Trying to work out what to price EICRs

[ppelec100]

So I’ve been having a look around and come across some other threads on this forum mentioning around £20 per circuit…

Surely this can’t be right?
I know it’s less graft than install but to do an eicr on say a lighting circuit, radial socket circuit, even a ring socket circuit would take at least an hour each circuit by the time you you’ve done r1 r2 properly by removing from the bar to remove parallels and linking, bypassing any electronic equipment such as dimmers PIRs USB sockets, inspecting all the accessories for damage burning etc, opening a % to sample and check for tightness etc, then removing loads if needed for IR test. You still need to fill out the details for the breaker, do an Rcd test if it’s an RCBO etc etc you get the drift.

Where are you guys based and what are you charging? I’m new to the EICR game so I’m trying to get my head around pricing.

Thanks

 

[westward10]

1. R1+R2 is not a necessity, obtaining a Zs is the minimum you need to do regarding continuity unless you don't do live tests and calculate it.
2. You do not need to remove parallel paths.
3. You do not need to bypass dimmers, PIRs, USB sockets etc.... RCD sockets will need removing from the circuit.
4. You do not need to remove loads unless you are getting odd readings.

 

[Jock from the north]

So I’ve been having a look around and come across some other threads on this forum mentioning around £20 per circuit…

Surely this can’t be right?
I know it’s less graft than install but to do an eicr on say a lighting circuit, radial socket circuit, even a ring socket circuit would take at least an hour each circuit by the time you you’ve done r1 r2 properly by removing from the bar to remove parallels and linking, bypassing any electronic equipment such as dimmers PIRs USB sockets, inspecting all the accessories for damage burning etc, opening a % to sample and check for tightness etc, then removing loads if needed for IR test. You still need to fill out the details for the breaker, do an Rcd test if it’s an RCBO etc etc you get the drift.

Where are you guys based and what are you charging? I’m new to the EICR game so I’m trying to get my head around pricing.

Thanks

I don't do eicrs due to the remedials involved but the last company I worked for charged 175 plus vat for 2 bed and 210 plus vat for upto 4 bedroom or any other normal sized house ie not a mansion with a swimming pool .plus 75 pound for the pat test [scotland for leasing]they made there money off remedials by using the regs liberaley .that was in 2015.unless its comercial eicrs you are doing then it's a different animal

 

[ppelec100]

1. R1+R2 is not a necessity, obtaining a Zs is the minimum you need to do regarding continuity unless you don't do live tests and calculate it.
2. You do not need to remove parallel paths.
3. You do not need to bypass dimmers, PIRs, USB sockets etc.... RCD sockets will need removing from the circuit.
4. You do not need to remove loads unless you are getting odd readings.

Yeah that’s true, but what I’ve learnt from following some guy on YouTube who does purely testing videos. He has membership videos which are about £5 a month and quite insightful.

1. anyways he shows that doing a Zs test is simply not enough as you could do a Zs on a kitchen ring circuit and it might not even have a cpc but it’ll be picking up an earth off of the gas pipe which connects to the gas hob casing and then back through the cpc on the lead and onto then into circuit and of course there are other scenarios.
EDIT: and if in the future if that gas hob gets replaced with an electric hob then that ring circuit will lose its cpc which was the gas bond
2. As explained above in that scenario if it’s not removed from the Earth bar it’ll pick up the gas bond as the cpc
3. Why do dimmers and pirs etc not need to be bypassed? You won’t get the R1+R2 reading otherwise? Unless you’re suggesting carry out a RN+R2 test? I mentioned bypassing usb sockets for IR tests…
4. Removing loads I mentioned for carrying out IR tests

 

[westward10]

There are lots of ifs and buts but it is acceptable to measure Zs to confirm continuity and yes there is a possibility it is not using the circuit cpc.
Dimmers and PIRs I thought you were referring to IR tests. They really do not take long to bypass just need some Wagos or leads with croc clips.
IR tests you do not need to remove all loads, connect line to neutral and test to earth only no need to test between live conductors.
Who are you paying £5 a month on YouTube?

 

[ppelec100]

There are lots of ifs and buts but it is acceptable to measure Zs to confirm continuity and yes there is a possibility it is not using the circuit cpc.
Dimmers and PIRs I thought you were referring to IR tests. They really do not take long to bypass just need some Wagos or leads with croc clips.
IR tests you do not need to remove all loads, connect line to neutral and test to earth only no need to test between live conductors.
Who are you paying £5 a month on YouTube?

Yeah I get that it’s acceptable but I feel like it’s a minimum and we can always go that extra mile, or we should really to make sure that things have actually been done properly. I don’t think I’d be comfortable just doing a Zs unless the circuit or equipment couldn’t be isolated for whatever reason then I have no choice I guess but I’d note that down.

Yeah you’re right bypassing dimmers doesn’t take long but when they’ve been filled or painted into the wall it is a nightmare trying to carefully cut around it.

