Undercut again ....20 characters

[telectrix]

4 bedroom house. total rewire, customer has had a quote for £2800. £1200 below my minimum estimate. words fail me.

 

[Pete999]

4 bedroom house. total rewire, customer has had a quote for £2800. £1200 below my minimum estimate. words fail me.

Cowboys again Tel

 

[LankyWill]

Just sit back and sip your pint laughing at the donkey doing the rewire for that price. There loss anyway Tel

 

[telectrix]

even working @ £50/point i get £2800 and that's without points for shower/cooker/fans, and CU,earthing and bonding.

 

[The Ghost]

We have a guy in Bristol who will rewire pretty well any house for £2000, can't beat that!

 

[Octopus]

But do they pay any NI and tax?

 

[snowhead]

Lucky escape there Tel.

If that's what the customer wants to pay, they'd have been trying to pick fault and argueing over your price if you'd got the job.

 

[snowhead]

But do they pay any NI and tax?

I'm employed full time and don't pay N.I and if I remember correctly Tel won't pay N.I either.

Now Tax, that's a diffeerent thing.

 

[Octopus]

I'm employed full time and don't pay N.I and if I remember correctly Tel won't pay N.I either.

Now Tax, that's a diffeerent thing.

Does that mean you can avoid class 4 NI's too due to your age?

I have paid my 35 years of NI so can I stop contributing now?

 

[telectrix]

don't have to pay NI if over 65. 30 years subs. gets full state pension, murdoch, ask your accountant. you may be able to opt out.

 

[Octopus]

National Insurance and tax after State Pension age - GOV.UK - https://www.gov.uk/tax-national-insurance-after-state-pension-age

Hum ....seemingly I have to pay for a long time yet...

 

[Dave OCD]

4 bedroom house. total rewire, customer has had a quote for £2800. £1200 below my minimum estimate. words fail me.

Leave them to it Tel, you can charge what you like when you get a call to put it right. All joking aside though rewires are hard work and knackering so you've saved yourself some stress there.

 

[Hardwired]

I tend to knock them back anyway. Pain in the bum. All that wraggling.

 

[telectrix]

in fact the house is right next door. new owners. to be honest, i'd let the cowboys do it, then make a decent earner out of putting it right. they already know a neighbour who bought house just rewired ( organised by seller) and know that another spark had to come and put it right. so they may decide to pay that bit extra and get a decent job.

 

[tomspark93]

Don't get beat up mate. Some people just want the cheapest price thinking the quality will remain the same. It'll it hit them when things start going wrong.

 

[telectrix]

I'm not bothered if i don't get it, TBH. prefer to do 50 small jobs, in and out in a day sort of thing. at 70, don't want to tempt fate by buggering up what bits of me still work.

 

[gutterball]

I never bother about being undercut on pricing. I quote what I thing the job is worth and if someone can do it cheaper good luck to them. I get plenty of work at the price I charge so dont miss enything.

 

[Specialist]

I'm not bothered if i don't get it, TBH. prefer to do 50 small jobs, in and out in a day sort of thing. at 70, don't want to tempt fate by buggering up what bits of me still work.

Blimey tel, you've got some bits that still work ? You lucky bugger

I try not to do jobs for neighbours if I can help it. Once you start, they think your at their beck & call 24/7.

 

[Rpa07]

We have a guy in Bristol who will rewire pretty well any house for £2000, can't beat that!

It ain't me @Vortigern - I got standards and they're high and can't be bought off!

 

[Taylortwocities]

Just tell your new neighbours to be sure that they will be provided with an Electrical Installation Certificate and that with work will be properly notified to the local authority. All included in the price.
Tell them to make sure the sparking company is a member of an Electrical Competent Person Scheme.

Those simple questions usually gets rid of 50% of the competition.....

 

[Specialist]

It ain't me @Vortigern - I got standards and they're high and can't be bought off!

Give you a fiver for them

 

[Rpa07]

£7.50 they're yours but don't tell anyone on the forum!

Give you a fiver for them

 

[Specialist]

Blimey your expensive, ok £7.50 it is? They'd better be good standards though .

 

[Octopus]

I was asked for a verbal quote for a rewire a few months ago .. so I used £50 per point as a starting point... The "person" said it was a rip off... talking it though with them, it then transpired the "price" was ALL cash, to avoid VAT and presumably tax and NI.....

 

[Pete999]

Just tell your new neighbours to be sure that they will be provided with an Electrical Installation Certificate and that with work will be properly notified to the local authority. All included in the price.
Tell them to make sure the sparking company is a member of an Electrical Competent Person Scheme.

Those simple questions usually gets rid of 50% of the competition.....

So belonging to a scheme is the B all and end all of things? as an Electrician, time served Qualified with many years of experience, prohibits me from carrying out any Domestic work does it? I agree with the first part of your reply, but the second leaves a sour taste in my mouth, if I understand your theory.

