Hello dear community,
We have spent a long time researching and gathering information here, and would now like to share our electrical offer, which seems a bit high to us after reviewing other quotes in this forum. In particular, the electrician is unwilling to offer any discounts or allowances. On the contrary, we were arrogantly told that these are the best prices calculated for us and that we won’t find cheaper offers elsewhere...
To cut a long story short, €90 (about $98) net per electrical outlet is steep.
The construction method is clay block, where the outlet locations are already planned during the wall construction. No chasing or cutting channels will take place, so careful planning is essential.
The builder himself has only had good experiences with this electrician. As a precaution, we requested another quote and are currently waiting.
Construction will take place in the beautiful town of Oranienburg near Berlin.
Is it even possible to say in general that an offer is overpriced, or do electricians all charge similar amounts because some services are priced separately, etc.?
Best regards
Gigiundzisis (our dog and our horse 🙂
We have spent a long time researching and gathering information here, and would now like to share our electrical offer, which seems a bit high to us after reviewing other quotes in this forum. In particular, the electrician is unwilling to offer any discounts or allowances. On the contrary, we were arrogantly told that these are the best prices calculated for us and that we won’t find cheaper offers elsewhere...
To cut a long story short, €90 (about $98) net per electrical outlet is steep.
The construction method is clay block, where the outlet locations are already planned during the wall construction. No chasing or cutting channels will take place, so careful planning is essential.
The builder himself has only had good experiences with this electrician. As a precaution, we requested another quote and are currently waiting.
Construction will take place in the beautiful town of Oranienburg near Berlin.
Is it even possible to say in general that an offer is overpriced, or do electricians all charge similar amounts because some services are priced separately, etc.?
Best regards
Gigiundzisis (our dog and our horse 🙂
Gigiundzisis19 Oct 2023 16:12Yes, I am actually a layperson in this regard. I just looked it up online and saw that these are made of plastic and are white. That is the standard for me.
We can probably do the electrical work ourselves and for this, a credit for the electrical work according to the building specification, including the installation of the power cables for the heating circuit distributors/room controllers and the additional cable from the outdoor unit to the electrical panel, would amount to €3890.
However, the electrical budget has now been lowered to €10,000, which will probably be too much considering the equipment. Otherwise, the builder does not have any electricians who would be willing to take on this contract...
The standard included 88 empty boxes for outlets and switches. Anything beyond that was subject to additional charges.
We can probably do the electrical work ourselves and for this, a credit for the electrical work according to the building specification, including the installation of the power cables for the heating circuit distributors/room controllers and the additional cable from the outdoor unit to the electrical panel, would amount to €3890.
However, the electrical budget has now been lowered to €10,000, which will probably be too much considering the equipment. Otherwise, the builder does not have any electricians who would be willing to take on this contract...
The standard included 88 empty boxes for outlets and switches. Anything beyond that was subject to additional charges.
Gigiundzisis schrieb:
Is it even possible to generally say that a quote is overpriced?If that’s the entire scope of work (23 outlets, blinds switches, data ports, a few light switches, and surge protection): yes. How can the meter space cost anything? There’s just a rail and three cables; the meter itself is provided (and possibly installed) by the utility company.
KarstenausNRW schrieb:
Really poor work, for example, a single outlet in the kid's room?23 outlets in the whole house? I don’t understand. Something’s missing there. Gigiundzisis schrieb:
I checked again; the switches are from Busch Jäger Reflex SI.BJ Reflex SI is really standard. I don’t know any electrician with a clear mind who installs cheap products from Ebay/Amazon costing $1.50 each for illuminated outlets; the Reflex SI series is basically BJ’s standard. An outlet with cover costs around €5 (about $5.50), the same goes for the switches. Gigiundzisis schrieb:
We could probably do the electrical work ourselves and would get a credit of €3,890 (about $4,300) for the electrical work according to the specifications, including laying power cables for the heating circuit distributors/room controllers and additional lines from the outdoor unit to the electrical panel.
However, the electrician costs have now been reduced to €10,000 (about $11,000), which is probably still too high considering the equipment. Otherwise, the builder has no electricians willing to take on this job...I don’t understand. On one hand, you have a general contractor (GC) with specifications including the electrical work, for which you would receive a credit of €3,890 (about $4,300) if you do it yourself or subcontract it. Then you mention electrical costs reduced to €10,000 (about $11,000) and that no one else wants to take the job — but in the quote you copied, it states €23,000 (about $25,000). I’m confused.
Either you have a GC with specifications that include the electrical work. In that case, you can deviate from the specifications and coordinate and contract that separately with an electrician. You would then be bound to the electrician appointed by the GC. How many electricians the GC’s contractor pool has who want the job is not your concern; you just have to pay separately for any work that deviates from the specifications.
