A really honest break down of rewire costings

[Risteard]

Hi Steve.
Totally appreciate your comments but aren't we all a business first and a sparky second?

I want happy customers but not at the detriment to my business and so my rate is based upon my running costs and making a reasonable profit rather than a rate that might make the customer happy.

Material costs are increasing substantially and so to the cost of living so our rates need to reflect this?

I can never get my head around the gas engineers that charge £5 -£10K+ for a new boiler and there are forum members n here that cry out 'rip of merchant' if we charge more than £300 for a CU upgrade?

Agreed. You owe it to your business to maximise what you can get for a job. It's not a charitable enterprise.

 

[DPG]

Hi Steve.
Totally appreciate your comments but aren't we all a business first and a sparky second?

I want happy customers but not at the detriment to my business and so my rate is based upon my running costs and making a reasonable profit rather than a rate that might make the customer happy.

Material costs are increasing substantially and so to the cost of living so our rates need to reflect this?

I can never get my head around the gas engineers that charge £5 -£10K+ for a new boiler and there are forum members n here that cry out 'rip of merchant' if we charge more than £300 for a CU upgrade?

That must be some boiler! I had a decent size Worcester boiler with smart stat fitted last year for £2400 all in. A swap rather than a fresh install admittedly.

 

[richy3333]

@DPG OK, but if you follow the analogy If I said a new CU would be £2K most people would have a fit. Why do we as an industry devalue ourselves so much?

 

[DPG]

@DPG OK, but if you follow the analogy If I said a new CU would be £2K most people would have a fit. Why do we as an industry devalue ourselves so much?

Yep, agreed.

 

[HappyHippyDad]

Hi Steve.
Totally appreciate your comments but aren't we all a business first and a sparky second?

I want happy customers but not at the detriment to my business and so my rate is based upon my running costs and making a reasonable profit rather than a rate that might make the customer happy.

Material costs are increasing substantially and so to the cost of living so our rates need to reflect this?

I can never get my head around the gas engineers that charge £5 -£10K+ for a new boiler and there are forum members n here that cry out 'rip of merchant' if we charge more than £300 for a CU upgrade?

Interesting. I was drinking a beer at the time so was in a particularly happy mood ?. I do absolutely get what you are saying, I just don't want to get too side tracked with purely making money. I think our working lives need to contain a number of different things (job satisfaction, happy customers, sensible working hours, fun and..... decent money). I think we all balance those things differently. For me making money is perhaps 3rd on the list after doing a good job and enjoying what I am doing. In other words it's very important, just not the most.

 

[richy3333]

Totally. I just see see some of that stuff in different spheres joining up in places like a venn diagram ?

 

[HappyHippyDad]

Totally. I just see see some of that stuff in different spheres joining up in places like a venn diagram ?

Very well put ?

 

[Dustydazzler]

Yep, agreed.

£1000 is the lowest I will go now on a rcbo board change with spd which includes a pre condition check of wiring and full certification afterwards

not worth doing for any less

 

[HappyHippyDad]

£1000 is the lowest I will go now on a rcbo board change with spd which includes a pre condition check of wiring and full certification afterwards

not worth doing for any less

In that case you'll be driving your Tesla soon, like your artisan mate ?

 

[UNG]

Many years ago I was involved in comms installs that took us all over the country and out into Europe. Every 3 months or thereabouts we used to pick 3 or 4 jobs and review the quote against what it was actually cost us to do the job, the results at times made interesting reading not least the "local" jobs (70 - 90 miles each way and 1.5 - 2 hours travel time) the distance threshold and the viability of whether to travel daily or stay out changed quite a bit over the years and first came to light when armed with the original quote for one job we looked at the actual costs which included traveling every day and and then we looked at the cost if we had stayed out, very surprisingly it would have cost us £10 less to do the job if we had stayed out

 

[Toblerone]

I know a local company that charge an eye watering £1100 + vat for a sparks and mate on rate per day. Crazy money but I always see their vans out and about so much be busy enough at those prices

Are they based in London? White van with orange letters?

 

[buzzlightyear]

Are they based in London? White van with orange letters?

Yes, He sells ice-creams has well.