Sorry when I meant remove all loads, i wouldn’t go crazy and remove all lamps and fixed equipment etc but if there was only say a few lamps on that circuit easy to remove or say a downstairs ring with only a few tv stuff and chargers plugged in then I’d be inclined to remove them so that I can carry out a full LN LE NE IR tests.

The guy on YouTube is called mainly electrical

 

[Risteard]

Yeah I get that it’s acceptable but I feel like it’s a minimum and we can always go that extra mile, or we should really to make sure that things have actually been done properly. I don’t think I’d be comfortable just doing a Zs unless the circuit or equipment couldn’t be isolated for whatever reason then I have no choice I guess but I’d note that down.

Yeah you’re right bypassing dimmers doesn’t take long but when they’ve been filled or painted into the wall it is a nightmare trying to carefully cut around it.

Sorry when I meant remove all loads, i wouldn’t go crazy and remove all lamps and fixed equipment etc but if there was only say a few lamps on that circuit easy to remove or say a downstairs ring with only a few tv stuff and chargers plugged in then I’d be inclined to remove them so that I can carry out a full LN LE NE IR tests.

The guy on YouTube is called mainly electrical

Doing more isn't always better, though. Consider the risks due to unnecessary dismantling and reassembly of the electrical installation.

 

[Pretty Mouth]

1. anyways he shows that doing a Zs test is simply not enough as you could do a Zs on a kitchen ring circuit and it might not even have a cpc but it’ll be picking up an earth off of the gas pipe which connects to the gas hob casing and then back through the cpc on the lead and onto then into circuit and of course there are other scenarios.

I came across similar when testing at my brother's house. Zs at kitchen sockets, but no continuity on the CPC to some of them when disconnected from the MET. Turned out the cooker had two cables terminated into it: one to the cooker circuit outlet plate, and another to a 3 pin plug, which was plugged into a socket under the counter, which was how the kitchen sockets were getting their earth. Bizarre, and very dangerous should anyone have unplugged it.

So I do prefer to disconnect the CPC when testing, if feasible to do so. Problem is, real world there are time constraints, and often the board is a rats nest of cables, with the CPCs not following the order of the circuit breakers. When it's like that I'll just clip to the earth bar.

 

[westward10]

I would often loop to the cpc when disconnected at the accessory for boilers, water heaters etc... just to prove it, the result between that and Zs can be quite different and only once did I have no continuity to the cpc.

 

[ppelec100]

I would often loop to the cpc when disconnected at the accessory for boilers, water heaters etc... just to prove it, the result between that and Zs can be quite different and only once did I have no continuity to the cpc.

Sorry can you explain what you mean here, I think I might be reading it wrong. Do you mean that you’ll disconnect the boiler completely off the load side and do a Zs off the incoming L to cpc?

 

[westward10]

Sorry can you explain what you mean here, I think I might be reading it wrong. Do you mean that you’ll disconnect the boiler completely off the load side and do a Zs off the incoming L to cpc?

I do a Zs with everything connected then another Zs to the cpc with it disconnected at the accessory, so live to that cpc.

 

[HappyHippyDad]

@

So I’ve been having a look around and come across some other threads on this forum mentioning around £20 per circuit…

Surely this can’t be right?
I know it’s less graft than install but to do an eicr on say a lighting circuit, radial socket circuit, even a ring socket circuit would take at least an hour each circuit by the time you you’ve done r1 r2 properly by removing from the bar to remove parallels and linking, bypassing any electronic equipment such as dimmers PIRs USB sockets, inspecting all the accessories for damage burning etc, opening a % to sample and check for tightness etc, then removing loads if needed for IR test. You still need to fill out the details for the breaker, do an Rcd test if it’s an RCBO etc etc you get the drift.

Where are you guys based and what are you charging? I’m new to the EICR game so I’m trying to get my head around pricing.

Thanks

Thread 'Average price for an EICR? Another poll! Please read post before voting.'

Dec 19, 2024

I'm going a bit poll crazy at the moment. I love polls!

This one is just a bit of fun. It's obviously very inaccurate and there will be many variations on price, but...

Lets just ask 'What price would you charge for an EICR on an average 2-3 bed house'? No outbuildings, one consumer unit (10 or less used ways). Just your bulk standard, domestic house.

• HappyHippyDad
• another average before eicr please post price
• Replies: 3
• Forum: UK Electrical Forum

 

[Pretty Mouth]

Where are you guys based and what are you charging? I’m new to the EICR game so I’m trying to get my head around pricing.

I now just offer my hourly rates, including time spent typing up the report. Offering a fixed rate based on property size/ no. of bedrooms was often leaving me out of pocket, particularly when inspecting a shabby installation - just typing up all the observations takes hours!

So I tend to uncompetitive for landlords etc who want a cheap report. But I'm fine with that, I'd rather leave that sort of work to someone else.

