# Bidding electric for a new home



## Switched (Dec 23, 2012)

stcministries said:


> I have a 2200 sq. ft. home that needs to be wired. The gentleman only wants a bid for the labor. Can I bid this at 2 dollars per sq ft?


That seems excessively high?


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## Julius793 (Nov 29, 2011)

Sure, if you want to lose your pants


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## stcministries (Jun 18, 2017)

Julius793 said:


> Sure, if you want to lose your pants


So how would you bid it?


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## HackWork (Oct 2, 2009)

stcministries said:


> So how would you bid it?


I wouldn't bid it if I had no clue how to bid it.

It's like a first day apprentice asking how he should wire a data center.


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## telsa (May 22, 2015)

Start with prayer.


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## frenchelectrican (Mar 15, 2007)

stcministries said:


> I have a 2200 sq. ft. home that needs to be wired. The gentleman only wants a bid for the labor. Can I bid this at 2 dollars per sq ft?


Here is the problem.,,

if that person want to bid for labor only .,, that kinda raise a red flag.,,

Because for a good reason due ya dont know what the guy want in the home and what he specfied.

and the other thing if that guy supply the materals that I would run out on that because of warranty issue.

I do not know what is on going rates in your area but 2 bucks per sq foot ?? ya better think about it.,

where is the permit and plans is .,, something is not adding up in here.


that basically looking at blank canvas and not knowing what to do with it.


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## HackWork (Oct 2, 2009)

frenchelectrican said:


> Here is the problem.,,
> 
> if that person want to bid for labor only .,, that kinda raise a red flag.,,
> 
> ...


The OP is a Journeyman Inside Wireman, which is an IBEW classification.

He's doing sidework.


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## Switched (Dec 23, 2012)

frenchelectrican said:


> Here is the problem.,,
> 
> if that person want to bid for labor only .,, that kinda raise a red flag.,,
> 
> ...


Like his post is totally Cletus......:whistling2:


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## wcord (Jan 23, 2011)

Wouldn't look it for less than $5 per square, plus standby charges for missing or wrong material. And even at that, you're taking a big chance
Absolutely no warranty on material


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## frenchelectrican (Mar 15, 2007)

HackWork said:


> The OP is a Journeyman Inside Wireman, which is an IBEW classification.
> 
> He's doing sidework.


ahh gotca .,, that can get pretty sticky on that.


someone have to chop up bunch of onions and cry it in the bucket.,,


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## frenchelectrican (Mar 15, 2007)

Switched said:


> Like his post is totally Cletus......:whistling2:


Maybe so .,, but who knows .,,


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## socket2ya (Oct 27, 2016)

stcministries said:


> I have a 2200 sq. ft. home that needs to be wired. The gentleman only wants a bid for the labor. Can I bid this at 2 dollars per sq ft?


I would imagine that 12 working days with two guys for service, rough, and finish. Take your $4400 and divide by the 96 hours and you're at $46/hr for two guys..... doesn't sound like enough to me


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## Speedy Petey (Jan 10, 2007)

People want to pull this "labor only" B-S for a new house the ONLY way I'd do it is T&M.

And I agree, $4400 seems WAY low.


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## lighterup (Jun 14, 2013)

Ohio...another cheap bastard lookin to cut corners...need I say anymore
about this issue fellas?


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## lighterup (Jun 14, 2013)

stcministries said:


> I have a 2200 sq. ft. home that needs to be wired. The gentleman only wants a bid for the labor. Can I bid this at 2 dollars per sq ft?


I've run into people in our state that don't consider it legit to add square footage onto that sq ft # their giving you when they finish thier basement either. Watch it.

they justify this by claiming realtors will not do it when selling the home.

If you do it (which I advise you do not ) don't give a quote for labor. Do 
it time & material and I would tell him truck dispatch fee each day too. Oh 
and you better watch out for non UL listed products...

You know what ...walk away man.


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## Glock23gp (Mar 10, 2014)

I have only done 2 houses with material supplied and they were both personal friends.

Why would you work several days making no markup on material when you could work the same several days doing jobs where you could potentially make an extra $500-$5k on marked up material or a bid job that includes OH&P?

I'm with the others and would graciously bow out for better jobs.

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## [email protected] (May 6, 2017)

For base electrical to code...i get between 5-6 per sq....thats material no fixtures...custom all in pots included...9 -11 

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## B-Nabs (Jun 4, 2014)

frenchelectrican said:


> ahh gotca .,, that can get pretty sticky on that.
> 
> 
> someone have to chop up bunch of onions and cry it in the bucket.,,


I love your turns of phrase.


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## MTW (Aug 28, 2013)

Charge $20 an hour cash. Figure on at least one Jose or farm boy to assist for $10 an hour.


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## telsa (May 22, 2015)

Does this planet need another fool stupid enough to contact for labor ONLY ?

I thought not.


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## MechanicalDVR (Dec 29, 2007)

stcministries said:


> So how would you bid it?


Welcome aboard!

Seems like you opened a can of worms!


