Newbie pricing help please.

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Fitzy

Fitzy

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I've been asked to add a couple of new sockets to ring final and was unsure on how to price the job. Per hour plus materials or a set price based on the individual jobs. Per hour I thought about £25 plus materials or £40-£50 plus materials per individual job.

I'm not after what any of you guys charge as that's your private business, I just don't want to under price myself, but get a gauge of at least being in the ballpark. The last thing I want to do is to severely undercut other electricians in my area and cause problems, but at least being the same ballpark allows the customer to make the final decision.

I’m based in Redhill, Surrey, so I’ll be working mainly in Surrey & Sussex.
 
Have a search on here mate. There are quite a few threads on this. See which way suits you for this job.
 
Good luck and I hope it all works out for you mate, you have got a lot of balls after a 4 week course to start pricing a job up whether that's a small job or not. I have got to do 3 yrs at college

best of luck though
 
I agree with Murdoch £25/hour is low even for being there all day. If the job takes 2 hours on site you have to look at time taken to destination and then setting up/packing away etc If it was local to me I would charge £65 then 35-40 for subsequent hour + materials. However , I still price jobs and end up not allowing for small problems which quickly eat into you time. It will take time & experience but after 8 years a sole trader I still encounter jobs that, financially, were not worth it but the experience was....Good luck..from the very busy poor fool!
 
I did a very similar job for a friend of my wife. Extended the ring final from an existing socket to add two double sockets across the room. I had to take floor boards up, cut into skirting and drill through joists. It looked easy enough but it does tend to take longer when the customer says that they are keeping the boards for that rustic look. That means extra care must be taken not to cause unnecessary damage. Thankfully she didn't mind surface mount trunking for the few inches up to the sockets, hence cutting the skirting, but many customers won't want that if it will be visible.
As she was my wife's friend I did the job for a hundred beer tokens but you may need to carefully consider how long the job will take you while not forgetting to factor in the as yet unrealised obstacles.
As mentioned above, look at other Sparkies websites and gauge it that way. Keep on the side of the local professionals as you may need them one day. Good luck. ;)
 
I based the £25 per hour on what one of my tutors said, but I now think that was for site work only. A quick google search in my area brings up an average of £65-£75 per hour and bigger jobs like rewires and Cu changes on a price per job, all plus materials. Are 2 new sockets realistic in 1 hour or is it 1 per hour?
 
Experience of working with someone for a couple of years is the only way to tackle all of the problems and pick up the hints and tips needed to make your way though even the average job of adding sockets correctly to a ring circuit.
I often get it wrong and take longer than I quoted for, in this case and all cases I make sure that I do the best job I can and cover all their needs in order to be recommended on.
Any work from word of mouth is the money I missed.
The work with the spark I mentored with for 18 months, covered a whole gamete of domestic and light commercial jobs and I soaked up that experience.
I’d recommend Work as an improver for 2 years with a spark or small company.
 
Thanks guys, I’m gonna quote them 2-3 hours, but only charge what it actually takes me, plus materials. They’re both going in to the same bedroom, so I believe that’s enough time.
 
Fitzy said:
Thanks guys, I’m gonna quote them 2-3 hours, but only charge what it actually takes me, plus materials. They’re both going in to the same bedroom, so I believe that’s enough time.
Click to expand...
Personally I would do one or the other. If it overruns you’re not able to add another hour to the price so why offer a discount the other way.
 
If you're installing sockets in a bedroom here's a nice trick to earn you some brownie points, install double sockets with USB chargers in them, they'll love you for it. Lots of people charge their phones etc overnight next to the bed.
These LAP ones are quite tidy LAP 13A 2G SP Switched Socket + 3.1A 2G USB Charger White | Switches & Sockets | NoLinkingToThis - https://www.NoLinkingToThis/p/lap-13a-2g-sp-switched-socket-3-1a-2g-usb-charger-white/4087p
But there are even cheaper ones if that's the route you want to take.
 
Good idea Nobbin, but as I found out on my training courses the USB socket plates haven’t yet been awarded a BS or CE Kite mark, so technically don’t comply with the BS7671 wiring regs.

I’ve decided to charge £65 per hour and if it’s a notifiable job I can use for my assessment I’ll do a deal with them.

How far in to an hour do You charge the full rate.....
 
I have a first hour cost and a reduced cost for subsequent hours and usually charge in half hour increments (after the first hour).

