what would you charge??

[ElectricMick]

I know what you mean. I've tried on a number of occasions to give estimates and explain that unforseen thing occur and I can see customers grimacing at the thought of not getting a fixed quote - I think some people imaging we do this for fun and not to earn a living!!! I am just about to start work on an extension to a 300 year old cottage - TT with some sockets that the megger gets a 2000 ohm earth loop on, an unearthed lighting circuit and a melted cu where the guy thought he could run a shower on 2.5mm T+E through a 30A fuse (No RCD!!!). He wondered why I couldn't quote fixed price and only offer him an hourly rate!!! This one is not going to bite me.

 

[sparkyork]

holly smokes!! thats it you gotta cover your self, new build you know where your at but you never know, but in all honestly i dont expect to find anything but soft soil underneath the grass, ive just changed me mind and am gonna say £750 for the works rather than £800!

 

[tony.towa]

Just a thought on your email.

1. List out and detail all the work, including groundwork , approximate trench depth etc and that it will be backfilled after.
2. Detail the electrical installation including the fact that the circuit will be protected by a 30mA RCBO/RCD and that the cable will be Steel Wire Armoured.
3. Detail that all work will be carried to comply with the 17th Edition, BS7671 2008.
4. Work will be tested and relevant certification will be provided. The necessary notification will be made to Building Control the cost of which is included in your quote.

The reason I suggets you highlight the notification is that if he contacts building control himself he is likely to find that they will charge in the region of £116 plus VAT for them to do the inspection. (That's the lowest charge down here)

Do not quote £750-00 try for £741-65 (it gives the impression that you have worked everything out and not just grabbed a figure out of the air)

Hope I've not offended by possibly trying to "teach granny to suck eggs" as Shakey would say.

Tony

 

[sparkyork]

no no tony it tatkes a lot offend me me old fruit, lol! good idea, i have pretty much itemiised everything on it but not gone into much depth with the notification thing as i can notify it through nic at a minimal cost anyway. also im thinking of getting bane to give me hand on this job as well, so if we get it done in the day it could be a good earner for us both!!

 

[tony.towa]

You can get notification done at a minimal cost but you had to pay out how much to be able to do that. That's what I mean about having to claw your costs back. Don't undersell yourself, you can always come down in price but you can't go up!!!!

 

[sparkyork]

yeah tru true, jese i spent a lot to get to this stage allready think ive spent getting on for £8500 allready!! bolocks im charging £800 lol

 

[saveloy]

good point savaloy sausage! gonna email him tomorrow and change the document to estimate instead! he's got plenty of money like but even still im sure he ant got any where near like £750 plus in his head!! lol

Ha Ha HA Saveloy sausage no ones called me that since school . Just a thought but if he don't like the price maybe ask him if he wants to prep the groundwork ie digging to reduce the price. That way he gets a cheaper job and you save your back. And if he does take you up, he'll then find out why you think the job is worth what it is

Tony Towa makes some excellent points. I always list out as much as possible which then shows exactly how much work is involved and the client can see what they are getting for their money. I also put in an uneven amount like £741-65 for example. Shows you've thought about it. Physcology my dear man Physcology.

 

[sparkyork]

yes quite true, i may eveb through a method statement in there as well, yeah i might offer a reduction of say £100 - £120 if he does the digging. then like you say he should go for it, and he is proper minted, his landing on his 1st floor is bigger than my house!!

 

[CUDABOY]

i reakon £200 a day, ive gone in cheap and been told thats cheap wish id gone more, ive done my bo@@ocks with a cheap price and its still to expensive.if it turns out to be a bugger job, ie you start digging and find concrete you could be an extra day ,if the soil turns out to be softer than a kleenex you may take a day less?could always ask if they have had other quotes? problem there if they havnt and do you could end up losing it to some one else,chances are mate if you have been reccomended by somone theyll go by what you say.

 

[tony.towa]

Cudaboy somes it up. You don't know what you're going to be digging into, especially if you're going under a lawn (it's been well compacted under there).
Don't undersell yourself on your pricing, we've all done it at some time, but you wouldn't get a solicitor doing a cheap job would you and they can sit in their ivory towers and look everything up in the books on their shelves.

Cudaboy, where abouts in Cardiff are you, I was brought up on the border of Fairwater and Ely.

Sparkyork, have you crashed your van? (avatar)