 

[Teddy Lop]

Yeah I get that it’s acceptable but I feel like it’s a minimum and we can always go that extra mile, or we should really to make sure that things have actually been done properly. I don’t think I’d be comfortable just doing a Zs unless the circuit or equipment couldn’t be isolated for whatever reason then I have no choice I guess but I’d note that down.

If I left all what some seem determined to assert I don't need to bother doing I'd have missed a whole lot over the years, from dangerous faults to much remedial work.

EICR pricing is all over the place, fortunately I'm not desperate for work so do as I choose which is to tell people I do it to a comprehensive standard and charge accordingly and if they're comparing prices they will certainly find cheaper. If there's a bit of a fault I'll spend ten minutes trying to see if it's big or can vanish rather than just hand them a list of FI's. The overwhelming majority of people, even including landlords of the don't-wanna-spend inclination, still say "ok fine Ben go ahead".

I've got a 'mare on right now for a client with a large install who went with a cheaper EICR from someone who knows all about what he can not bother doing then of course returns a huge remedial quote, so of course I then get asked if I can tender. Now I have to explain how the EICR doesnt include anywhere near enough info to offer a relatively fixed price, and that the price they have is either sky high speculation or full of exclusions and will be ascending as soon as they start!

 

[ppelec100]

I now just offer my hourly rates, including time spent typing up the report. Offering a fixed rate based on property size/ no. of bedrooms was often leaving me out of pocket, particularly when inspecting a shabby installation - just typing up all the observations takes hours!

So I tend to uncompetitive for landlords etc who want a cheap report. But I'm fine with that, I'd rather leave that sort of work to someone else.

Yeah this is exactly my thought behind it. Tester costs £1000+, the course is £1000+, it costs £50+ every year to calibrate, can be complicated to test some circuits or takes ages and requires a decent amount of knowledge and experience and people are then charging some silly fixed rates per circuits. Makes no sense to me. Them prices feels like you’ll end up rushing, and rushing = mistakes.

 

[Jock from the north]

Yeah this is exactly my thought behind it. Tester costs £1000+, the course is £1000+, it costs £50+ every year to calibrate, can be complicated to test some circuits or takes ages and requires a decent amount of knowledge and experience and people are then charging some silly fixed rates per circuits. Makes no sense to me. Them prices feels like you’ll end up rushing, and rushing = mistakes.

Some Sparkys that do eicrs for leasing companies make a fortune because they fly through them.3 a day if no remedials.ive actually done an eicr in a 6 month old property /flat where the sparky was still fitting the communal lights in hallway.the property had almost never been lived in certainly not by a tenant but because leasing companies have a check list ie must have eicr and pat test I had to do it.i looked round the cupboards and actually found the original eic cert .Still tested it though you'd be amazed how many broken rings in new installs .it's just another way for leasing company to screw landlord and make a fortune for them selves.i actually sneaked a peak at there prices and are as follows
250 plus vat for 2 bed flat [eicr]
2 smokes and a heat if not already in place 450 quid
75 for pat test regardless of number of items
That's nearly 800 quid plus vat
That was over 5 years ago .
Of course some land Lords choose to employ there own sparks even while using leasing company ,most don't

 

[ppelec100]

Some Sparkys that do eicrs for leasing companies make a fortune because they fly through them.3 a day if no remedials.ive actually done an eicr in a 6 month old property /flat where the sparky was still fitting the communal lights in hallway.the property had almost never been lived in certainly not by a tenant but because leasing companies have a check list ie must have eicr and pat test I had to do it.i looked round the cupboards and actually found the original eic cert .Still tested it though you'd be amazed how many broken rings in new installs .it's just another way for leasing company to screw landlord and make a fortune for them selves.i actually sneaked a peak at there prices and are as follows
250 plus vat for 2 bed flat [eicr]
2 smokes and a heat if not already in place 450 quid
75 for pat test regardless of number of items
That's nearly 800 quid plus vat
That was over 5 years ago .
Of course some land Lords choose to employ there own sparks even while using leasing company ,most don't

Yeah f all that, although I want to make money I’d rather do things properly and find people / companies who will realise that and pay the money for me to do so

 

[Jock from the north]

Yeah f all that, although I want to make money I’d rather do things properly and find people / companies who will realise that and pay the money for me to do so

If your just completing the eicr and are not required or expected to complete remedials then its a great job but if your expected to complete remedials its a head ache as quotes have to be submitted, time restrictions are always an issue and you could find yourself chasing your tail as I can't think of any domestic eicrs that don't have time restraints ,commercial maybe but if you get in with a company who say I've got 50 properties can you work through them and complete the eicrs,they might even want there consumer units upgraded .my old boss has got in with a company where the guy has basicly just said all the consumer units have no rcd protection can you just complete eicr and upgrade cu with spd .he says its the best company he has ever dealt with .

 

[sparksfly]

£ 265+ approx 3 bed
I read (possibly here some time ago) allow 45mins/per circuit, 45mins/per board and it usually works out fine sometimes plus hour write up or included. All installations are different you owe it to the client to do it right for the safety of occupants/users. Not for the cheapest/quickest.