Would you.....

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c2500

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South Carolina
On a 3 story house, approximately 1030 sq ft per floor charge $4700 to wire it? 200 amp meter can, panel, HVAC and Water Heater disconnects, and 20 can lights, receptacles/switches provided. (Underground service, POCO provides wire to meter can. Meter can to backup to panel) You provide wire and all boxes. All wiring #12. The 3 bedrooms have two switches for fan/light control. Living room, approximately 300 sqft has switched receptacles. Wired to code or slighty above.

Just curious, a builder friend of mine was bragging how cheaply he is getting this done by a 29 year electrical veteran. He also was please with the $10,700 he is paying for 3 Lenox "Merrit" heat pumps installed. (Ironically as the HVAC work sits it will fail inspection but thats another story)

Just wondering what the collective thinks....

c2500
 
I would charge close to that for the service and the cans only. I hear of people charging prices like that all the time, that is why ive pretty much given up on bidding new construction residental. We cant compete with people who either dont have to pay a mortgage or people who hire monkees to pull wire
 
And to tell you the truth i feel a little sorry for the poor sap that accually took the work for that price. Station wagon electritian or pro, I wouldnt touch it for that price. The poor soul clearly has no concept of how to run a buisness or price a job even close to industry standard.
 
peter d said:
I think that wiring a house with all #12 is a total waste of time and money.
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Tell the EE's. This seems to be becoming an industry standard on large custom homes here.
 
The GC is probably lying...

The GC is probably lying...

$4700 to wire a 3100' house is $1.52 per foot. The materials come in at around $1.60 per foot. The EC is paying $248 for the privilege of wiring a 3 story house with #12 NM.

This seems like a bad deal for the electrical contractor.
 
chris kennedy said:
Tell the EE's.
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Sure. :)

An Open Letter to All EE's Who Design Custom Homes

Your "boiler plate" spec of all #12 wiring in dwelling units, no matter what their size, is unnecessary and it wastes the contractor's time and the customer's money. Most residential circuits are lightly loaded anyway and do not justify being upsized to #12 in the vast majority of residential circuits.

Furthermore, good design in most large custom dictates subpanels located throughout which makes the need for #12 even more silly. Please put more thought into your designs rather than just adding unnecessary boiler plate specs to make your job easier.
 
peter d said:
Sure. :)

An Open Letter to All EE's Who Design Custom Homes

Your "boiler plate" spec of all #12 wiring in dwelling units, no matter what their size, is unnecessary and it wastes the contractor's time and the customer's money. Most residential circuits are lightly loaded anyway and do not justify being upsized to #12 in the vast majority of residential circuits.

Furthermore, good design in most large custom dictates subpanels located throughout which makes the need for #12 even more silly. Please put more thought into your designs rather than just adding unnecessary boiler plate specs to make your job easier.
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Perfect, fire it off.
 
HaskinsElectric said:
$4700 to wire a 3100' house is $1.52 per foot. The materials come in at around $1.60 per foot. The EC is paying $248 for the privilege of wiring a 3 story house with #12 NM.

This seems like a bad deal for the electrical contractor.
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My friend is not lying. He can sniff out someone to do it for nothing. He has already been complaining about the cheap plumber. I could not help but put the "HVAC will fail inspection" jab at him this morning. The irony is he has a higher end cabinet shop (seldom builds homes but is licensed) and he gripes when he loses a job to a lower priced shop. Go figure. I told him that I would not dream of doing it for that price. Simply amazes me that people give work away. Or they do it so shoddy

c2500
 
I was under bid on a home about that size two years ago the contractor told me the other guy was $4700.00. Why was I so High. I said cuz I know what I am doing and that guy won't make a dime and will cut more corners than there are in the city. The house sits unfinished today I wonder why?
 
peter d said:
Sure. :)

An Open Letter to All EE's Who Design Custom Homes

Your "boiler plate" spec of all #12 wiring in dwelling units, no matter what their size, is unnecessary and it wastes the contractor's time and the customer's money. Most residential circuits are lightly loaded anyway and do not justify being upsized to #12 in the vast majority of residential circuits.

Furthermore, good design in most large custom dictates subpanels located throughout which makes the need for #12 even more silly. Please put more thought into your designs rather than just adding unnecessary boiler plate specs to make your job easier.
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Now I won't say that all wiring should be #12, but I think it is greatly underused in most homes. Most homes would measure an extreme voltage drop % if the circuit was loaded. There was probably a time when a couple of contractors thought that 1 outlet per room was enough. We have to remember that what is installed today must satisfy the electrical requirements for decades to come. I don't think that there is anything wrong with having an owner spend the money to do this, as long as it's not coming out of our pocket.
 
When I have builders call me and ask what I charge to wire a house, I tell them and they instantly respond, "But Joe Sixpack has been wiring my homes for half that for the last 5 years!"

So I ask, "So where's Joe today? Why doesn't he wire this one?"

Then the builder tells me, "I dunno. I can't call him. His cell phone has been disconnected....."
 
romexking said:
We have to remember that what is installed today must satisfy the electrical requirements for decades to come.
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:-?

Look into your crystal ball of yours and please let the group know just what exactly the demands/requirements will be in a few decades....would you?


For all we know, home wiring - as we know it today - may become just as obsolete as the telegraph and smoke signals.


romexking said:
I don't think that there is anything wrong with having an owner spend the money to do this, as long as it's not coming out of our pocket.
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If there are willng to spend the money ~ fine....but let's keep a grasp on reality about it.:cool:
 
$4700 might cover the materials. Barely. The only good thing about this is that cat won't be in buisness very long. To chime in on the #12 in the whole house issue. A total over-kill and waist of money. If I had Bill Gates money I still would not wire my house like that!!:grin:
 
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