Or you remove the electrical work from the GC’s scope and subcontract it to an electrician you choose independently. In that case, you can request quotes from as many electricians as you want, and the GC’s electrician has no say in the matter.
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xMisterDx20 Oct 2023 11:58If you subcontract this work, however, you alone are responsible for making sure your electrician follows the construction schedule and finishes in time for the following trades to start their work. Otherwise, this can quickly become a serious issue for you.
The €3,900 (about $4,200) credit might be quite accurate. On one hand, the general contractor (GC) gets prices from their regular electrician that an average person wouldn’t get even in the worst economic crisis. And, of course, the GC doesn’t forgo their profit margin on this trade, just as they factor in a kind of “penalty fee.”
In short, if you were to separate the electrical work and request a quote of the exact same scope from an external electrician, it would likely be at least 20 to 30% more expensive than the credit you received—if that credit is sufficient at all.
Therefore, I would swallow the bitter pill and have the electrical work done by the GC’s in-house electrician. It’s unfortunate, yes. But the risk is not insignificant.
The best-case scenario is if the client doesn’t complete their part on time. This serves as a constant excuse when the project is delayed (“If we had started on time… now we have capacity issues because you dragged your feet…”), and it can also lead to additional costs if deadlines such as the fixed-price guarantee are significantly impacted.
Anything your electrician messes up will, naturally, be blamed as the cause of all possible defects and problems, for which the GC is not responsible because your electrician did a terrible job. 😉
The €3,900 (about $4,200) credit might be quite accurate. On one hand, the general contractor (GC) gets prices from their regular electrician that an average person wouldn’t get even in the worst economic crisis. And, of course, the GC doesn’t forgo their profit margin on this trade, just as they factor in a kind of “penalty fee.”
In short, if you were to separate the electrical work and request a quote of the exact same scope from an external electrician, it would likely be at least 20 to 30% more expensive than the credit you received—if that credit is sufficient at all.
Therefore, I would swallow the bitter pill and have the electrical work done by the GC’s in-house electrician. It’s unfortunate, yes. But the risk is not insignificant.
The best-case scenario is if the client doesn’t complete their part on time. This serves as a constant excuse when the project is delayed (“If we had started on time… now we have capacity issues because you dragged your feet…”), and it can also lead to additional costs if deadlines such as the fixed-price guarantee are significantly impacted.
Anything your electrician messes up will, naturally, be blamed as the cause of all possible defects and problems, for which the GC is not responsible because your electrician did a terrible job. 😉
Gigiundzisis20 Oct 2023 12:16By reducing the budget to 10,000€, I meant that we have now cut several items. Outdoor area / e-mobility provision / separate media distribution panel / smart home integration for blinds and spot lighting. Altogether, this comes to just under 8,500€ net.
Thank you all, and I will probably have to go with the electrician after all. I briefly considered removing the ceiling outlets for the spotlights since the bungalow already has a wooden beam ceiling. But as usual, you always want to have everything right away...
Thank you all, and I will probably have to go with the electrician after all. I briefly considered removing the ceiling outlets for the spotlights since the bungalow already has a wooden beam ceiling. But as usual, you always want to have everything right away...
Gigiundzisis20 Oct 2023 17:11xMisterDx schrieb:
If you subcontract this work, however, you alone are responsible for ensuring your electrician follows the construction schedule and is finished in time for the following trades to start their work. Otherwise, it can quickly become problematic for you.
The 3,900 EUR credit could be reasonable. On one hand, the main contractor (GC) gets prices from their reliable electrician that an ordinary person wouldn't get even in the worst economic crisis. And of course, the GC does not waive their profit margin on this trade, just as they factor in a kind of "penalty fee."
In short, if you were to separate the electrical work and get an exact quote for the same scope from an external electrician, it would likely be 20 to 30% more expensive than the credit you received—if that helps.
Therefore, I would bite the bullet and have the electrical work done by the GC’s trusted electrician. Unfortunate situation, yes. But the risk is not insignificant.
The best outcome for us is if the client doesn’t finish their part on time. This serves, on one hand, as a permanent excuse if the project is delayed ("we would have started on time... now we have capacity issues because you stalled...") and on the other hand, it can lead to additional charges if deadlines such as the fixed-price deadline are significantly affected.
And whatever mistakes your electrician makes will, of course, be blamed in every possible way for all possible defects and problems for which the GC is not responsible, because your electrician botched it all. 😉 And that’s exactly how it is after consultation. Additionally, the electrician would like to charge a planning fee of 500 EUR (about 540 USD).
Theoretically, the electrical work is our last trade. Filling and painting will be done by ourselves. So, we can pretty much do as we please at that point, since the roof and walls are already in place.
I think the approach is similar at many construction companies.
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