General Query - reasonable estimate for....

[Jigsaw]

Hi,

Am new to the board and to DIY. I'm hoping to pick up some ideas and plenty of good advice. Bear with me if I ask dummy questions - we all had to learn somewhere!

I'm in the process of moving into a small house which needs quite a bit of cosmetic DIY doing to it, including replacing the gas fires, fitting a kitchen and bathroom, repointing and completely re-doing the garden. Whilst it may not seem a big job for seasoned DIY'ers, it's a big project for me as I have no experience of DIY other than painting walls and redecorating, but I've decided to take the plunge and take on something more challenging.

First of my dummy questions is : I need some power points and a couple of lights putting in to the outhouses where there is no electricity currently, a couple of extra powerpoints and power point repositioning int eh house and an electric shower fitting in the house. None of them are big jobs but as DIY novice I don't even want to start having a go myself. What is a reasonable ball-park figure to expect to pay for an electrician to come and do them for me?

Looking forward to you help.

J.

 

[breezer]

it depends on where you are, closer to london up goes the price.

also what type of consumers unit have you? (the thing where the fuses are) does it have fuses or mcb's (little switches)

as it may beworth considering having a new one installed since you mention out houses and shower.

have you any spare "places" left for a fuse for the shower?

 

[Jigsaw]

Thanks for the reply.

It's a "switch" type fuse box. As for room for the shower, I haven't moved in yet and haven't been in the house to check. Assuming there isn't, what's your advice and how much would you expect. I'm really just trying to get a ball park figure to help with budgeting for the jobs which I can do for myself as there is also some basic building work that needs to be done.

We're not in London, even a very rough estimate would help.
Thanks.
J.

 

[another_sparky]

First of my dummy questions is : I need some power points and a couple of lights putting in to the outhouses where there is no electricity currently, a couple of extra powerpoints and power point repositioning int eh house and an electric shower fitting in the house. None of them are big jobs but as DIY novice I don't even want to start having a go myself. What is a reasonable ball-park figure to expect to pay for an electrician to come and do them for me?

ok. The things the electrician will price the job on are such as,
How far from the exisitng supply is the outhouse?
Are the current power circuits radial or ring main?
what type of sockets are you having?
Plastic? metal? Are the boxes to be surfgcaed mounted or chopped into the brick work?
Is the cable to be channelled into the wall, if so has Mr Sparks got to replaster the channelling?

how big is your shower( kw). where is it to be sited? Is there access in the loft above to drop down ?
how far from the CU is the cable run,
Has your bathroom been bonded?
Is the shower to be fitted by the electrican ( or plumber)?

See what I mean? = How long is a piece of string.
"Time is money"

Advise:
make a note of what you really,really want and how you want it to be done.
Call in a Sparky and get a quote ( or two or three)

and, certainly think about having a new CU.


good luck

 

[ban-all-sheds]

And if the supply to the outbuilding(s) goes underground, do the digging of the trench yourself.

 

[Juno 60]

My sister had the local electricity board come in to fit an electric shower and was charged £600 for the whole job (labour and materials). Their modern consumer unit had a spare slot for the shower circuit; assume the EB would have charged a further £100-200 to fit a new consumer unit if needed.

With no prior experience, I fitted an electric shower myself - total cost about £250 (shower unit, cable, isolating switch, dedicated shower CU, plumbing materials). However, I read up a great deal on the subject before starting, and had a sparky mate check out the installation before use.

Therefore, I saved about £300-400; considering this relatively small sum, it's worth getting the job done professionally - I only did it because I was especially skint at the time and had a whole week to devote to doing a careful job.

 

[Jigsaw]

Again thanks for the help. It's given me an idea of how to tackle the electrician! (actually that came out sounding a little bit strange..... )