The job shouldn’t be notifiable unless you need to install an RCD to protect the circuit
 
£65/hour you'll be sitting at home all day. sensible rate is £35-£40/hour down south that is. up here it's usually a pie and a donut/hour. you could use the point pricing way. say £50 per point for sockets and switches. more for shower.cooker, fans etc.
 
That’s £200 a day.
£25 per per hour, a good old fashioned 8 hour day that’s £200. Your tutor was about right for down my way.
Let’s Hope your tutor taught you how to get the cables inside the walls, not sure this install will be clipped direct to ply wood.

Let’s be fair you can’t charge what a sparks charges so go in cheap and get yourself some much needed experience.

Give it time You will be up to your balls in dust and wishing you chose a intensive course to become an airline pilot.

Charge what is fair for an improver say £9 an hour.
Get some experience
Best of luck
 
Murdoch said:
Charge by the quarter of the hour after the first hour.

If you try £65 per hour, you won't get much work ............................ as there are very few people who will pay £487.50 per day for a spark.
Click to expand...

Obviously the £65 per hour is for odd jobs here and there, if I’m quoting on jobs that’s going to take a full day I’ll have a set day rate. I’ve already got full time job at the moment so it’s not about the money at present, it’s more about going the invaluable experience, so if I have to lower my rates to a more reasonable figure, then I can, but I definitely don’t want to severely undercut the local sparky’s and have a war on my hands.
 
Murdoch said:
£65 an hour for odd jobs seems optimistic too
Click to expand...

As said previously, it has to be worthwhile to do the job, so based on the previous comments, £65 to install a new socket seems reasonable to me.

I’ve quoted the job at 2-3 hours and they only pay for the time it takes, if it goes over 3 hours I’ll suck it up to begin with, I’ll get faster/better as time goes on, so it will be more achieveable in the future.

I’ll see how this system works out and go from there, if I have to, I’ll reduce my rates.
 
If I cut my arm off today on the carpenters table saw as I’m cutting noggins, and I required the services of a local electrician to finish my extension at my home.
I would not and I repeat would not pay more than £25 an hour on a daily rate.

A small job say a socket added to a A3 radial next to an existing socket. It would have to be chased in, under filled with bonding thistle coat, meeting all the requirements of bs7171 and I’d wont to be presented with a minor works certificate.

I’d be happy to pay no more than £80. That’s including materials.
So looking at the job, getting your tools in, doing the job tidying up, doing the required tests, then driving to the next.
Your looking at wasting at least three hours of your working day. Then minus the materials

Your Never be rich in this game no matter what they told you on the phone at the training Center or what some chump sais down the pub.Money is equated to penis size it’s always a lie when someone sais £65 an hour cut it In halve , at the least!!
If you won’t £65 an hour get yourself a flux capacitor and go back to when you was 16 then train as a lawyer.
Good luck
 
Good news.....The customer has accepted my quote of £150 for 3 hours, plus materials (guessed at £50), one wall is a plasterboard stud wall, so pretty simple to mount the back box (he has a room plan from when the house was rewired 5-6 years ago and the cables run alongside both walls), the other is an external brick wall, where he now wants 2 x double sockets, which aren’t gonna be seen as they’re going behind/in his wife’s new, all singing, all dancing dressing table (it’s all in a bare non-decorated bedroom). He also said his got a mate coming over in a couple of weeks to make good the plastering around the 2 chased in back boxes & cable runs and also said he’ll pay me another hours labour to come back and second fix these 2 sockets and complete the paperwork.

The best previous quote was from the electrician who done his rewire and that was an eye watering £500.

I’m happy with my first quote/job to be honest.

Thanks for all your help guys..... :) :) :)
 
Fitzy said:
The best previous quote was from the electrician who done his rewire and that was an eye watering £500.
Click to expand...

£500 for fitting 2 sockets..
3 possibilities:
1. The electrician is trying it on...
2. The electrician is busy and doesn't want the job.
3. The customer was a complete pain to the electrician, when he did the rewire, and he doesn't want to go back.

Hope for your sake it's not 3....
 
Fitzy said:
I've been asked to add a couple of new sockets to ring final and was unsure on how to price the job. Per hour plus materials or a set price based on the individual jobs. Per hour I thought about £25 plus materials or £40-£50 plus materials per individual job.

I'm not after what any of you guys charge as that's your private business, I just don't want to under price myself, but get a gauge of at least being in the ballpark. The last thing I want to do is to severely undercut other electricians in my area and cause problems, but at least being the same ballpark allows the customer to make the final decision.