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## Cemo (Feb 5, 2011)

stcministries said:


> I have a 2200 sq. ft. home that needs to be wired. The gentleman only wants a bid for the labor. Can I bid this at 2 dollars per sq ft?



I used to charge around 4 grand for the service only, that was about 10 years ago.


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## 99cents (Aug 20, 2012)

$4400 for the kitchen. Then you have the rest of the house to wire.


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## HackWork (Oct 2, 2009)

Cemo said:


> I used to charge around 4 grand for the service only, that was about 10 years ago.





99cents said:


> $4400 for the kitchen. Then you have the rest of the house to wire.


You guys are right, the service and the kitchen would be way more than $4,400.

I still don't understand why people think they can price random jobs that they've never seen by square footage. 

In my opinion, the only time square footage works is when all these things come together:

1) You have seen the exact scope of the job and know everything involved.
2) You have done dozens of similar jobs, if not hundreds.
3) You have closely studied all of your historical data surrounding these jobs that you previously did.

Only then can you start making anywhere near an accurate guestimate based on square footage, and it's still only a guestimate. 

There's no way to tell someone how much they should charge per square foot. It doesn't take into account all of the important differences that every house has.


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## lighterup (Jun 14, 2013)

HackWork said:


> You guys are right, the service and the kitchen would be way more than $4,400.
> 
> I still don't understand why people think they can price random jobs that they've never seen by square footage.
> 
> ...


Are we still talking labor only here? 
$4,400.00 to wire a residential kitchen? Labor only?


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## HackWork (Oct 2, 2009)

lighterup said:


> Are we still talking labor only here?
> $4,400.00 to wire a residential kitchen? Labor only?


 I meant the service and kitchen together. I would be over $4400 for those two in labor alone. 

But again, that's assuming that it's a kitchen that goes along with what I typically see today, lots of recessed lights, good quality undercabinet lights, many pendant lights, separate circuits for everything including microwave dishwasher disposal fridge etc. 

But we don't know any of that so no one could give a price including the OP until he sees the plans


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## Glock23gp (Mar 10, 2014)

HackWork said:


> I meant the service and kitchen together. I would be over $4400 for those two in labor alone.
> 
> But again, that's assuming that it's a kitchen that goes along with what I typically see today, lots of recessed lights, good quality undercabinet lights, many pendant lights, separate circuits for everything including microwave dishwasher disposal fridge etc.
> 
> But we don't know any of that so no one could give a price including the OP until he sees the plans


And the plans are probably crayon and napkin...

I can't count how many things can (and most likely will) go wrong with this scenario especially giving a solid bid...

And at $2 per ft I can only imagine how hard the HO is gonna laugh if presented a change order...

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## MechanicalDVR (Dec 29, 2007)

HackWork said:


> You guys are right, the service and the kitchen would be way more than $4,400.
> 
> *I still don't understand why people think they can price random jobs that they've never seen by square footage. *
> 
> ...



The only way I could see using square footage is for a ballpark estimate and then you'd need to fine tune it with a serious estimate before committing.

Additionally if you are going to do that $2 is not the number to use as your multiplier from what I seen.


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## Glock23gp (Mar 10, 2014)

I know here what the "avg" sq ft is here so knowing that, I do just what Mech said and use my number to compare it to make sure I'm not drastically off based on my method used.

Other than that it's a total crap shoot

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## HackWork (Oct 2, 2009)

I don't know about today, but I remember houses used to cost $65/sqft to build decades ago.

I don't know why electrician, who are supposed to be at the top of the trade hierarchy, think their share of that should only be $2.


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## lighterup (Jun 14, 2013)

HackWork said:


> I meant the service and kitchen together. I would be over $4400 for those two in labor alone.
> 
> But again, that's assuming that it's a kitchen that goes along with what I typically see today, lots of recessed lights, good quality undercabinet lights, many pendant lights, separate circuits for everything including microwave dishwasher disposal fridge etc.
> 
> But we don't know any of that so no one could give a price including the OP until he sees the plans


agreed.:thumbsup:


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## drspec (Sep 29, 2012)

HackWork said:


> I don't know about today, but I remember houses used to cost $65/sqft to build decades ago.
> 
> I don't know why electrician, who are supposed to be at the top of the trade hierarchy, think their share of that should only be $2.


 
That's what the new construction idiots wire houses for here. I can't figure it out. That's why I stick to remodels, additions and service work. Now it seems those same idiots are trying to get into that market as well.


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## lighterup (Jun 14, 2013)

Glock23gp said:


> And the plans are probably crayon and napkin...
> 
> I can't count how many things can (and most likely will) go wrong with this scenario especially giving a solid bid...
> 
> ...


I can absolutely , positively , without a shadow of a doubt say the
following not MAy go wrong , but WILL go wrong...one of them is

* the HO is going to go on "Mr Thrifties shopping palooza" and come back
with all the wrong materials / or no where near what s needed and the electrician who's left standing there is not going to be compensated for his wasted time while he has to go on a dissertation of all the codes as to why the materials are not needed , wanted , useful for the application at hand.

