Downlighters

[neil9]

Hello all,

does anyone know the going rate for the installation of down lighters, we have 67 to install as part of a complete rewiring. We think that we are paying over the odds as this together with the complete rewiring of our house including brushed chrome sockets and light fittings (about 70) is nearly 12K.

The original quote was 5.5K for the rewiring but the electrician has now quoted nearly 6K for the lighting and chrome socket extras.

Thanks in advance

 

[jj4091]

It is usually a good idea to get more than 1 estimate.( but brushed chrome accesories can be x5 or 6 more expensive than white plastic)

 

[Hysteresis]

jj4091 refers to the price of the downlighter not the installation which was the original question. B&Q do nice ones at £3 each.
As for the installation costs. As the house is being rewired I assume there is a lot of mess going on including the removal of floorboards etc, which makes the installation of the downlighters a doddle, and as such a very quick and easy operation. I would have thought the only expense would be the purchase of the Downlighters. The installation costs would be minimal as the rewiring is underway and the extra time involved would be very little.
Of course the cost of installation will be all down to the particular circumstances of the job, and the time to complete it is what costs.
A much more difficult task is to fit downlighters in a downstairs room with the minimal of disruption and avoid the lifting of first floor floorboards.
I have just fitted 6 downlighters in a neighbours house, it tooke me 2 hours and that included plastering the hole in the ceiling where the pendant light used to be. I did the job without lifting any floorboards and I did the work for free - 'cos I'm that sort of guy.

 

[neil9]

Thanks for the advise. We have had lots of problems with the builders. We asked for a quote for the "extras" and it arrived only after the work was over halfway through and we never agreed to it being nearly 6K for the 70 down lighters and stainless fittings. Screwfix quote £700 for the materials so the builder/ electrician wants 4K to fit. When I first talked to the electrician he quoted (verbally) about 2K and so we went forward. Imagine my surprise when the builder states nearly 6K.

Therefore not having had an official quote and not seen a breakdown of the costs and the work starting without these I don't think I'm obliged to pay this amount. Think they are trying to take me for a ride

 

[Hysteresis]

Thanks for the advise. We have had lots of problems with the builders. We asked for a quote for the "extras" and it arrived only after the work was over halfway through and we never agreed to it being nearly 6K for the 70 down lighters and stainless fittings. Screwfix quote £700 for the materials so the builder/ electrician wants 4K to fit. When I first talked to the electrician he quoted (verbally) about 2K and so we went forward. Imagine my surprise when the builder states nearly 6K.

Therefore not having had an official quote and not seen a breakdown of the costs and the work starting without these I don't think I'm obliged to pay this amount. Think they are trying to take me for a ride

Niel9 - Wow 4K for 70 downlighters. B&Q downlightersw would be £210 so £3,800 to fit is outrageous. It does of course depend on the particular installation, but I reckon on my past experience the number of Downlighters is not the price determinant. (6 , 8 or 10 in one room, there is not that much more work in each of these examples) Its the number of rooms which is the factor to consider. So in your case say there are 8 rooms to do. In my experience, I would expect to do two rooms a day so say 4 days work, Now £1000 per day is extortionate. Even at £500 a day it is £65 an hour. At say £25 an hour the job would be £200 per day ie £800 for the job. Therefore £1000 including materials.
One point I have not taken into account is that you live in London and £25 per hour for a spark is I suspect very Low. If I lived closer to London, I would drop over and do the job for you a fraction of your estimates.

 

[RF Lighting]

I shudder to think what those £3 B&Q specials look like. No doubt they are pressed steel GU10s, with the cheapest far easern lamps they could source.

I just fitted some for a mate, and this is what I paid at trade price.

Decent cast fitting : £4.00
Decent transformer : £4.95
Decent branded lamp : £1.28
20A mini joint box : 67p

Per fitting : £10.90

67 fittings : £730.30

Don't forget cable, switches, dimmers, the additional circuits which will be required for this HUGE load....

 

[neil9]

We were not looking to do it all on the cheap. The house renovation is quite a large one and therefore the price of 5.5K for the basic rewiring looked cheap. I expected to pay 2K for the spots and the brushed stainless sockets. This did to seem in the ball park when I discussed things with the electrician. We got the additional costs from the builder and we've had alot of problems with him.

Considering that we never agreed to pay nearly 6K for the extras and we were just presented with a bill there is no way that we will be paying this.

I'll post again soon and let you know about the renovation as we've had real fun with our builder making a right mess of things and reemploying others to repair the damage

Thanks for all your help on this