Detailed quotation

[caperollers]

Hi, can anyone tell me if it is possibe to get a detailed price breakdown of work completed on an extension to a house by an electrician. Our builder has charged us £1300.00 for the installation of lights and sockets. There were 18 small spot lights, 5 wall spot lights, 3 wall mounted lights, 1 external security light, 5 kitchen unit underlights, 3 external lights, 1 external plug and 16 double wall sockets. Our builder has said that it is impossible to give us a breakdown of the costs involved.......is this the case? The builders contribution was £1,000 to the electrician for a new circuit board etc. and all wiring to the lights and socket positions. Therefore the total electrical bill was £2,300. We feel our percentage os £1,300 was excessive.......any comments please.
Thanks.

 

[ezekiel]

wouldnt it of made more sense to get breakdown before work was completed?

 

[electronicsuk]

Price sounds entirely reasonable for the works completed.

 

[Norv]

How long was the electrician working on the job. He has to earn his wages, probably £150-£200 a day, is he vat reg ? CU's arent cheap these days either & cable prices have gone up. You'd be suprised how it all adds up

 

[caperollers]

We were surprised at being charged £1,300 for "extras" The builder said that the original quote did not include "installation"

 

[ebee]

Gosh,
what a minefield,
it could go either way.
Best to get a figure beforehand.
Gen speaking an estimate should be within +/- 10 percent unless there are unforseen problems.
A professional should not experience many/much unforseen problems anyway or alternatively advise you beforehand.
Any additions/alterations should follow approx the same price structure.
That is gen what a court should follow as a guidline.
A qoutation has no specific meaning in law and therefore is an estimate to all intents and purpose.
A fixed price is something different and only very exeptional unforseens are allowed.
A word with with your local TSO might be in order.
Hope that helps

 

[caperollers]

Thanks for that info, it certainly helps.
Have a great weekend.

 

[skenk]

So the builder charged £1000 for materials and it was £1300 for installation? At what stage did they tell you installation wasn't included? £1300 for labour doesn't sound unreasonable for all those lights, sockets and certificates (you are getting certification?)

 

[sm1thson]

was the quote for his building work just for the materials? if so your about to get another bigger bill, if his building work was all included i would agree he needs to restructure his quotes!

(and I also presume both his building and electrical work were done in accordance with the necessary building regulations, notified as such and will be getting the required certification!?!)

 

[Chri5]

Hi, can anyone tell me if it is possibe to get a detailed price breakdown of work completed on an extension to a house by an electrician. Our builder has charged us £1300.00 for the installation of lights and sockets. There were 18 small spot lights, 5 wall spot lights, 3 wall mounted lights, 1 external security light, 5 kitchen unit underlights, 3 external lights, 1 external plug and 16 double wall sockets. Our builder has said that it is impossible to give us a breakdown of the costs involved.......is this the case? The builders contribution was £1,000 to the electrician for a new circuit board etc. and all wiring to the lights and socket positions. Therefore the total electrical bill was £2,300. We feel our percentage os £1,300 was excessive.......any comments please.
Thanks.

Firstly most builders don't call in a sparks to look at the job when the builder quotes.
Simple reason being that 70% of the work won't be given out against the quote and it wastes everyone's time.

At the point the builder quote he wouldn't have known:-

* If the site needed a new CU
* If the bonding was to standard
* Exactly what you wanted (unless the plans indicated it ALL)

It's 80% likely that most customers I worked with (via builders) don't commit to fully specifying the final electrics until mid build process- 1st fix stage. Reason is that dimensional space- furniture positions, lighting requirements, exact door positions, light switches and sockets can't be agreed before some frame work, walls, windows are in place.

Looking at the works done, 35 lights, 16 sockets, 1 external socket, new CU, I'd say that £2300 is about right. It's certainly not a rip off price.

With cable, CU, fuses, light fitting and lamps, sockets, earthing the materials could easily be in the region of £700-£1000. If it's chrome everywhere, metal sockets then nearer the £1000 mark.

Say that leaves £1300 for labour, testing, paperwork and certification. Not unreasonable, and again it depends of how many day the guy was there and how many alterations were made on the job.

As for someone suggesting the TSO they will laugh at you for not having a contract and nailing it all down long before a tool was picked up on site.

They are also likely to confirm that the amount isn't outside the 'ball park' for the volume of work.

 

[oharaf]

By my reckoning you've done rather well out of this!!!!

FOr all of that work quotes in the region of £2500 would not be

un-reasonable (thats for the whole package, parts, installation, labour)

I can't abide it when people think that putting a few lights and sockets in should cost peanuts!!!!!

THis is a truely skilled trade, with very specific requirements to be met and serious consequences if some thing goes wrong.