So now , the electricians T& M rate is sinking fast. That's just one.


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## lighterup (Jun 14, 2013)

drspec said:


> That's what the new construction idiots wire houses for here. I can't figure it out. That's why I stick to remodels, additions and service work. Now it seems those same idiots are trying to get into that market as well.


They are wiring for 2 dollars a sq ft? Man , that's way worse off than here
and I thought I was fighting an uphill battle here.

I do agree with you about remodels etc..it's an even better situation if I
can get the contract jobs that are being run by HO , as long as HO is not
a wierdo.


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## drspec (Sep 29, 2012)

lighterup said:


> They are wiring for 2 dollars a sq ft? Man , that's way worse off than here
> and I thought I was fighting an uphill battle here.
> 
> I do agree with you about remodels etc..it's an even better situation if I
> ...


Last I checked, guys were wiring for $1.94/ sq ft. Material and labor.

Not sure what its going for now, but I know it's not much more than that.

3000 sq ft houses going for less than $9k WITH recess lights and ceiling fans. It's sickening.


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## lighterup (Jun 14, 2013)

drspec said:


> Last I checked, guys were wiring for $1.94/ sq ft. Material and labor.
> 
> Not sure what its going for now, but I know it's not much more than that.
> 
> 3000 sq ft houses going for less than $9k WITH recess lights and ceiling fans. It's sickening.


I am pretty much out of the $ range here for NC homes as far as resi GC's
are concerned , but I still get contracts for remodels , NC jobs that are either
run by HO's that did not want to hire GC or other tradesman running there
own jobs.

I absolutely cannot break the barrier with HBA builders. They are the ones
nickle & diming everyone. It will not stop until states gain more control
over residential IMO.


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## Glock23gp (Mar 10, 2014)

Just saw this post about a low bid. 

Perfect timing for this thread and what I think of at $2 per sq ft...











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## Switched (Dec 23, 2012)

HackWork said:


> I don't know about today, but I remember houses used to cost $65/sqft to build decades ago.
> 
> I don't know why electrician, who are supposed to be at the top of the trade hierarchy, think their share of that should only be $2.


Because that is what they are told. The sq. ft. pricing came from several sources, lazy contractors, insurance companies and real estate companies... Electricians are just dumb enough to accept that it is a "Fact" and "Standard"...


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## Drsparky14 (Oct 22, 2016)

drspec said:


> Last I checked, guys were wiring for $1.94/ sq ft. Material and labor.
> 
> Not sure what its going for now, but I know it's not much more than that.
> 
> 3000 sq ft houses going for less than $9k WITH recess lights and ceiling fans. It's sickening.




On the 2014 NEC? With all those afci's? I used to wire a home for 2.60 a foot plus each can light, extra light extra outlet etc. the 2.60/foot was just to code but that was on the 2011 NEC now I'm about 3.90 a foot average to wire a home to code. 


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## drspec (Sep 29, 2012)

Drsparky14 said:


> On the 2014 NEC? With all those afci's? I used to wire a home for 2.60 a foot plus each can light, extra light extra outlet etc. the 2.60/foot was just to code but that was on the 2011 NEC now I'm about 3.90 a foot average to wire a home to code.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


yes, 2014 code, but we do have amendments where we don't have to AFCI kitchens, but even on the 2011 code cycle I don't see how it could be done


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## lighterup (Jun 14, 2013)

The Op sure vanished quickly. 
Don't you love it when someone starts a thread and doesn't engage?

Maybe he's some kind of non profit organization hence the word "ministries".


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## MechanicalDVR (Dec 29, 2007)

lighterup said:


> The Op sure vanished quickly.
> Don't you love it when someone starts a thread and doesn't engage?
> 
> Maybe he's some kind of non profit organization hence the word "ministries".


:thumbsup:



I thought that when I read the first post.


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## lighterup (Jun 14, 2013)

MechanicalDVR said:


> :thumbsup:
> 
> 
> 
> I thought that when I read the first post.


Nothing wrong with that , though his OP should clarify something
along the lines of .."I'm in a ministry like Habitat for Humanity etc"...


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## MechanicalDVR (Dec 29, 2007)

lighterup said:


> Nothing wrong with that , though his OP should clarify something
> along the lines of .."I'm in a ministry like Habitat for Humanity etc"...


Couldn't agree more!


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## lighterup (Jun 14, 2013)

Glock23gp said:


> Just saw this post about a low bid.
> 
> Perfect timing for this thread and what I think of at $2 per sq ft...
> 
> ...


This is strictly conjecture...but I'm thinking that the real drop in
these ridiculously low ball prices started after the 2008 housing
fiasco.

Since then , self respecting , solidly qualified EC's have been pushed
out of this market.

It's now 2017.

My conjecture is that the workmanship issues are surfacing out of the
HBA builders jobs , low quality workmanship and materials.

The market for repair/rewire is now over the horizon and is ripening.

I'm going to start an ad seeking this and specifically sighting something 
like..."Have a newer house ? Electrical problems? Call now for safe rewire
or repairs..."


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