Domestic consumer upgrades

Christian1981 · Mar 10, 2019

Hi I’m a commercial electrician and don’t do much domestic work and was just looking for some advice on pricing consumer unit upgrades. I’m vat registered and have been told about people charging £495 plus vat for dual rcd board and £795 plus vat for RCBOs

Wilko · Mar 17, 2019

Hi - my smallest quote for that would likely be 2 hours.

SparkyChick · Mar 17, 2019

Wilko said:
Hi - my smallest quote for that would likely be 2 hours.

How would you quote if you were expecting wiring issues? I've been told neighbours have tried to change light fittings and have experienced big problems with zero slack on the cables.

I should perhaps have made my statement about no issue clearer... electrically there are no issues, but practically I don't know.

I don't consider myself slow, but I don't think I could maintain 20 minutes per fitting on any light swap job.

Wilko · Mar 17, 2019

Yes, I agree it's fast. But that's minimum for swapping pendants say. Having been caught out (ACM, CPC and now there's RCD rules) so I won't guesstimate lighting jobs without seeing them. A small local wiring extension / tidy up is MF box and 15 minutes labour. If plasterboard holes required to access cables, another 15 minutes to remove and replace with baton and screws. Pack, unpack, clean and certify all ++ . Just my r.o.t.

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sparksfly · Mar 18, 2019

SparkyChick said:
The issue is, the average customer has little to no idea about notifying building control and zero clue about what paperwork they should be getting from us.

If they general public were properly clued up, it may help but there will always be those willing to forgo a little paperwork to save a few quid.

It's an admirable idea but it's simply not possible to align all sparks pricing because everyone's circumstances are different. Consider an example...

A client has asked me to change 6 light fittings. I know there are no issues that require attention on the circuit because I've already inspected the property as part of my repairs that were required following a small electrical fire. How long would you quote for that task?

I would price it at £160 ...4 hours. However, we all know too well the current trend in customers providing really nice looking light fittings that take more time to assemble then install. Manufacturers put more time into designing fittings with the emphasis on shipping more units per container than ease of installation or incompatibility with UK's extensive use of T/E.