2nd fix charges

AJ16 · Jan 28, 2008

My electrician has given me a steep bill for second fix. It's a 2
storey extension with garden room on the g/floor + small utility room
and shower room, then 2 beds upstairs + landing. In all 16 double sockets, 3 single sockets, 1 fused outlet, 2 wall fans, 16 12v downlights, 9x 240v downlights, 4x 1 gang l/switch, 3 pull lsw, 7x 2 gang lsw, 2x 3 gang lsw. also fitting a 12way split load board and connecting the circuits + swapping the old consumer unit for a new 10 way s/load board ( this job took 2 hrs say 3 at the outside)

The first fix he did for 35hrs @ £32ph- electrician + 'apprentice' son.
The second fix he wants £1600 for £37hrs @ £25- (him only son now no
longer around) nothing out of the ordinary just connecting up to the tails that he left before the plasterer moved in. All the wall boxes had been cleared of plaster for him, all downlight holes cut, and all wires dangling out of the right holes/boxes.

Leaving aside the materials the labour hours seem high.
Does this sound right or does 2nd fix normally take as long as 1st fix??
also is is normal to charge for 8 hours and then take a lunch break out of that?

markthespark · Jan 28, 2008

Hmmm seems abit suspect it shouldnt take a full week to second fix a 2 storey extension, i could rewire a 2 up2 down on my own in a week.

But i cant really critise because i havent seen the job, but from what youve told me id say that should take about 2 good days at the most!.

AJ16 · Jan 29, 2008

Cheers Mark, I have amended the post slightly to make it clear that 2nd fix is 37hrs @ £25 ie £925.
(there were several replies yesterday but they are no longer there just yours- strange)

EasyFox · Jan 29, 2008

AJ16 said:
swapping the old consumer unit for a new 10 way s/load board

As he's swapped the old cu for a new one, he hasn't spent time sorting out any existing faults on circuits has he?

As MTS say's not seeing or knowing the job it's difficult to pull somebody elses quote/charges & time taken to do the 2nd fix apart. That said 37 hrs does seem a tad on the long side, unless he's had faults to rectify due to cu change.
Personnaly I only ever give a total costing that includes first & second fixes, then if it's a large job I break it into stage payments.

adamh · Jan 29, 2008

37hrs does seem a bit but sum times it does take a while especially for 1 spark!!

AJ16 · Jan 29, 2008

no the swap of the board was fairly strightforward, I think he was just a bit slow.

alex · Jan 30, 2008

AJ16 said:
no the swap of the board was fairly strightforward, I think he was just a bit slow.

i know some electricians that are really slow

milking a job and pricing for that.

i'd rather crack the job off and move onto the next one.

me and my mate are very quick though cos we work on price. we dont cut any corners though and pride ourselves on the fact that when we leave a property everything is done and there is no snagging unlike some of our rewire teams that leave quite a bit for the snagging teams.

Girlyspark · Feb 2, 2008

If he's changed the board, at some point he will have had to test all the circuits etc - which can take a while depending on problems discovered. When has this been charged for? This isn't included in '2nd fix' is it? That would certainly bump up the hours!

alex · Feb 2, 2008

Girlyspark said:
If he's changed the board, at some point he will have had to test all the circuits etc - which can take a while depending on problems discovered. When has this been charged for? This isn't included in '2nd fix' is it? That would certainly bump up the hours!

where does it mention in this thread about faults or problems he found

he proberley just changed the board and everything was ok. last year i was doing up grades on council houses and part of that was board changes and out of 200 houses i can only remember 1 fault which was a neutral fault on a socket next to the mains.

it sounds to me he is just slow and the house as a steady number for the week where he could milk a few quid from.

Girlyspark · Feb 9, 2008

There may have been no problems, but there is no such thing as 'just' changing the board - he would still have had to test the entire installation which takes time - if being done properly!

alex · Feb 9, 2008

Girlyspark said:
There may have been no problems, but there is no such thing as 'just' changing the board - he would still have had to test the entire installation which takes time - if being done properly!