Fuse box installed for £150 what!!!

[clematis432]

I disagree, quality and standards are the 'key'. Safety is a by product of those standards. You can have a perfectly safe installation where the wiring and components look like a dog's breakfast, but you can't have a quality installation which isn't safe.

Getting more complicated by the minute, "by product" and things. No, too complex for me now. "beam me up Scotty" :shades_smile:

 

[Itigeezer]

I've been Self Employed now approaching a year and always wondered about my pricing, after reading this thread I know I'm pretty much bob on. £150 for a board change?? the price I pay for a wylex and components that leaves me with about £85 before costs and VAT...after that probably have enough left for bottle of VODKA to help me forget that I'm working for nothing...tosh!! Has to be £250/300.

 

[Des 56]

Customers dictate the price,that is the be all and end all of this long long discussion

If you charge 3,4 or 5 hundred for a board change and continue to have customers, then you are about right


Having said that,I understand the 150 pound guys

If you live in an area where 3.4 or 5 hundred is about 2 weeks wages and the customer wont pay that amount,you wont be doing board changes
Believe me, there are areas where people would think you live in cloud cuckoo land to even suggest those prices

This seems to be verified, by the impression given to me, doing board changes is a frequently requested means of making a living (thats very surprising)
It certainly is not an item that gets much priority amongst people in poorer areas, big bucks for non priority items gets very little takers and hundreds of pounds at a time, there would be almost no takers period
You could retain your prices but generate little or no work,why ?
The customer dictates the price

 

[dpiers1980]

Did my 17th yesterday and passed Christ what a load of crap go to this page then that oh an back to other page an nope keep looking whoever designed that book needs the sack. And regarding what you can an can't do with installing a consumer unit IP3X etc and when I say can't "The 17th edition is not on the statute book and is a recommendation" ie not law but the document can be used in a court of law like what document can't ?. Like my Dad says (old school electrician 50 years+ heavy industry) "You could wire your house in bell wire if you wanted to as long as it's safe and meets it's purpose"

Ps. this made me laugh in definitions - fault current = "A current resulting from a fault" well done IEE we would never have guessed that :banghead:

 

[imago]

imo would say in any trade safety is key

In our trade safety is key,

so you agree then ?

As I said in my post, no.

 

[Clive P]

Great looking job. I'm not trying to be picky here, but I assume it's a Domestic job; so why only I RCD?

Regards.

 

[slimbo]

i could not do it that cheap i live in the south and everything is so expensive

 

[Shropshire]

I charge at £12 per hour for tracing unmarked circuits and faults

Arrive at job 8am, done and cleaned up by 9am, testing till 12pm, onto the next job, simples

I have a image in my head of everyone being the typical tradesman, tea drinking and paper reading, come on lets be honest how long does it take to change a DB and test the install?

Am i the only one who has the "Graft" idea?

And after all the age old saying go's "Stack em high, sell em cheap", the referrals i get from customers who were pleased with the work i carried out and the price is excellent, TBF i dont have a lot of overheads and im not greedy just pleased that i actually have some work

EDIT: and for anyone thinking " i bet the DB's are a mess "

View attachment 8475

Do we not number cables round here.

- - - Updated - - -

I charge at £12 per hour for tracing unmarked circuits and faults

Arrive at job 8am, done and cleaned up by 9am, testing till 12pm, onto the next job, simples

I have a image in my head of everyone being the typical tradesman, tea drinking and paper reading, come on lets be honest how long does it take to change a DB and test the install?

Am i the only one who has the "Graft" idea?

And after all the age old saying go's "Stack em high, sell em cheap", the referrals i get from customers who were pleased with the work i carried out and the price is excellent, TBF i dont have a lot of overheads and im not greedy just pleased that i actually have some work

EDIT: and for anyone thinking " i bet the DB's are a mess "

View attachment 8475

Do we not number cables round here.

 

[lee8980]

Fair play the DB does look very neat indeed, however it looks more like a new installation, i.e full re-wire or new build than a standard board change. We normally charge £350+vat for a DB change and I always allow a full day just in case I hit problems and almost always unidentified circuits, I normally take an apprentice with me to help with the testing and be a general 2nd pair of hands in the event of faults, coupled with the fact there are 6 people in my business with 3 vans on the road and an industrial unit to cover, I guess thats where my other costs add up!