 

[Specialist]

Totally agree Pete. There are many people not in schemes, that can do the job just as well if not better than some in them.

 

[Deleted member 9648]

Slightly off topic but perhaps relevant to the theme.
We have done the repairs, maintenance and small installations at one of the largest secondary schools in the south for decades. Nothing for close to a year. Got a call last week to 'help them out with some bits'. Arrived to find they have one of the caretakers doing the work. In this case a toilet refurb. False ceiling installed with drop in LED panels and a PIR ceiling sensor. In order to get the wiring to the sensor he'd partially cut the steel conduit to the existing switch and then rocked it back and forth till it snapped and dragged the singles across the grid to the sensor. From the existing 2D ceiling lights he'd put connectors on the wires, singles down to the new panels,and then another bare connector to join the driver flex. Couldn't get the sensor to work so called me in....(no neutral). Oh....and while that's going on he's also changing the high level 400w low bays in the sports hall for LED low bays.
If a major public funded educational establishment thinks it's OK for unqualified cleaners to be doing their electrical installations we may as well give up now.
Doomed we are,Doomed.

 

[telectrix]

Slightly off topic but perhaps relevant to the theme.
We have done the repairs, maintenance and small installations at one of the largest secondary schools in the south for decades. Nothing for close to a year. Got a call last week to 'help them out with some bits'. Arrived to find they have one of the caretakers doing the work. In this case a toilet refurb. False ceiling installed with drop in LED panels and a PIR ceiling sensor. In order to get the wiring to the sensor he'd partially cut the steel conduit to the existing switch and then rocked it back and forth till it snapped and dragged the singles across the grid to the sensor. From the existing 2D ceiling lights he'd put connectors on the wires, singles down to the new panels,and then another bare connector to join the driver flex. Couldn't get the sensor to work so called me in....(no neutral). Oh....and while that's going on he's also changing the high level 400w low bays in the sports hall for LED low bays.
If a major public funded educational establishment thinks it's OK for unqualified cleaners to be doing their electrical installations we may as well give up now.
Doomed we are,Doomed.

ask the board of governors if they have an installation certificate.

 

[Specialist]

Wonder how many backhanders got him that job, hope you chastised him well & made the school pay a stiff financial penalty.

 

[Pete999]

Budget constraints, untrained staff, it's a sign of the times I'm afraid, wait until a School catches fire, Kids get an Electric shock, God forbid anyone gets seriously hurt, then watch the bums go sixpence , shilling, Half a crown, for the members who don't remember imperial measurements or currency, it equates to squeaky bum syndrome, it's not right to let untrained janitors do this sort of work, but unfortunately it happens. I blame the Tories

 

[Deleted member 9648]

ask the board of governors if they have an installation certificate.

I'm not going to get involved mate. The thing is they went down this road about 10 years ago ,and it all ended in very expensive tears when a periodic (as it was then known) picked up loads of dangerous alterations carried out by the head caretaker, who was 'let go' very soon after.
Lots of remedial work for yours truly.
Short memories they have.

 

[Pete999]

I'm not going to get involved mate. The thing is they went down this road about 10 years ago ,and it all ended in very expensive tears when a periodic (as it was then known) picked up loads of dangerous alterations carried out by the head caretaker, who was 'let go' very soon after.
Lots of remedial work for yours truly.
Short memories they have.

Can't help but wonder why the caretaker was "let go" sacked. fired a scapegoat if ever I saw one, doubt if he was in a TU the would have kicked up a stink, or at least I would have in my Prospect Capacity.

 

[Deleted member 9648]

Wonder how many backhanders got him that job, hope you chastised him well & made the school pay a stiff financial penalty.

I happen to know the person carrying out the work is concerned over whether he should be doing it at all.....but appears to have been rather stitched up over a perk he signed up for on agreement of additional duties being carried out. I believe those additional duties started out as grass cutting etc and have rather snowballed but they've got him by the short and curlies.
Biding my time, it'll come back and bite them again.

 

[Pete999]

I happen to know the person carrying out the work is concerned over whether he should be doing it at all.....but appears to have been rather stitched up over a perk he signed up for on agreement of additional duties being carried out. I believe those additional duties started out as grass cutting etc and have rather snowballed but they've got him by the short and curlies.
Biding my time, it'll come back and bite them again.

He can't be totally to blame, just doing what he was told to do by Cretins.

 

[Specialist]

Maybe true, but that's no excuse for the way he butchered the conduit switch drop & dragged the wiring out.
He knew what he was doing & that it was dangerous and wrong, that's no one else's fault but his.

 

[Pete999]

Maybe true, but that's no excuse for the way he butchered the conduit switch drop & dragged the wiring out.
He knew what he was doing & that it was dangerous and wrong, that's no one else's fault but his.

