Hello, I am new here and would like to introduce myself briefly.
I am Stefan, 47, female, with two boys, just the usual. We built our house ourselves (almost everything, but that’s another story).
We also professionally installed all the electrical wiring ourselves. Now I need an electrician for the following tasks: performing the main electrical connection (the cable from the utility provider is already installed, as we built an extension to an existing house), including installing a second meter. Installing the distribution board in the new building (drywall partition), connecting it, and testing and certifying the system. We talked about a four-row distribution board.
The electrician is expected to provide the distribution board, an electric meter, and the necessary small materials. All cables are already in place, including the main connection cable (according to the electrician’s specifications NMY-J 5x16).
What is the approximate time requirement and estimated cost for this work? I was quoted about 2000€ plus tax. Based on an online hourly rate of around 75€ for a certified electrician, this seems somewhat high to me. What do the experts here think?
Best regards,
Stefan
I am Stefan, 47, female, with two boys, just the usual. We built our house ourselves (almost everything, but that’s another story).
We also professionally installed all the electrical wiring ourselves. Now I need an electrician for the following tasks: performing the main electrical connection (the cable from the utility provider is already installed, as we built an extension to an existing house), including installing a second meter. Installing the distribution board in the new building (drywall partition), connecting it, and testing and certifying the system. We talked about a four-row distribution board.
The electrician is expected to provide the distribution board, an electric meter, and the necessary small materials. All cables are already in place, including the main connection cable (according to the electrician’s specifications NMY-J 5x16).
What is the approximate time requirement and estimated cost for this work? I was quoted about 2000€ plus tax. Based on an online hourly rate of around 75€ for a certified electrician, this seems somewhat high to me. What do the experts here think?
Best regards,
Stefan
Is it really that time-consuming to inspect the system? Or is the price only reasonable because he just goes ahead and does it? If I estimate 500€ for materials, at an hourly rate of 75€ that amounts to about 20 hours of work, and after deducting travel time and other factors, it comes down to around 17 hours.
Best regards,
Stefan
Best regards,
Stefan
Well, the problem is that the electrician is not familiar with your installation. This means they take on the risk when approving the system, even though it might not meet the standards (even if it is just a junction box somewhere). Now, it could be that you operate a larger appliance somewhere, and that particular box fails.
In theory and in practice, the electrician would then have to fix the problem, possibly without additional payment, since they have to provide a warranty. Where exactly the warranty ends for an electrical system in a single-family house is difficult to determine, especially for a court.
And this kind of hassle is something many electricians want to avoid... so they either refuse from the start or charge generously for it.
That you might be able to carry out such repairs yourself later, or that such a situation might never arise, is of no interest to anyone beforehand.
Of course, further work like testing the system will definitely be part of the cost calculation. You can do this alone and take a long time, or bring along a journeyman or apprentice (which makes it easier and faster), but they also need to be paid.
As you can see, this topic is not as simple as many think... it’s not just a quick matter of installing a meter, measuring a few cables, and done...
In theory and in practice, the electrician would then have to fix the problem, possibly without additional payment, since they have to provide a warranty. Where exactly the warranty ends for an electrical system in a single-family house is difficult to determine, especially for a court.
And this kind of hassle is something many electricians want to avoid... so they either refuse from the start or charge generously for it.
That you might be able to carry out such repairs yourself later, or that such a situation might never arise, is of no interest to anyone beforehand.
Of course, further work like testing the system will definitely be part of the cost calculation. You can do this alone and take a long time, or bring along a journeyman or apprentice (which makes it easier and faster), but they also need to be paid.
As you can see, this topic is not as simple as many think... it’s not just a quick matter of installing a meter, measuring a few cables, and done...
I can only agree with Mycraft. Around €2000 is reasonable. €1500 labor cost for the house connection, complete distribution, testing, and approval of the entire system is justified. Even if you could do everything yourself, you would still pay around €500 just for the signature.
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