Cost of electrician

[farseer]

Can someone assist with helping figure out if i am being charged a fair price

I live in a very old home and am in the process of modernizing it. I already had some major electrical work done. The old electrical panel box was in the basement. We kept that there and installed a new box on the 1s floor. This controls the first and second floor. The old panel box controls the basement and some outlets on the outside of the house. The house also has the gas and electric meters in the basement. i'd like to do the following:

-I'd like to replace the old panel box with a modern one in the basement. The old panel box uses those old screw in fuses. There are also al ot of old wires running to that box that we don't think is being used. some are not even connected. In fact, it seems like the electrician that installed 1st floor box also ran some wires to this one, some of which was not connected

-I'd like to also move the utilities meters to the outside of the home.

I live in Yonkers (Westchester), New York. Can anyone give me an idea what a job like this would cost me? One electrician that comes highly recommended stated that this type of work would run me around $3k, but is willing to do it for me for $2100. He says it is a full day job.

thanks much

[John Grabowski]

The only way to do a cost comparison for your area is to get prices from several contractors who bid on the exact same work. You should specify on paper exactly what you want done. It is also best to specify the materials such as the model number of the electrical panel that you want installed. That way you are comparing apples to apples.

[RBM]

Without looking at the job,it's impossible to price it. From your description, the price you have sounds reasonable, but get another estimate, and try to get one from a contractor outside of Yonkers. In fact try Nick's electrical service, from Scarsdale, I've know Nick for years, and I know he's fair and honest

[MRS. CLEAN]

Buy your own parts and materials, then pay the guy hourly.

Know the job, or you'll really pay.

A full day at $70 per hour is $560 labor. Parts? get them yourself or you're getting screwed without being kissed.

[RBM]

I have to disagree. I think you are better off finding someone honest and competent. Reputable contractors make their livelihood by charging for a combination of labor and material profits. Part of that figure includes guarantees on their work and materials. If you as a customer are to supply materials, and something fails, there is no profit in it for the contractor to return without an additional charge. Also, not being qualified to even purchase the correct materials, you may have your contractor standing around waiting for you to return and or purchase the correct stuff. I know I wouldn't work for someone looking to supply their own materials except for things like fixtures, and personally I think you would only attract the bottom of the barrel

[HeyBub]

But not the same in other industries. At a General Motors dealership, the service profit-bucket is not connected to the parts profit-bucket. They are more than happy to use customer-supplied parts.

[Tazz]

Another thing to think about is that an electrical contractor going to a supplier for years on end typically gets a discount on materials purchased. Even after a mark up it can beat the price of a homeowner getting to Home depot.

[farseer]

messagenews: [e-mail]...

[Edwin Pawlowski]

Most electricians will just walk away and mutter about you being a cheap SOB. My electrician charges materials at about the same price as what I'd pay and he has the supplies on his truck saving me a trip to the store.

[Eigenvector]

The company that I hired to rework my breaker box purchased the supplies beforehand - off the clock. I only paid for the parts + tax. I now understand why people here suggested I NOT supply my own parts for the job, their equipment, their warranty, their experience working with it.

[roger61611]

Replacing the old service panel with a new one is in the several hundred price range, including parts. I had this done 2 years ago by a master electrician who did the job on his own time and bought the parts thru his employer at a discount.

Unless you have some bizarre setup, you're be> Can someone assist with helping figure out if i am being charged a fair > price

[Tom Horne]

That simply isn't true. I buy the parts for my customers and I get a much better price on them then they could get. Since I'm in the electrical business rather then the tax collecting business I don't mark them up because I'd have to get a resale tax number and collect sales tax. If your electrician tries to charge you a higher price then you could buy the same materials retail then call her/him on it. If he/she is willing to go through the resale process to stay square with the state then they are as entitled as any other merchant to a mark up to cover the cost of acquisition. Some cover those cost by marking the materials up and some by charging for the hours spent on acquisition. Either way that time must be paid for. This business is competitive enough that anybody trying to gouge on materials is shooting themselves in the foot.

I tell anybody that insist on buying the parts for their work that if they make a mistake they must eat the lost time. I get two hours, Monday through Friday during the day, every time I set the emergency brake on the van in front of your house. If you want to take a chance on eating two hours of paid time then that's fine with me. Thing is you get a better price and I have to eat the mistakes I make when I buy the parts. On a small job you might come out ahead by a few dollars. But on anything larger you will do better having me buy the materials for you. Another point is that when customers insist on buying bargain basement parts I will not warranty that work.

[MRS. CLEAN]

You're blessed.

[MRS. CLEAN]

Roger that, Roger61611.

I just did the same job (replacing the old service panel with a new one) for about $360. Yes, the first electrician that came out wanted $2,000 - 3,000. Also, the electrical supply bought my own panel for $85.00 so he'd have parts. I was happy to help the next guy.

Electricians aren't honest and the posters who can trust and believe in their electrians are blessed and fortunate. The average person cannot.

You're not getting kissed with this screwing.

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