I’m based in Redhill, Surrey, so I’ll be working mainly in Surrey & Sussex.
Click to expand...

The clue was in his first post "Surrey"

"Most of the sales in Redhill over the past year were flats which on average sold for £239,669 . Semi-detached properties had an average sold price of £420,329 and terraced ..." (off tinternet)

Spoon said:
£500 for fitting 2 sockets..
3 possibilities:
1. The electrician is trying it on...
2. The electrician is busy and doesn't want the job.
3. The customer was a complete pain to the electrician, when he did the rewire, and he doesn't want to go back.

Hope for your sake it's not 3....
Click to expand...

Not that after 4 weeks you'd be competent enough to be working for yourself. Four years maybe..

If I was doing Domestic I would factor in the average house price of the area and what's parked on his drive. Those at the higher spectrum of the earnings ladder don't mind paying more for a good Electrician who's knows his job I'm sure.

Isn't Surrey where all they bankers..footballers and chief executives live...?
 
Last edited:
Fitzy said:
Good news.....The customer has accepted my quote of £150 for 3 hours, plus materials (guessed at £50), one wall is a plasterboard stud wall, so pretty simple to mount the back box (he has a room plan from when the house was rewired 5-6 years ago and the cables run alongside both walls), the other is an external brick wall, where he now wants 2 x double sockets, which aren’t gonna be seen as they’re going behind/in his wife’s new, all singing, all dancing dressing table (it’s all in a bare non-decorated bedroom). He also said his got a mate coming over in a couple of weeks to make good the plastering around the 2 chased in back boxes & cable runs and also said he’ll pay me another hours labour to come back and second fix these 2 sockets and complete the paperwork.

The best previous quote was from the electrician who done his rewire and that was an eye watering £500.

I’m happy with my first quote/job to be honest.

Thanks for all your help guys..... :) :) :)
Click to expand...

Good news well done.

Hopefully that will be start of things to come for you.
 
I’m not going full time working for myself just yet, got a few years of gaining experience yet, this is just gonna be on my days off as I work shifts, so get a good set of days off all the time. My aim is to go part at my main job and be a sparky part time as well, it’s too late in my life to be looking at a complete full time career change.
 
Yep, do your best, get it right, test before and after.
Protect the carpet and all other things around from damage. If needed take a quick photo before and after which also helps if you need to move anything.
It’s a great feeling when you extend a ring across a room, take up carpet, underlay, boards, make holes, run cables, test and then put everything back and the customer says to you that it’s like you’ve never been in there!
You punch (pocket punch) the air and know word of mouth will come.
Enjoy experience, it does take time.
 
Rpa07 said:
Yep, do your best, get it right, test before and after.
Protect the carpet and all other things around from damage. If needed take a quick photo before and after which also helps if you need to move anything.
It’s a great feeling when you extend a ring across a room, take up carpet, underlay, boards, make holes, run cables, test and then put everything back and the customer says to you that it’s like you’ve never been in there!
You punch (pocket punch) the air and know word of mouth will come.
Enjoy experience, it does take time.
Click to expand...

Luckily enough it’s a bare bedroom, the customer is remodelling as it’s the master bedroom, no carpets just bare boards, all walls to be re-skimmed and made good, then decorated, carpeted and new expensive light up dressing table being fitted. As I said he has a detailed drawing of each room in the house, showing where all the cables are run, rough location of every socket, switch etc, very nice detailed job done by previous sparky.
 
Rpa07 said:
Yep, do your best, get it right, test before and after.
Protect the carpet and all other things around from damage. If needed take a quick photo before and after which also helps if you need to move anything.
It’s a great feeling when you extend a ring across a room, take up carpet, underlay, boards, make holes, run cables, test and then put everything back and the customer says to you that it’s like you’ve never been in there!
You punch (pocket punch) the air and know word of mouth will come.
Enjoy experience, it does take time.
Click to expand...

Luckily enough it’s a bare bedroom, the customer is remodelling as it’s the master bedroom, no carpets just bare boards, all walls to be re-skimmed and made good, then decorated, carpeted and new expensive light up dressing table being fitted. As I said he has a detailed drawing of each room in the house, showing where all the cables are run, rough location of every socket, switch etc, very nice detailed job done by previous sparky.
 
I'm not too far from Surrey,
most people in my area charge £200-250 a day, or between £50-70 per socket.

If you work out what you want to charge per point, work out roughly how long the job will take (including materials) and reach a happy medium you should be ok.

