House re-wire help

[wade88]

Hi chaps,

Right...need some help.

Had my first call through for a house re-wire. As of yet i have not done any jobs of this magnitude and frankly dont want to get it wrong/lose the job. Unfortunately the lady left a message on my voice mail while i was working and i was unable to reach her when trying to call back so as it stands i know nothing about the job so you will have to bear with me on that front.

All i want to know for now is, (as i have only carried out CU changes, small installs, remedial repairs and testing jobs so far), what are the important and essential questions/information to gather from this lady in regards to the job so i can put together and a fair and representetive quote for her? I wouldnt dream of taking this on by myself, so two good friends both (professional sparks) currently on holiday in florida, have happily agreed to help me, both part peed and 17th edition etc.

I would hugely appreciate your input on this so i can approach her in a professional and trust worthy fashion.

Best regards, :grouphug:

Ben

 

[diditrain]

Does she know exactly what she wants in every room spec wise, Is the house empty or occupied, Are you lifting carpets and expected to replace them, does she want you to make good on plastering etc?

 

[telectrix]

basically, find out what she wants. e.g. pendants or spotlights, where she wants socket outlets ( standard or metallic fancy ones), what kitchen appliances, etc.etc., take the osg with you and show her the recommended no. of sockets for each room. then put something together. price wise, allow £40 per point for usual stuff, and say,£60 for shower/cooker etc. that should give you a ball park price.

 

[Rockingit]

Hi Ben,

I can remember my first entire house re-wire - daunting! The main thing I've found is to simply ask the customer what they want to do - where and how many sockets, would you like a 2 way circuit on that light, would you like an external socket, do you need a timer fitting on your immersion...... etc. Think about the practicalities of actually living in that property, and as well as simply doing the technical think about the aesthetics and the 'living with it' factor.

Walk in tall, talk the talk, and anything else is what this forum's for after hours!!!

Oh - and explain very very clearly to the customer that it's a messy noisy business, and they can help enormously by you not having to spend half your day shifting furniture around! I sometimes tell mine to go on holiday for a week.

 

[Guest123]

Positions of accessories, will you have to move furniture & lift carpets + boards, surface mounted or chased in, if chased in who's making good, will she be living there during the work, any chrome accessories to go in, spotlights, tv's, phones, smokes, external lighting. etc etc.

The more you bring up at the outset, the less chance of the infamous words "while your here is there any chance of.........."

 

[wade88]

Guys, absolutely immense help. I apologise for my lack of info on the subject and my apparent ignorance to such a job, but it gives me goose bumps thinking about just rocking up and taking this head on without any background, and frankly the inexperiance to do it...just seems foolish and very dangerous.

Keep your eyes on this post for me please as ill be back hopefully with a bt more info from her and then there shall be MORE questions to follow...

Thanks a lot lads

 

[Octopus]

Your most important first step is to arrange to meet the customer and walk through the property, take a note pad and make lots of notes.

The last 2 I've done I've entered in to an email dialogue after the first meeting to run through ideas etc and this has helped immensely. Having experienced sparks helping you will be very helpful.

If the client intends living in the property whilst you're doing the job then this will add complexity as they'll want power every night - well worth asking if they have any plans to move out during the works too as most people under estimate the mess, the noise and how intrusive such works are!

Don't forget that if its a house then mains powered interlinked smokes are mandatory, show it as an "extra" and explain what its about and MOST importantly ensure that the client understands that you are Part P and the ramminfications of getting a non registered spark to do it.

Good luck

 

[dingledong]

but i can get the eastern european to do it cheaper

 

[GLENNSPARK]

Evening Wade
You need to know if theres laminate floor upstairs n all as its a real pain for us sparks.....really important stuff like this as its all about access see.....can put hours n hours on a job that can mate..........

 

[GLENNSPARK]

Be sure to make a note of earthing and bonding arrangements here n all mate on the survay......like if its a TT then you may have to budget for a time delayed RCD ...and they aint cheap mate......

 

[GLENNSPARK]

Has she any idea of the type of finish she wants for fronts etc?....This will add cost of course and the type/standard of fittings used e.g. Marbo....or....Hamilton....or....crabtree....

 

[Goody]

Make a plan of every room on a paper and mark where things go & what goes; get her sign the paper. Check if she would like fancy/glittering sockets & switches and if she would buy them for you. After the entire work was done, some will dispute saying, “oh, I never thought you would put it there or damn, I forgot all about an outside light, can you do that for me?”

Some will come up with all sorts of excuses and blame you in order to withhold payment. Beware!, Get some advance payment that would atleast cover you for the materials, in case she refused to pay you at the end.

 

[telectrix]

way i work is:

30% upfront. 30% on completion of 1st fix ( sometimes variable,as on a domestic you may be doing some 2nd fixing before completing 1st fix, for convenience and to be finished in areas) . balance on completion.

 

[topquark]

You should also look for viable cable routes to the various floors from the CU; as you'll probably find the existing cables are run in the cavity.

Ensure you have a contract specifying the works to be done (and any explicitly excluded, if any). It should have a payment schedule documented as well.

 

[Richard Burns]

Ensure you have a contract specifying the works to be done (and any explicitly excluded, if any).

That is a good one!
Can't offer much advice myself, but good luck with it.

 

[wade88]

Lads, cant express my thanks enough, really appreciate all your input here. I really hope i get the job, this would be a great stepping stone for me.

 

[wade88]

Also, i posted some time ago asking for help with writing up a contract of works before and didnt get too much feedback. So far ive been working without having one of these but i would like one as a kind of legal security should any customers decide to be prats, does anyone have a kind of template i can work from?

 

[AIM]

Good idea to do Ze test before disturbing anything. Then know if DNO needs to rectify any issues their side of the supply, or need to price in a rod, before you rip the house to pieces.

 

[fuzzydunlop]

How do you attach files to a post?

Wade if you want PM me, I've got one I drafted for my previous company, probably overkill for what your doing but better to have every eventuality covered

 

[wade88]

How do you attach files to a post?

Wade if you want PM me, I've got one I drafted for my previous company, probably overkill for what your doing but better to have every eventuality covered

That would be fantastic buddy thanks alot

 

[wade88]

Right, so far all i know is this after speaking with her today and having not yet been to the property.

Very old house, full brick contsruction through out, 4 bed. i am pressuming here also then judging by the nature of the age of the property it will be fully floor boarded up and down. She wants 30 doubles and 50 down lights. Fortunately she understands the nature of the work and will be booking i9nto a little holiday cottage down the road with hubby and kids, giving me and my little team a week to complete the job. fortunately she only lives a mile down the road from me, which is great.

However, where the hell do i start to price this? i havnt discussed making good with her yet, but i shall be informing her she will need to get a plaster in, as i will be there an easy fortnight with my plastering ability!

Any help on how to build a quote for such a job would be very handy!

Sorry for being such a needy little git on this, i just value your input and broad experience.

Cheers fellas

 

[topquark]

I normally start to price with the new CU and then price per point after that dependant on the quality of the accessories specified. You can then see if the base CU costs will cover your testing (depending on the number of circuits you end up with to test/cert) and if not adjust accordingly.

I did post a template contract some time ago on the forum. I'll see if I can find it and post a link.

 

[wade88]

Well were looking at 3 large already just for the socket and lights, add another £300 for CU upgrade, after materials etc we must be looking at an easy 5k?

 

[telectrix]

what about shower/s, outside lights, cooker point.

think somewhere between 4k and 5k is about right. cost your materials, add X number of days at £X per day and if that comes in at , say £4400, then thats your price.

 

[topquark]

Can't find the orig post, re-attached here.