# 40k install goes to $75k



## Southeast Power (Jan 18, 2009)

I was going to just add a main to re-feed a 3-phase 1000amp service with one 600amp disconnect and one line gutter that has 5 disconnects. No room on the wall to big enough for a post it note size piece of paper.

The city comes in and wants it all cleaned up.
This is main disconnect 1 of 6 that I proposed to re-feed.
Oh yeah. This is a 600 amp disconnect with the hi-leg on B phase.


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## chicken steve (Mar 22, 2011)

So your AHJ has demands , not uncommon Sundude. 

My Q is how your customer _perceives_ it?

~CS~


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## Southeast Power (Jan 18, 2009)

It's been a big stall.
My gear and feeders alone, my cost, are just about 30k. It's 2 months of work, off and on, mostly after hours, rental lift equipment, 800 amp parallel feeders running 200' and another 300 amp feeder running about 250'

I'm really afraid to push my margins near 10% I could put my guys somewhere else or run service and work 1/2 the hours and make 3x the $$.

55,000 / .9 = $61,111

55,000 / .8 = $68,750

$55,000 / .75 = $73,333

It's only $12,000 difference between making $6,000 on a 2 month job and a tolerable $18,000. 
One extra 40 hour crew week of labor will cost me that 6k, turning that job into a nail biter.


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## telsa (May 22, 2015)

Suncoast Power said:


> It's been a big stall.
> My gear and feeders alone, my cost, are just about 30k.* It's 2 months of work,* mostly after hours, rental lift equipment, 800 amp parallel feeders running 200' and another 300 amp feeder running about 250'
> 
> I'm really afraid to push my margins near 10% I could put my guys somewhere else or run service and work 1/2 the hours and make 3x the $$.


*
You just blew my mind.* :laughing:


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## Southeast Power (Jan 18, 2009)

telsa said:


> *
> You just blew my mind.* :laughing:


I edited from 2 months to "on and off for 2 months"


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## Southeast Power (Jan 18, 2009)

It's disruptive.
If you start mixing day work with night work, it's always OT, the day work suffers, they come in late and leave early with the night work excuse on the table.
I should be a prick and put everyone on shift work for 2 months and see how much OT they want during day shift.


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## flyboy (Jun 13, 2011)

Suncoast Power said:


> It's been a big stall.
> My gear and feeders alone, my cost, are just about 30k. It's 2 months of work, off and on, mostly after hours, rental lift equipment, 800 amp parallel feeders running 200' and another 300 amp feeder running about 250'
> 
> I'm really afraid to push my margins near 10% I could put my guys somewhere else or run service and work 1/2 the hours and make 3x the $$.
> ...


A contractor that knows his numbers!!! I love it!


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## chicken steve (Mar 22, 2011)

Indeed, so Sundude, are you contracted with an '*acts of God or AHJ**' 'out' here? *(same thing really....) ~CS~


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## RePhase277 (Feb 5, 2008)

I was walking with an inspector for a job I had done, when he saw all the other crap around. He told the owner it needed to be cleaned up too. I thought "Awesome! $$$" Well... here we are, a year later, with this pain in my ass still digging. Yes, money was made... but now I wish I had never gotten involved.


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## Southeast Power (Jan 18, 2009)

chicken steve said:


> Indeed, so Sundude, are you contracted with an '*acts of God or AHJ**' 'out' here? *(same thing really....) ~CS~


Proposal was sent and the price was attractive to the owner. We moved into the engineering phase of the project.
The project is to install an 800 amp portable generator disconnect.
The evolution came about when we designed 1000amps just for S&Gs so that while we were at it, they could have future capacity if needed.
The trigger was that we had to show the 12 month historical demand which was just over 600amps.
My electrician brain only knows frame size. 30 amp, 60amp, 100amp, 200amp, 400amp, 600/800amp, 1200amp.
The installed equipment suggested that it was a 600 amp main and then a gutter with 4 200 amps fused disconnects and a couple of other rogue taps out of it.
I just thought it looked like 800 amps and didn't think much about rounding up to 1000amp.
It's one of the design build pitfalls.
I don't have a hard contract. The owner has paid for all of the permitting and engineering to date. I have maybe 20-30 hours of PM in it that I would like to recover if the numbers will work for me.


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