you a set time they should have the job ready and clean. GC's don't seem to have a clue about this. PLEASE KILL THE CAPS.
- Location
- Windsor, CO NEC: 2017
- Occupation
- Service Manager
Re: time to wire house
Profit Through Procedure Thread
Check out this recent topic that drew a lot of good ideas for improving efficiency on our end.
But no matter how efficient you are, your numbers are always going to suffer if you allow the GC to pile trades on top of one another. I see that you're a contractor, which means you have the power to set a more rigid tone with the GC than someone of lesser stature.
In our shop there's a guy who is amazing: He can work beside plumbers, tinners and siders and still pull 22 minutes a hole overall. He is the exception, not the rule.
Profit Through Procedure Thread
Check out this recent topic that drew a lot of good ideas for improving efficiency on our end.
But no matter how efficient you are, your numbers are always going to suffer if you allow the GC to pile trades on top of one another. I see that you're a contractor, which means you have the power to set a more rigid tone with the GC than someone of lesser stature.
In our shop there's a guy who is amazing: He can work beside plumbers, tinners and siders and still pull 22 minutes a hole overall. He is the exception, not the rule.
luke warmwater
Senior Member
Re: time to wire house
Are the houses wired in NM ?
Is the service already installed?
Here's how I would approach it: (abridged version)
Work from top to bottom.
1) Lead man marks 2nd floor while 2nd man brings materials in.
2) Lead man drills second floor while 2nd man boxes.
3) Lead man starts to pull circuts while 2nd man pulls smoke det. circut (if applicable)
4) Lead man pulls remaining circuts while 2nd man pulls homeruns.
5) Lead man marks 1st floor while 2nd man cuts-in 2nd floor.
Continue for first floor.
There are things to do/not do to increase your speed without having to actually work harder.
For example:
1) Take a few extra minutes to plan your circuts and mark homerun locations. Mark all attic homeruns at the access. Also tie-in attic stuff while you are up there, and install any switch, keyless, heater switch, receptacle in the attic.
2) When you pull homeruns, check it off at box.
3) Mark all light boxes on the floor when you are marking-out.
4) When you pull a switch leg, take the box up the ladder with you. Hang box and tie in box while on the ladder.
Don't go up ladder to mark box, go up ladder to hang box, go up ladder to pull switch leg, go up ladder to cut-in light. See the time adding up.
5) Cut in dead ends while you're there.
6) If you missed a hole, leave wire hang. Come back and drill it later, 'cause you may have missed more.
There are more but that should be a start for you to look at.
These are just my opinions based on my experience.
Hope it helps.
Are the houses wired in NM ?
Is the service already installed?
Here's how I would approach it: (abridged version)
Work from top to bottom.
1) Lead man marks 2nd floor while 2nd man brings materials in.
2) Lead man drills second floor while 2nd man boxes.
3) Lead man starts to pull circuts while 2nd man pulls smoke det. circut (if applicable)
4) Lead man pulls remaining circuts while 2nd man pulls homeruns.
5) Lead man marks 1st floor while 2nd man cuts-in 2nd floor.
Continue for first floor.
There are things to do/not do to increase your speed without having to actually work harder.
For example:
1) Take a few extra minutes to plan your circuts and mark homerun locations. Mark all attic homeruns at the access. Also tie-in attic stuff while you are up there, and install any switch, keyless, heater switch, receptacle in the attic.
2) When you pull homeruns, check it off at box.
3) Mark all light boxes on the floor when you are marking-out.
4) When you pull a switch leg, take the box up the ladder with you. Hang box and tie in box while on the ladder.
Don't go up ladder to mark box, go up ladder to hang box, go up ladder to pull switch leg, go up ladder to cut-in light. See the time adding up.
5) Cut in dead ends while you're there.
6) If you missed a hole, leave wire hang. Come back and drill it later, 'cause you may have missed more.
There are more but that should be a start for you to look at.
These are just my opinions based on my experience.
Hope it helps.
luke warmwater
Senior Member
Re: time to wire house
Hey George, I missed that thread. All three pages.
Hey George, I missed that thread. All three pages.
