ᐅ Additional Cost for Electrical Installation – Is That Really Possible?

Hello community,

My wife and I are currently building a house. It is a turnkey single-family home through a developer contract. We recently had a meeting with the electrician and shared our special requests. The customizations mainly include:
- A larger distribution board
- Network cables
- Four-way and two-way switches
- LED touch dimmers
- Additional lighting points

In the end, the price blew me away. Overall, we are looking at an extra cost of about €12,000 (approx. $13,000 US). Are these prices for the following tasks realistic?

• Installing network cables (2x RJ45 duplex Cat7) – €226.3 (approx. $246) each
• Additional lighting point – €29.75 (approx. $32) each
• Expansion of the distribution board with a consumer unit including a residual current device (RCD) switch – €659.45 (approx. $718) (I can get one of these online, and the other one is not even charged)
• Surface-mounted patch panel 12x RJ45 – €226.1 (approx. $246)
• Four-way switch with lighting point – €146.8 (approx. $160) each
• Satellite system (6 connections) – €1,538.4 (approx. $1,675)

Would you still install telephone sockets in a new house, or run everything over the network cable?

Thanks in advance for your feedback!

Is it considered a multi-family house because of the 6 units?
Is there even an alternative? Probably not.

Having 6 satellite connections in a single-family house is no longer unusual... We have 12!

Prices including tax?

Yes, it is expensive, a typical additional charge through the general contractor. But you only see the material cost, not the labor. For example, with SLS, the supposed online price is irrelevant.

This is the business model of many general contractors: they push the subcontractors’ prices down so much that the initial overall price for the client looks favorable, and the subcontractors make little to no profit. At the same time, the quality standard is set so low that the client ends up having to upgrade anyway. This is where the subcontractors make their actual profit through overpriced offers.

That’s why construction performance descriptions are carefully checked for completeness. If you know the standard won't meet your needs, you have the extra costs provided BEFORE signing the contract or negotiate those prices in advance. After signing, it’s a "take it or leave it" situation. Alternatively, some prefer the higher-priced general contractor because there is a better chance their subcontractors are paid properly from the start and therefore do not need to request excessive surcharges.

It’s expensive but accurate.

You can set up satellite yourself, or alternatively stream via services like Waipu, which doesn’t cost much more than HD over satellite.

You can also wire the patch panel yourself; just install a small server cabinet on the wall since the switch needs a place too.

Whether you need any three-way or four-way switch wiring is something you’ll have to decide.

In our case, the electric roller shutters had an additional cost, and the switches for them cost extra as well.