Electrical Permit

NJE

I noticed the word floating meters, this is a perfect example of poor planning, how many fires, and injuries, form meters, and risers that were pulled away from a home, to allow the siding to go up, rather then doing it right, and having it removed by an electrician, then replaced and secured.

After the fire, the excuse is, what do you expect me to do, tell the homowner they have to pay more money, "I WOULD NOT GET ANY WORK" but the danger of pulling a meter socket away from the home is never considered, the supporting screws hit the socket terminals, and the non protected service delivers all the available current.

When we see this going on every day, how can we consider these contractors, doing this type of work, as professionals.

Patrick

I said in my post that I DO in fact have an electrician float the box. Usually only charges me $75 and he unscrews it and holds it while I install a J block or install the siding. Some towns the electric Co will send out two trucks and 5 guys who will turn off the power pull the meter off and stand there while I unscrew the box (they wont touch the box cause of a union thing) Install my siding and then they turn the power back on. They do this for FREE in most towns. The reason why I don't take the box off myself is because before I went on my own I worked for way too many guys that did it themselves and saw the thing blow up in their face at least once a year!!

NJE

Patrick,

I was not calling you out on that, I was refering to the dangers of pulling a meter away, the real issue is the reason they do it, not eniough in the project to have it done right.

After reading all the postings, the problem I see is jobs being estimated with guess work, rather then real world costs, someone brought up selling the job, and that seems to be what causes most of the problems, if a homeowner is buying on price only, then the contractors job is to sell it on quality, and workmanship, by explaining the benifits of using a contractor that delivers quality to every job, and letting the customer know what it takes to make this happen, just a bit more personal selling time, can bring in more jobs.

I think we all should open up and invite good communications with GC's so we both benifit, and try to help each other understand our concerns.

bhe

wow, I was going to drop my phone number and offer assistance, try to offer a rate at less than 500 for a half day, but once I read these posts and his attitude, I will pass. Best of luck OP.

mahlere

karma in action...

Celic

yup

mahlere

damn...learn how to spell your name...

Celic

LMAO...well there goes 10 perfectly good posts down the drain

mahlere

shhh....you're undercover

Celtic

....and I'm back.


LOL

What a mess....thank god I don't have 15,000 posts

jbwhite

I dont know how I got called out in post 41.

My point is that the electician may be charging too little. 50.00 an hour is dirt cheep.

Regarding discounts, they go to GCs who schedule well. If I know I will have less BS time, I can lower my rate.

Tom M

I never said anything about having a problem with nearly 100 per hour for to guys. I also have alot of respect for electricians. My beef was sticking with a famliar source only to getting jerked around and then having to get bent over a half days rate for a 2 hour job. I never insulted mahlere yet was called a hack,an unproffesional who dont know what I m doing. I schedule all my work well and always have smooth progress, but as a GC you need good communications with people so when they dont call back its hell. I cant have an electrician go through every set of plans that come and price in advance. This is the situation most small GC guys deal with. So I have to calculate a bill (based on his numbers, that he suggests using) and go room by room. This room needs or requires 1 switch at ***x amount, add dimmer, next one calls for a 3 way at 2 locations --this area calls for x amount outlets at ***x per outlet, this needs a dedicated line, blablaba---20 high hats here, 4 data localtions bla,bla,bla add for deco--pull chains in closets and so on. So yea I can get close to where I need to be and I know whats needed. I add money where I have any doubts and try an call for info im not sure about. When Im busy I sometimes throw a little on top of his bill to keep him happy I cant do that at this time. Not that it matters he has poor communication lately. I dont price jobs by phonebook sources who have a service based business. So half day rates for 2 hour jobs I have a big problem with. Im not going to entertain anymore sarcasim.

mahlere

tom,

thanks for the clarification...i didn't start out with sarcasm..it turned that way after the commercial pulling wire comment.

now, look at this from an EC's perspective. I can tell you from experience, lots of it, that if I send one of my trucks, it will eat up 1/2 of the day for the job you are looking at. Especially if we are coming in cold and have to figure it out. What if the circuit is maxed already? What if...a bunch of different things. Secondly, is it a 1 trip job (old work) or a 2 trip job (rough and finish)?

3rd, the only way to estimate like you are mentioning is to have a regular EC that you can work with. But you can not expect someone to step in at the last moment and work at the same rates as the guy who went MIA did.

We made a lot of money by being that company that could step in at the last second and save the job. But the convenience of having us there, when needed, cost a premium.

I could go on forever, but I'll leave you with this thought.....hypothetically, I need $800/day to cover my salary and overhead (including profit) So, I need $100 per hour for an 8 hr day, with me so far.

Now, I leave my shop/garage/house/hotel/trailer/whatever at 8 am to go to your job. I arrive at 8:45am. I set up, figure out a game plan, get ready, and start doing the install at 9:30am. I pull my wires, install my boxes, make my splices, etc and finish at 10:45am. I clean up, put the tools and material back in the truck, write up my paperwork, talk with you for a few minutes, (figure out when we need to come back to put the devices in, etc) finally leaving the job at 11:20am

How much should I bill you for?

Magnettica

This is a great post. All the siding contractor has to do is explain to the customer for 5 minutes the safety issues concerning their meter pan and add onto the price accordingly. I realize this is easier said than done, but the point is to do it and get it done! Your life (or your employees life) is more important than saving a customer $200.00.

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Electrician service in Rahway, Cranford, Clark, Westfield, Mountainside, Scotch Plains, Fanwood, Roselle, Roselle Park, and New Jersey | Same day electrical service and repairs | Licensed and Insured Electrician in Rahway

fridaymean

Who pays for the donut and coffee?

Joking aside, this is a pretty realistic scenerio.

Magnettica

I'd say $400.00 plus material, markup, and profit.

Am I right?

__________________
Electrician service in Rahway, Cranford, Clark, Westfield, Mountainside, Scotch Plains, Fanwood, Roselle, Roselle Park, and New Jersey | Same day electrical service and repairs | Licensed and Insured Electrician in Rahway

NJE

Tom,

The above post, is good information, and I would like to add, when your estimating old remod jobs, the conditions need to be considered, without a good look at the existing old work, it is almost impossible to price it right, you noted you din't have time to have someone look at every job, but if you want to turn profits on jobs you will need to consider changing that idea. I think the guys on here are really trying to help you understand how to make your business run better, and in turn, most likely with better informed customers, you can land more jobs.

As part of your selling the job, point out the old work conditions everyone has to work under, and explain the advantages to the customer of doing the job right, and adding new circuits, or having an electrician return for finish work, and also explain the permit process to your customers, let them know that all the permits on the job is for their protection, and keeping their insurance coverages whole.

Offer more personal service when selling a job then the next guy, they will appriciate your intrest.

Try this site Pro Remodeler com their business articles can be helpful in landing more customers.

mahlere

for that scenerio, yep...or roughly $500...

Magnettica

Good, then I'm doing it right!

__________________
Electrician service in Rahway, Cranford, Clark, Westfield, Mountainside, Scotch Plains, Fanwood, Roselle, Roselle Park, and New Jersey | Same day electrical service and repairs | Licensed and Insured Electrician in Rahway

Celtic

What's a "Pre-board certified electrician"?