Re: time to wire house
How about emt? Is it longer with emt? We only do conduit, and have never rough with romex. Those times seem to be not enough for conduit. I've done mostly remodels and commercial work. Just starting to get into some spec houses and am wondering the time for the same size house but with emt?
How about emt? Is it longer with emt? We only do conduit, and have never rough with romex. Those times seem to be not enough for conduit. I've done mostly remodels and commercial work. Just starting to get into some spec houses and am wondering the time for the same size house but with emt?
highkvoltage
Senior Member
Re: time to wire house
shorts. This is not only a problem in the residental market but also in the commerical and industrial market also. I had a general contractor come in on a weekend and hang drywall without letting any of the other trades know. It was an easy fix. I used a roto zip and open what I needed. I also summited a work order to this jerk for the time it took to open the walls back up. I do not take crap from anyone. You can work with me or we can work against me it's their decision. I prefer working together. As long as I am manning the job and staying within time tables they have no leg to stand on. I also tore out a suspended ceiling on a job. The GC was from out of town and they were working 12 to 16 hours a day because they wanted to get home. So before they went home one weekend they put up the grid. They knew we were not done with our conduit homeruns. I went up cut all the tie wire removed the grid thru it in the dumpster and finished my work. Like I said we can work together or not it's up to them. I do not care if they never work with me again because the feeling is mutual.(I was running jobs for a EC on both these jobs. They agreed with my decision)
shorts. This is not only a problem in the residental market but also in the commerical and industrial market also. I had a general contractor come in on a weekend and hang drywall without letting any of the other trades know. It was an easy fix. I used a roto zip and open what I needed. I also summited a work order to this jerk for the time it took to open the walls back up. I do not take crap from anyone. You can work with me or we can work against me it's their decision. I prefer working together. As long as I am manning the job and staying within time tables they have no leg to stand on. I also tore out a suspended ceiling on a job. The GC was from out of town and they were working 12 to 16 hours a day because they wanted to get home. So before they went home one weekend they put up the grid. They knew we were not done with our conduit homeruns. I went up cut all the tie wire removed the grid thru it in the dumpster and finished my work. Like I said we can work together or not it's up to them. I do not care if they never work with me again because the feeling is mutual.(I was running jobs for a EC on both these jobs. They agreed with my decision)
dnbob
Senior Member
- Location
- Rochester, MN
Re: time to wire house
Shorts,
At our company, we wire houses similar to yours with 3 men - 1 day to rough - 1 day to trim, and sometimes a couple hours for missing fixtures, bonding, appliances etc. We do sub out our phone/cable - can't do it ourselves for our subs prices.
These are 1500 sq.ft. main level and finished basement. (based on summer/fall type weather, winters would take closer to 4-5 men 2+ days total)
Errors are minimal and do not occur on every house.
Shorts,
At our company, we wire houses similar to yours with 3 men - 1 day to rough - 1 day to trim, and sometimes a couple hours for missing fixtures, bonding, appliances etc. We do sub out our phone/cable - can't do it ourselves for our subs prices.
These are 1500 sq.ft. main level and finished basement. (based on summer/fall type weather, winters would take closer to 4-5 men 2+ days total)
Errors are minimal and do not occur on every house.
aelectricalman
Senior Member
- Location
- KY
Re: time to wire house
GC's expect you to work at a pace of about 1100sqft per day on a rough and 1 day per 1500ft on the finish. Also, 1 day for the service. On a 3300 sqft house, your looking at 3+2+1 per 2 people. If he is demanding much more than that I would set him straight on the matter, because if you can't do it you can't do it. Three guys with a good system could do it in 4 days EASY. 2, your pushing it even working 10 hour days. Current opinion only.
GC's expect you to work at a pace of about 1100sqft per day on a rough and 1 day per 1500ft on the finish. Also, 1 day for the service. On a 3300 sqft house, your looking at 3+2+1 per 2 people. If he is demanding much more than that I would set him straight on the matter, because if you can't do it you can't do it. Three guys with a good system could do it in 4 days EASY. 2, your pushing it even working 10 hour days. Current opinion only.
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