I'm fortunate that where I live alot of folk will pay a bit more for someone they know and trust, you will always get those charging silly money, the generally mentality in my area, is get 3 quotes and pick the middle one.
 
casperLennon said:
Absolutely terrifying to think someone is doing electrical work in a house after 4 weeks. I have had an apprentice for one week and I would not be leaving him in another 3 weeks. Scary stuff that these courses are allowed to be run.
Click to expand...

Casper, anyone can do electrical work WITHOUT actually doing any course what so ever.....You pass your driving test at 9am, then at 9.01am you’re legally allowed to drive on a motorway at 70+mph.....
 
Grow up fitzy. What a ridiculous thing to say. Yes you don’t have to do courses but you are going into peoples house and they are paying you. You said your doing it part time well that is silly in its self. How are you going to gain the experience you need doing it that way. Ultimately what happens when you get a fault or a problem. Personally I think you are delusional.
 
Fitzy said:
Casper, anyone can do electrical work WITHOUT actually doing any course what so ever.....You pass your driving test at 9am, then at 9.01am you’re legally allowed to drive on a motorway at 70+mph.....
Click to expand...

Hi fitzy what qualifications did you gain from the course you went on mate?
 
casperLennon said:
Grow up fitzy. What a ridiculous thing to say. Yes you don’t have to do courses but you are going into peoples house and they are paying you. You said your doing it part time well that is silly in its self. How are you going to gain the experience you need doing it that way. Ultimately what happens when you get a fault or a problem. Personally I think you are delusional.
Click to expand...

Ha, ha, you’re so funny Casper, I think you’re the delusional one mate.

As I said, I already have a full time job, hence doing it on the side to gain the experience, before deciding if I want to make full time career change, I know I have a long, long, long way to go to gain any sort of experience, but we all have to start somewhere.....If I get a fault or problem I will work to fix it (won’t be calling you though), do you know how to fix every fault/problem without asking for help? We all sometimes pay good money to strangers for everyday jobs to be done, because that person has said they can do it....You probably have more experience than I’ll ever learn,but that doesn’t mean I don’t have the right to try and gain some of that experience for myself.
 
Fitzy said:
Casper, anyone can do electrical work WITHOUT actually doing any course what so ever.....You pass your driving test at 9am, then at 9.01am you’re legally allowed to drive on a motorway at 70+mph.....
Click to expand...

Yes but just because you pass a Electrical course does not mean your an Electrician.

An for people to do a 4 week course do the part p and Regs then join a scheme and be allowed to work in people's homes should be made illegal.

Anybody doing private work in someones home should have so many years on the tools the appropriate electrical apprentiship or electrical tech certs, Am2 and nvq 3.

Or make it against the law to work In someone's home without insurance and a mandatory factor in getting that insurance should be the obove.

In my oppinion
 
NO you will not be ringing me. I have enough experience to sort all faults out otherwise I wouldn’t be working for myself. I mean about the part time electrician bit is you have to do it full time. I still read up and learn things in the evening to make myself even more knowledgable. But you are doing it part time to see if you like it. You sound like an 18 year old who’s playing at it. My problem initially was with the 4 week courses not you but then you come across as a spoilt little brat who thinks it’s fine to just go into peoples houses and charge money to fiddle about when you have no clue whatsoever as to what you are doing. Let’s just hope luck is on your side and nothing goes wrong and no one gets hurt.
 
As I said before Casper, you are funny.....

So you’re saying your the Big Headed “I know everything” bloke.....There’s always one.....Only reason I can’t go all out full time is because ima grown man with a mortgage and bills to pay, so need a steady wage coming in. I’m talking years and years down the line will I even consider a full career move. As for “spoilt brat”, a brat maybe (been called worse by kids), but definitely not spoilt, had to work very hard for everything. I’m meticulous and methodical in everything I do. I didn’t come on here to get in to arguments or slanging matches,just for help and guidance, which on the most part I’ve got, but you seem to have this chip on your shoulder and a holyer than thou attitude.

You have your opinion, I have mine and others have theirs, I’ve already agreed that I have a very long way to go to gain the experience that you and others have. I think we need to shake hands (virtually of course) and move on.

I wish you all the luck in the world my friend.
 
NOT big headed. I don’t know it all. When I started as a 30 year old I had a mortgage 4 kids two cars and I went for it full time. I started on £10 per hour. Very hard but I was committed to it. However you are playing at it. Like I say spoilt little brat.
 
Well said Spoon, apologies if I upset anyone, all said in the heat of the moment, all forgotten by tomorrow. ;) ;) ;)
 
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