Is this a decent price for a kitchen rewire?

[Sparky00]

Hi all,

The ceiling is all open and an extension is being built and in total, the kitchen is going to be about 16m². Fuse board is nearby and the following is to be first and second fixed:

1x new cooker circuit - £80
2x heat/smoke- £140
8x sockets- £320
8x downlights- £400
3x switches- £120
1x spur- £40

Total= £1100.00

everything is supplied and fitted

Property is based in London with free parking and 5 mile drive from home. How would you price it as I am new to pricing so it may be too much or too less.

 

[davesparks]

Hi all,

The ceiling is all open and an extension is being built and in total, the kitchen is going to be about 16m². Fuse board is nearby and the following is to be first and second fixed:

1x new cooker circuit - £80
2x heat/smoke- £140
8x sockets- £320
8x downlights- £400
3x switches- £120
1x spur- £40

Total= £1100.00

everything is supplied and fitted

Property is based in London with free parking and 5 mile drive from home. How would you price it as I am new to pricing so it may be too much or too less.

Submit the price that you have worked out, if you win the job then keep a good account of the job so that you can see exactly how much profit you made,and see where/how you need to adjust your pricing strategy.

 

[telectrix]

i would not submit that price without further thought, considering the replies so far, OP is too cheap. he shoud submit £2000 estimate and maybe negotiate down to around £1700.

 

[Sparky00]

i would not submit that price without further thought, considering the replies so far, OP is too cheap. he shoud submit £2000 estimate and maybe negotiate down to around £1700.

As I said, I've never priced a job before or even knew about prices as I work for a small company as an apprentice. These figures have exceeded my expectations by far.

Thanks for the info!

 

[davesparks]

As I said, I've never priced a job before or even knew about prices as I work for a small company as an apprentice. These figures have exceeded my expectations by far.

Thanks for the info!

Has the company you work for asked you to price this as a learning exercise for your apprenticeship?

You need to remember to include overheads in your price, things like public liability insurance, scheme registration for part P, cost of dealing with any callbacks under warranty etc etc.

 

[Sparky00]

Has the company you work for asked you to price this as a learning exercise for your apprenticeship?

You need to remember to include overheads in your price, things like public liability insurance, scheme registration for part P, cost of dealing with any callbacks under warranty etc etc.

No it was purely out of curiosity, I've always wanted to know how qualified electricians price their jobs and for how much they do certain things for. I've got a lot to learn by the looks of it. This is a small job of a friends dad that has asked me to do it for him.

I thought it's a good idea to start learning from now to have a guideline setup for myself in the coming years.

While everyone is here, what are the main types of customers I should expect to come across too?

 

[hasel5]

Also the hassle factor of dealing with a builder who will say it is ready and its not then a final visit to connect appliances then a snagging visit to fit all the extras the builder forgot to tell you about and then the final final visit to screw straighten face plates after painter and tiler. And then you may be finished

 

[telectrix]

then the final final visit to screw straighten face plates, dig out all the crap, scrape off the paint, replace damaged accessories, repair to damaged cables, recut tiles so that faceplates actually fit, after painter and tiler.

corrected that tfor you.

 

[Spoon]

While everyone is here, what are the main types of customers I should expect to come across too?

A varied type of customers. Same as any walk of life. Some will be good, some will be pains.
Just remember to do detailed quotes. Do bullet points for what you are doing. E.g. 2 sockets in living room. 8 down lights in kitchen...... Then when they want extra doing you can charge them extra as it's not part of the quote.
Be careful. People on here have been stung... Have good T&C's. There was a thread where some of the people posted theirs for other to view and get ideas off. Do a search in here.
At the end of each days work, take pics of what you have done. It's proof for you if the customer tries something on by messing with your work.

 

[pc1966]

At the end of each days work, take pics of what you have done. It's proof for you if the customer tries something on by messing with your work.

That is excellent advice for all jobs. Take lots of photos before and after, so nobody can argue about condition of surroundings, etc, that are unrelated to your work.

Also if pushed for time you have a good visual record for writing out the invoice afterwards, particularly for repair work when you don't have a simple specification/contract to begin with.

If you have a partner who can do some of the admin like writing up invoices, and chasing of bills, etc, it will save you a lot of useful time!

 

[telectrix]

and always remember that weird cancellation rights thing. if customer signs up for work in their property, you have to inform them (in writing) OF THEIR 14 DAYS COOL-OFF CANCELLATION RIGHTS. otherwise, they can renege on the contract and not pay you.

 

[Mark.fardon]

sounds about right to me usually a grand for a kitchen with the usual gubbins. Maybe if you need to compete on price you could look at reducing downlights cost sounds like 1 hours first fix with an open ceiling, 2-3 hours marking out/ cutting holes and 2nd fix tops so pricing per point at 50 Each sounds high Depends on downlights you are supplying though. Not sure on London parking etc it’s a bit easier in midlands !

 

[Sparky00]

Also the hassle factor of dealing with a builder who will say it is ready and its not then a final visit to connect appliances then a snagging visit to fit all the extras the builder forgot to tell you about and then the final final visit to screw straighten face plates after painter and tiler. And then you may be finished

and always remember that weird cancellation rights thing. if customer signs up for work in their property, you have to inform them (in writing) OF THEIR 14 DAYS COOL-OFF CANCELLATION RIGHTS. otherwise, they can renege on the contract and not pay you.

Thanks for letting me know

 

[telectrix]

Thanks for letting me know

wasn't quite clear on that. what it is is if the customer agrres to goods or services and does that at their home, as opposed to making the agreement at your premises. it's designed to stop door to door pressure selling but unfortunately hits us also.

 

[davesparks]

No it was purely out of curiosity, I've always wanted to know how qualified electricians price their jobs and for how much they do certain things for. I've got a lot to learn by the looks of it. This is a small job of a friends dad that has asked me to do it for him.

So this is a somewhat different situation to pricing up a job normally, it sounds like you are doing this as your first private job for a mate whilst you are still an apprentice. This is a different situation to being fully qualified and running your own business.

Pricing a private job as an apprentice is difficult, you can't reasonably expect the rate of a fully qualified and experienced electrician, but also you should be charging more than minimum wage/apprentice rates.

Be careful doing private jobs as you won't be covered by your employers insurance for any damage you may accidentally do, make sure you trust the person you are working for not to stitch you up.
You also have the issue of part P these days, have you considered how you will get the work notified to LABC for the purpose of part P?

 

[Dustydazzler]

Try not to ‘price’ the job with your ‘mate’ hat on and look at it as a ‘proper’ job for a new customer.
too often in the past have I have costed up jobs on a scrap of paper as a ‘mates’ job only to leave myself well short of what the job should have been quoted at.
at this point it’s very hard to ask for more money because you didn’t bother to put together a proper detailed Quote and also look at the job beforehand rather than assuming things.
Remember your time is money , it has a value..