How much for a consumer unit exchange?

[Steve 82]

Hi All. I am curious to know what people would charge for installing a standard 17th edition split fuseboard in London. Bearing in mind you can get a wylex board with all breakers for about £70.

 

[malcolmsanford]

You certainly can get a board that cheap .....................what you can't get that cheap is the expertise to fit it,..................... to test your existing installation and take the results to interpret them, .........................To buy the correct testing equipment ...............to have insurance in case anything was damged in your house ......................To provide you the correct certification so that a building certificate from the LABC will be issued .....................that all your earthing and bonding in your home is safe and that you and your family are protected................The peace of mind that your board is safe and installed correctly

All for perhaps as little a 500 pounds in london depending on the size of the installation. Not a bad little investment

 

[johnboy6083]

agree with above. all electrical installations degrade with age, and use, and as such need looking after. when changing your consumer unit, any decent sparks will, as a minimum, carry out a few tests, and visual inspections to ensure that your installation is safe. Im not saying that they will check everything (some may), but they will be able to ensure that it is safe when they leave. Just changing the consumer unit is only half of the job.

 

[Giovanni]

Totally agree, ''A board for £70 with all breakers included.......'' Are they the right breakers 'rating' wise for the installation? Are the main tails the correct csa, main earthing also, MEB and supp doubt it. Also a test and inspect is standard when I fit a new board, the full monty, test everything, visual everything you can, cover your back, and cover it well, reputation is everything.

 

[Octopus]

"In London" - I guess it will depend on where and whether you get it installed by somebody who isn't registered or get a professional to do it!

I'm in Surrey and the minimum price would be £325 on the basis that there are no more than 7 circuits, and the meter tails and all equipotential bonding don't need replacing.

Also, be prepared for "extras" because the testing is very extensive. My experience tells me that 9 out of 10 I do, I find issues with the installation that require investigation and resolution.

 

[ukpablo]

BUT U CAN GET A BOARD FOR £70! .........lol
It cant be that hard can it!

 

[telectrix]

BUT U CAN GET A BOARD FOR £70! .........lol
It cant be that hard can it!

not hard at all. you put the black bits in with the fat blue one ( either one will do), the green ( or bare) ones in with the spare one at the top ( coz. they don't do anyhing really, they're only stripping cords) and the red ones in the switchy bits. turn the big red switch on, then phone a sparks to put it all right..... ssssshimple

 

[Giovanni]

No No No No, that's where it all goes wrong, what you should do is.........Twist all the thin brass coloured ones TOGETHER....that way it makes a better connection, the black ones and the blue ones go together, and the red ones go in to the switchey bit, if it says 6A on the switchey bit that means you can put 6 of Any red one in it, so if you have a 40A one in there job's a good un' plop the lot in that little baby.....and don't forget the IP of the CU, use an old newpaper and tape to blank of the front so no-one can get injured, AH THANKYOU!

 

[telectrix]

you forgot to twist and tape the ones that are too short with a bit of old flex out of the shed

 

[morph]

i dont think the op was saying it should be £70 , just that the board would be, i pay £85 for a 10 way wylex dual with breakers maybe i am being ripped off, but if when one part fails when i test i know it will be replaced without question and rcds do fail frequently on these wylex dual boards now that they churn them out so quick . i charge £400 all in even if you need new tails and earthing conductor , main bonding is extra and depends on work involved

 

[Giovanni]

Christ yeah, that's me failed...That will be extra mind.....Journey to shed, return journey, use of appropriate flex....or at least available! Call it an extra 30?

 

[telectrix]

10 way wylex fully loaded £65 + vat Electric Center. no quibble exchange. yes, you are being ripped at£85. do you buy from cef?

 

[Steve 82]

Well the board is 10 way with all the appropriate breakers needed to do a whole two story house. And they do go wrong, but my local wholesalers are good as gold for replacing faulty mcbs, rcds, rcbos.

I was thinking around about the £400 mark, with mains water and gas bonding all extra considering route, length, awkwardness running etc etc.

Although to be honest if I'm doing a job for someone who doesn't want inconvenience, its RCBO'S all the way. And at £28 a pop, the £400 price certainly goes up a quid or two ;-))

One question though. When you say £400, is that including a NICEIC Cert, or is that extra too???

 

[rocker]

You would HAVE to suply a certificate, you can't 'charge that on top'.

If you are using all RCBOs the cost needs to go up considerably.

I'd say for London (I don't work in london so may be wrong) that £400 for a simple changeover with a standard dual RCD board and breakers, 2 lighting, 2/3 rings, shower and cooker is a fair price, probably you could go to £450 without too many problems. Any bonding that needs doing, or tails extension should be more on top.

At the end of the day you need to get a price that you want for the work, then whether you get a £60 board, or whether you spend 200 on top for RCBOs etc, well that's all going to be on top, cheaper board=cheaper price. You're going to be doing a lot of testing and probably a fair bit of fault finding, so it needs to be more than your normal day rate but on the other hand are you going to rewire someones house for the price of a board change? You need to know where you're going to draw the line testing-wise.. I like to do as much testing as is possible before the old board is even taken out.... if it looks like a mammoth task then it's 'well, there are all these problems that need fixing first, and it's going to cost you this much on top to get sorted'. If they tell you they wont pay more then, well, you've sheled out for a board that you can use on another job or maybe return to the wholesalers.......

 

[morph]

10 way wylex fully loaded £65 + vat Electric Center. no quibble exchange. yes, you are being ripped at£85. do you buy from cef?

trying to think £85 is with the vat

CEF yes