 

[spaldingsparks]

Db changed looks like a new install to me and now days it should have 2 rcds? at least I am sure that board was not put in to replace an old wylex 6 way crammed with 8 circuits or more with cables to short to fit no mate £150 to fit a DB in a new install you are charging the same as everyone else come on admit it

 

[ppuch1]

I think a few people on here have nailed it on the head by saying "the customer dictates the price" very true but this should not be happening. This industry needs to be controlled the same way the Gas industry is. No one should be doing work for peanuts. Recently I have quoted for several jobs and have not heard a thing back, am I pricing the jobs right, who knows! I will stick to my pricing rergardless because as soon as the economy gets better and prices increase I will be doing a disservice to my industry by reducing my price now. I do not charge any extra for materials so it boils down to the labour charges and if plumbers can charge 200 to 300 a day then what I charge is more than reasonable, after all I have overheads to pay. we need to get rid of the "mate down the pub can do it for ya cheap" and the 2WW who want to undercut everyone. I am getting a bit sick of this industry being treated as a substandard unskilled trade! and if the original poster can do a (proper) board change in that short amount of time then he is a liar or else he is cutting corners and playing with peoples lives. end of rant!

 

[kev6365]

Lovely photo of fuse board and very neat but what about the rcd protection on the unprotected circuits ?

I charge at £12 per hour for tracing unmarked circuits and faults

Arrive at job 8am, done and cleaned up by 9am, testing till 12pm, onto the next job, simples

I have a image in my head of everyone being the typical tradesman, tea drinking and paper reading, come on lets be honest how long does it take to change a DB and test the install?

Am i the only one who has the "Graft" idea?

And after all the age old saying go's "Stack em high, sell em cheap", the referrals i get from customers who were pleased with the work i carried out and the price is excellent, TBF i dont have a lot of overheads and im not greedy just pleased that i actually have some work

EDIT: and for anyone thinking " i bet the DB's are a mess "

View attachment 8475

 

[DAEELECTRICAL]

Funny board change. no evidence of old cables, old fixings etc. 45 mins and that neat?? not so sure. Handy that all the cables were long enough too.

 

[brightspark26]

I would even change a cu for 150 as a homer. Haha

 

[Garythenab]

I charge £380 standard as a CU change. That's Assuming that earthing and bonding arrangements are adequate.

Managed one board change with the testing in just over 2 hours.

IR on all circuits were good.
All tests were straight forward all the tests were acceptable as the existing wiring was of a good standard.

Filling in the Certificate took another half hour.

oh..........................

travelling time to the job and to get the parts. 1.5hrs

Total just over 4 hours.

Job registered, me taking responsibility for all circuits.

£380.............................. BARGAIN

 

[amlu]

will be happy to do it for £150 cash + cost of materials (fusebox, tails, bonding cable), signed off with elecsa certificate.
adding couple of quid if running bonding cable is pain in the back.
down in east london £150 a day is good money,

if someone is including fuse box in £150 they may have supply of them doing some council rewires, or they may be Romanian Cowboys (more and more of them around), and dont worry about bonding and paperworks.

 

[SPARTYKUS]

....or doing the job properly!

 

[SLSpark]

this is supposed to be a consumer unit that has been changed ??? i really doubt this as the cables are new colours and i doubt any property new enough to have 100% brown blue t&e would need consumer unit changing this early.
as for £150 consumer unit change its people like you who make it harder for firms like us trying to make a decent living, wylex 10 way fully loaded £45 get a grip try £90 minimum unless the back of lorry situation cropped up again.
people know what to expect when calling a registered fully insured company to change a consumer unit.
great work
great advice
friendly service
reasonable rates
SAFELY PRACTICED AND NOT DONE IN 45 MINUTES.

 

[MDJ]

Good Post except the price, If your paying 90 for a wylex then change wholesalers, anyhow a lewden or a bg costs 45-49.

 

[SLSpark]

BG CHEAP CRAP SCREWFIX FULLY LOADED £45 +VAT

lets just be clear we know price varies from the bottom to top of the map but there is a average price throughout feel free to charge £12ph but dont put it to other tradesmen that anything above and over is greedy.
decent board change with good materials £300 fully tested and certs left