Fuse box installed for £150 what!!!

[robsparky1975]

firm i do subbie work for offered me £20(labour only) for a cu change/testing/cert,for storage heaters either 5 or 8 way,i laughed and said are you serious,the moral of this is that if people(each to their own)want to gather work and keep busy by driving prices down lower than word spreads quickly and other sparks will get"your way too expensive ive seen them advertised for £150",we all need to earn money but we dont want to be busy fools,£12 an hour when you take out tax,fuel,insurance part p fees etc etc,better off working on the cards getting £12 an hour and actually finish at 5pm with no hassle 40 hr week,4 weeks paid holiday etc.

 

[telectrix]

my local garage ( MOT Test Station as well ) charges £45/hour. he is quite happy to pay me the same for electrical work. our whole industry is going down the pan because guys will work for peanuts, then customers expect to pay peanuts.

 

[Dan23584]

I would work for gold peanuts

 

[jamie-spark]

I smell p##h.
I can change consumer units in 5 mins 37 secs
Honest !

 

[Kiers1970]

a call the other day.
'can you tell me ball park figure, supply fit and plumb a shower?'
Like most, explained difficulties of over the phone prices, I said you're looking at £300/400...
The reply...
My mate said he'd do it for 100£.
My response? ......Answers on postcard..
Oh, and these guys who advertise 'full rewires, no decoration necessary £1200. Come do them for me, I'll gladly pay you for your time.

 

[robsparky1975]

a call the other day.
'can you tell me ball park figure, supply fit and plumb a shower?'
Like most, explained difficulties of over the phone prices, I said you're looking at £300/400...
The reply...
My mate said he'd do it for 100£.
My response? ......Answers on postcard..
Oh, and these guys who advertise 'full rewires, no decoration necessary £1200. Come do them for me, I'll gladly pay you for your time.

Id say they could come and rewire my house for £1200 but id want a fire alarm system installed with it.

 

[vernam616]

Forgot to add the db install was fresh cables on a rewire, to be quite honest i dont really care if jamie-spark doesnt beleve it, ive seen it done with my own eyes, dont beat yourself up jamie if your not very quick or good

 

[kung]

£100 for a DB !

You need to start shopping somewhere else, i get a Wylex 10 way dual split with MCBs for £45

£150 is the bare minimum price like i stated, all the bonding is up to scratch, tails ok etc...

Just as a matter of interest where do you get your Wylex 10 way dual rcd split load board with MCBs for £45 ?

 

[richy3333]

Forgot to add the db install was fresh cables on a rewire, to be quite honest i dont really care if jamie-spark doesnt beleve it, ive seen it done with my own eyes, dont beat yourself up jamie if your not very quick or good

Please don't knock a fellow forum member unless you have direct evidence and even then it should be dealt with privately or through the mods? Comments like these and rates of £12 per hour only serve to devalue our industry and our skills. When you're working with a potentially dangerous medium surely accuracy is the key not speed? But then again, I replaced a 12 way dual RCD board yesterday in 3 minutes 45 seconds and charged the customer 20p...NOT!

What are fresh 'cables'? If you mean recently installed new cables why was a board change required, seams odd to have new(ish) cables and an old board?

 

[richy3333]

£57 is the cheapest I found in a quick search (no MCBs though) - Wylex NHRS10SSLHI 17th Edition Dual RCD Fuse board (Inc VAT)

 

[kung]

But then again, I replaced a 12 way dual RCD board yesterday in 3 minutes 45 seconds and charged the customer 20p...NOT!

Blimey your slacker ! how many cups of tea did you have ?

 

[kung]

Well my customers are happy with my work,prices & time taken so im happy ! the fact some people can or will work for less is their business if their happy ! i wont rush any job (what is the point ?) i like to double check my work ! if it was just about how quick i could do it rushing id be using my gixxer thou and getting from reading to oxford in under 20mins at 180mph but im not going to ! I have seen over pricing but thats upto them as is under pricing but as i said i charge my rate and i work to my times. And even if i wanted to i couldnt rush that fast ! with my knees it takes me 10mins just to get up !

 

[telectrix]

seems your knees came from the same supplier as mine. :49:

 

[telectrix]

estimated time scale for CU change:

global IR test, check for borrowed neutrals, check earthing and bonding. measure Ze and PFC---- 1 hour

ID circuits and mark cables. strip out old board....... 1 hour

fix new CU . strip back and/or extend cables as necessary....... 1 hour

wire up CU........ 45mins - 90 mins ( depending on size of installation )

test installation and note readings......... 1 hour - 2 hours

complete EIC......... 1 hour

explain RCD operation etc. to customer, get paid etc. ..... 1 hour.

total time taken ...... around 8 hours.

CU cost ...... £60-£100

day's labour..... £200

total........... £260 - £300

and that's without any rectification work whatsoever.

 

[spark 68]

Tel,

total time taken ...... around 8 hours.

CU cost ...... £60-£100

day's labour..... £200

total........... £260 - £300

and that's without any rectification work whatsoever

That is a much more realistic timeframe and price, we could all be really busy working for nowt!

That is, as you say with no rectification or upgrading the main bonding.

This timeframe is about the same as mine, as other posters have said, I like to double check everything, as to me safety is paramount, and I would rather take more time and care than to rush and possibly miss something.

To me this is not over priced, but a board change for £150 is far too low, unless it was a very small board.

As to £12 an hour, I would be better off with an agency, as at least then I would have set hours!, and no expenses like yearly fees etc.