cu change price at the big orange shed

[applemac]

went down the warehouse full of edjits today looking for garden stuff

wondered down the leccy isle to find a big notice consumer unit change by our local blah blah £449.. not inc bonding or any faults...

im charging £350 including new tails not inc bonding...

sorry no pics :]

 

[Engineer54]

Club3000 is that the holiday resort for oap's

B&Q and all those types of shed shouldnt be alowed to sell cu's if you ask me.

What's the betting, 9 or more out of every ten sold are to electricians trying to keep their costs down!!!

Have no time at all, for those that think the general public owes the self employed electricians a living!!!

 

[Octopus]

I'd look at the B & Q prices as an opportunity:

B & Q say they can do it for £449 + bonding + faults + VAT

Most competent sparkys will charge between £300 - £350 for the CU and as sole traders no VAT so we're always going to be cheaper than the big shed.

Nice.

 

[ferg]

Wholesalers opening hours are great for everyday use.
B&Q, toolstation, screwfix etc. are open 8 til 8 7 days handy for occasional purchases when working evenings/weekends on a deadline.
However, there should be warnings all over the place about the dangers of stuffing up your own electrical work, which of course there are not.

Another factor to consider is that electrical wholesalers, a place where this information would be more likely given, consistently charge joe public way over the going rate and therefore discourage them from ever visiting.

 

[trev]

However, there should be warnings all over the place about the dangers of stuffing up your own electrical work, which of course there are not.

.

Utter rubbish! Open the box of any fitting, there'll be a leaflet inside and somewhere on that will be a warning reading something like "If in doubt, consult a suitably qualified electrician"
If Joe Soap disregards that advice and fries himself then what can we do?

 

[telectrix]

that's fair enough on a light fitting or socket/switch, trev, but in the case of CUs and PDs, i think that warning should be a lot bolder and prominent.

 

[trev]

that's fair enough on a light fitting or socket/switch, trev, but in the case of CUs and PDs, i think that warning should be a lot bolder and prominent.

Tel, as usal you make a great point but surely Joe Soap is more likely to read the instructions on a CU than a socket or switch. There's only a couple of terminals on them

 

[ferg]

You are absolutely correct somewhere at the end of the instruction leaflet in small type is that exact warning.
Which if read at all will be at some point during the install of said product.

I'm not advocating a part P gestapo agent at the sheds just that some warning before buying the product would be a good idea.
Personally I think if folks are given some sort of advice then after that they can do what they like.
It's the giving of the advice that is important.


@trev utter rubbish lol. Just say what you mean instead of beating round the bush

 

[trev]

Most people knowthat electricity can kill you, if someone isn't clever enough to link that scrap of info with the shiny new electrical accessory they have just bought and crack on with fitting it then maybe they are too stupid to live. I know any accidental death is a tragedy for someone but how far do we take the protection of the stupid?
Should we remind them to swallow in case they drown in their own saliva?

 

[Rappid]

Was approached by a friend at one of their parties asking me to have a word with her father in law as he was having a problem with his 'electric box'.
I approached him and started to chat to him and asked him what the problem was. He brought a consumer unit for the garage and it didn't come with any instructions, he was confused and didn't know where to put the wires in, he had fitted them before without any problems!!!. I did inform him that if he doesn't know what he is doing he should leave the job to someone who is competant to do the work and able to test the installation and sign it off, I then gave him my business card and told him I will come out and give him a free qoute.
That was about 2 months ago, still nothing heard.

 

[ferg]

I'm not advocating a "warning this coffee may be hot" approach.
We live in a world where people need warned about wet floors might be slippery etc.
I think sometimes folks really dont realise the dangers involved.

Probably a difference of opinion that will never be resolved, but this is a discussion forum so I have no objection to being told I'm talking rubbish.

 

[trev]

Sorry Ferg no offence intended.
I agree that people sometimes don't realise the dangers of some things but everyone knows that electricity can be nasty stuff, don't they?
I hope they do anyway but there are some around who's stupidity will never cease to astound me

 

[ferg]

Absolutely no offence taken, it made me smile tbh.
Darwinism is a great thing

 

[oldtimer]

£449? What a ripoff! You can buy one in B&Q for 50 quid!

Plus why should I pay you for fitting a safety fuseboard for £400-£500 for when I can get Electrical Trainee Joe to throw it in for £200 plus I need to save the money as the service bill for my £25k car is £300-£400 and by the way while your here could you tidy up the cable at the back of my £900 50" TV

 

[tigerpaul]

If someone wants to do their own dodgy electrical work in their own house then that is their lookout. They deserve to fry!
But it's not fair on the next person who has to live in the premises. Usually they are poor tenants and the greedy landlord has done a right bodge, not that they care!

 

[sparks1973]

What's the betting, 9 or more out of every ten sold are to electricians trying to keep their costs down!!!

Have no time at all, for those that think the general public owes the self employed electricians a living!!!

yes...i dont see a problem at all in electricians trying to keep their costs down....the same goes for customers.....
sometimes its hard when a customers first words are `how much`...rather than `will i get value for money`.....theres been quite a few occasions when we have worked for customers who wanted to get their own gear for us to install.....i don`t see an issue with it.......makes me chuckle sometimes when we`v explained to them that what they have bought isn`t suitable for the proposed install....
reminds me of the C/U change we had on at this place about a month back....poor lass came back with a 16th ed board...the wholesalers should have told her really....hmm.....