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growler said:
Cable & phone are required in most counties. If this were a 2400 sq ft house at code minimum with phone & cable and prewired for fans most would want between $7000-$7500 to wire it.

Is it really that much cheaper to leave out the fan prewire & the phones/cable. We are not talkng about that many additional receptacles.

Instead of working from the gound up I use a standard size house and work backward. How much cleaper to do a 1600 sq ft house than a 2400 sq ft house. I think you would be hard pressed to save over a $1000 bucks.

Just a different way of looking at things. :D
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Wow. Cable and Phone jacks are required??

Never heard of that before. :confused:

I would normally include one of each in each bedroom unless I was really trying to skimp...

Now leaving out fan boxes and the extra wiring.... it all adds up to more savings.. It's a good upsell after the sale.
 
roger3829 said:
Wow. Cable and Phone jacks are required??

Never heard of that before. :confused:
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Check out Article 800.156 of the 2008 NEC.

A minimum of one communication outlet is required.
 
aline said:
Check out Article 800.156 of the 2008 NEC.

A minimum of one communication outlet is required.
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I searched and searched for that and finally gave up! :mad: I KNEW it was in there somewhere! :)
 
growler said:
Instead of working from the gound up I use a standard size house and work backward. How much cleaper to do a 1600 sq ft house than a 2400 sq ft house. I think you would be hard pressed to save over a $1000 bucks.

Just a different way of looking at things. :D
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You are exactly right.

I pulled up two take-offs; one from a 1500 sq.ft. house and the other was 2900sq.ft.

The difference was $1500, and that was in 120v devices and a few extra light fixtures to be hung.

They had an equal number of electric appliances and both had a 200A service, the most expensive things in a house.
 
brantmacga said:
You are exactly right.

I pulled up two take-offs; one from a 1500 sq.ft. house and the other was 2900sq.ft.

The difference was $1500, and that was in 120v devices and a few extra light fixtures to be hung.

They had an equal number of electric appliances and both had a 200A service, the most expensive things in a house.
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And that is why square-foot pricing never works.
 
brantmacga said:
You are exactly right.

I pulled up two take-offs; one from a 1500 sq.ft. house and the other was 2900sq.ft.

The difference was $1500, and that was in 120v devices and a few extra light fixtures to be hung.

They had an equal number of electric appliances and both had a 200A service, the most expensive things in a house.
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was that just material difference or was that labor and material difference and how did it work out on completion of the houses was the actual cost difference the same.
 
bigjohn67 said:
Let's see who is cutting the industry down and just working for cash flow.
It simple bid the following basic to code
Assume all rooms have 4 walls, 1 switch, 1 light no fans

1600 sqft home
single car garage
3 bedrooms
10 ft entry hall
Kitchen with 20 ft of counter (not including sink), dishwasher, disposal
Breakfast room
living room
2 full bathrooms
front and rear entry (no patio)
Natural Gas for all appliances
No wall space is greater than 12 ft long.
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Add- Log House, and "Not in my jurisdiction" inspector. Now thats why square foot never works.
 
macmikeman said:
Add- Log House, and "Not in my jurisdiction" inspector. Now thats why square foot never works.
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True log, or veneer?

I'm still waiting for an answer to the "No wall space over 12 foot" response.
 
Rewire said:
was that just material difference or was that labor and material difference and how did it work out on completion of the houses was the actual cost difference the same.
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that was material and labor difference. i can't tell you how it worked out after completion; one has not been trimmed yet and the other i haven't been informed if i got the job.

edit to add -- i pulled the quotes back up; it was $1400 difference. the price difference in 120v devices and mounting the light fixtures was a little over $700 - another $500 came from a difference in price for appliances/equipment because on the small house, they were all within 15 ft of the panel; on the larger house the appliances averaged about 30ft away from what i can remember; and we're talking straight line distance, not cable length. The other $200 was for a short run of SER and its installation. The small house had a back-to-back service.
 
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aline said:
Check out Article 800.156 of the 2008 NEC.

A minimum of one communication outlet is required.
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Not in Connecticut, we are still on the 2005 code.:roll:

Cable TV outlets are not addressed in 800.156, just 1 phone outlet
 
HaskinsElectric said:
I'm just that good.
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No doubt that you are good, I believe you. However, the OP asks about those who are dragging down the industry and/or working just for cash flow.

Is that your bottom dollar? Or is that a price that makes you money and is in range of the shops in your area?
 
The material for this job will run $2200. That leaves $1700 for labor. I figure that realistically, with real world delays and obstacles to productivity, one man can rough this in 3 days and trim out in 2. That's 40 man hours. That's $42.50 an hour. You can't send an employee to do this because there's just not enough money, but an electrical contractor one-man-shop guy can strap on the tools and scrape by.
 
I price a house on how much money I will recieve in two payments. The rough and the trim. Those guy's doing the op's house for $2900.00. That is simply not enough. Esspecially when you brake it up in two payments. I consider what work I might miss out on because I am at the house for a couple days. If a emaergency service upgrade came in. That might be around $2500 in one day.
I agree with some of the other guys. I would say $7000.

Now some of those cheapo electricians are smart. They will bid real low. Knowing their will be extras. They have it written in the contract. $250. for each additional can light and so on and so on. Then also in small print it says No other electrician to work on the house during construction or it voids the warranty.
 
buckofdurham said:
Now some of those cheapo electricians are smart. They will bid real low. Knowing their will be extras. .
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That's exactly how the game is played. My bids are very specific and list the exact scope of work, how many switches, fixture boxes, etc. Most houses don't even have plans and those that do are never complete. Also never state in your contract "Per plan and to code", what plan? which code? Always itemize the scope of work.

NEVER EVER perform extras without getting a signed extra work authorization beforehand. General Contractors come directly from the Lumpenproletariat class and will rip you off if you don't. A receptacle or switch here or there are OK to do for free to demonstrate goodwill, but beyond that, get it in writing first.

You could of course bid the job higher in order to absorb all the little extras you know there will be, this way you could handle them graciously and quickly without saying a word, but we all know that the general contractor would be unable to comprehend why your price is higher, even if you explain the unknown contingencies the extra money covers.

evolution_of_man.gif

Observe the general contractor. (Second from left)

General contractors only want a low price, years of substance abuse and poor education have dulled the general contractor's mind and his cognitive skills are so eroded that he cannot understand value. So if you plan on working for a general contractor, you MUST deliver the lowest price if you want the job. The general contractor will go out of business, usually within 18 months of starting his "business", so while he still has money, get as much of it as you can.
 
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