Agree to a certain extent, but ultimately the buck stops with his boss for sanctioning the botch job, yes it was wrong of him but shame on the upper echelons for hanging him out to dry, seen it many times a s a civil servant, did a course on it once called A--e covering.

 

[Specialist]

Don't think we're ever going to agree on this one Pete, no his boss shouldn't have sanctioned him doing the work or coerced him into it. I seriously doubt though that the boss got up on a ladder to see what had been done above the ceiling.
Yes I've had bosses who tried to coerce me into doing things on a job that I knew were dangerous corner cutting, I've always refused. Twice I've been told to either do the work or look for another job, both occasions I told them where to shove the job.

 

[Andy78]

I've usually seen it go the other way. Many a time when working doing local authority work have I turned up to schools to change lamps in fittings because the caretaker has been banned from going up steps due to "working at height" panic.

 

[Pete999]

Don't think we're ever going to agree on this one Pete, no his boss shouldn't have sanctioned him doing the work or coerced him into it. I seriously doubt though that the boss got up on a ladder to see what had been done above the ceiling.
Yes I've had bosses who tried to coerce me into doing things on a job that I knew were dangerous corner cutting, I've always refused. Twice I've been told to either do the work or look for another job, both occasions I told them where to shove the job.

I don't want to fall out over this Andy, I've had lots of experience dealing with this sort of issue, and I agree and applaud your actions in refusing to be coerced into doing something dangerous, and rightly so.
But look at it from the Caretakers point of view, he liked his job, he thought, maybe his boss was in charge and he knew what he was doing, I feel we have to look further than whose fault it was, the supervisor for sure was wrong, but Mr Caretaker probably didn't know any better, it was totally wrong for the management to use him as a scapegoat, immoral at the least, if it was me that got "let go" I would be fighting tooth and nail for reinstatement and compensation. I've been there and seen it, get solicitors involved and watch the toilets become full up. Sorry Andy I feel so strongly about these sort of shenanigans by managers it makes my blood boil. And before any comedians assume this conversation is a mutual thing between me and Andy all I can say is grow up.

 

[telectrix]

agree with you there pete. poor caretaker who didn't know any better than if it works it's OK, told by his boss to do it or look for another job.

 

[Specialist]

Hi Pete: Never had any intention of falling out with you over it mate, got too much respect for you for that to happen. We just have differing opinions over this, is all.

 

[7029 dave]

4 bedroom house. total rewire, customer has had a quote for £2800. £1200 below my minimum estimate. words fail me.

Let them crack on, better to be skint on the sofa.

 

[Deleted member 9648]

I've usually seen it go the other way. Many a time when working doing local authority work have I turned up to schools to change lamps in fittings because the caretaker has been banned from going up steps due to "working at height" panic.

Spot on....there was a lot of that a while back. And not long ago we were asked to provide risk assessments before every visit to this particular site, and now they are doing their own work!
You couldn't make it up.
To add insult to injury on this one they have employed a plumber to carry out alterations in the toilet where the electrical work has taken place. It seems they are prepared to fry themselves but draw the line at getting wet.

 

[Toneyz]

I remember being at school in the 70's & 80's the caretakers seemed to do all the small maintenance jobs from painting and decorating, carpentry ,plumbing & electrical work now when I walk into a school all they are allowed to do is call in trades.

 

[Specialist]

Bit different with us, our school caretakers still do all basic maintenance including electrical. But no capital work, that all goes out to preferred contractors.

 

[D00DY_T00DY]

It's at this point you wait for the job to be completed and you being called out after things start tripping

 

[Jay Sparks]

It's at this point you wait for the job to be completed and you being called out after things start tripping

 

[Brains]

At least you have not lost any money on that one!!

Regards

 

[Santa]

A point from the other side:

When, as an ordinary householder, you ask for quotes, it's very hard to sort out the wheat from the chaff. It's a few years back now but I remember when I had my house rewired. I got three quotes - one guy arrived in a smart new van; insisted on putting covers on his shoes while he had a look and subsequently quoted what I thought was a silly price. (I assumed that he had decided that he didn't want the job).

Number two, I don't remember much, but he was in the house for barely five minutes and his quote was the lowest of the three.

The guy who got the job was a one-man-band and it took him a lot longer than he had thought - I suspect that there was not a lot of profit left at the end, but he did a good job (I think) and I got a certificate to prove it.

It's possible that the first guy would have been a lot faster, or the second one may well have just counted sockets @ £30 each and added 50% - then gone on to do a decent job and saved me some money.

My point is that when someone says they are a qualified electrician and offers to do the job, all we can go by is a gut feeling about them and the price. If number two had turned up in smart overalls with a logo on the pocket, and spent an hour taking notes with a stubby pencil, he would probably have got the job.