DIY Consumer Unit Change

[RF Lighting]

and run it in neatly in the proper place

Oh and his time to go to the wholesalers for the cable, and his diesel

You would think most decent electricians would carry the correct green/yellow cable and pipe clamps in the van!

They didn't get in the van by magic....

There's another item for the list. All the stock your electrician has to buy and keep 'just in case'

 

[First-time-buyer]

I have had a reply from the £300 guy.

£300 becomes £400 if the earthing needs sorted.

How much is 6mtrs of 10mm Earth, a box of clips and 2x earth clamps.. ~

You forgot to add all his years of training and experience so he knows how to properly size the wire, and run it in neatly in the proper place and connect to the correct bit of pipe work, and ensure the resistance of the finished job is low enough.

Oh and his time to go to the wholesalers for the cable, and his diesel and motor, PL, and PI insurance, road tax, income tax, vat, accountant fees, holiday pay, sick pay, and I could go on and on.

The guys running a business and needs to earn a living after paying out all his business expenses. The likely hood is that yours will be the only job he'll be able to do for the day. He will be lucky to earn much more than £120 of actual profit from you. It's not exactly a brilliant wage.

The job requires 5mtrs of 10mm earth, several cable clips and 2 earth clamps - certainly not £100 worth of work there.

Parts ~ £8 (5 mtrs of cable, 2 earth clamps)
20mins work ~ £35

I shall fit the 10mm earth to the water/gas and terminate it into the earth block on the cut-out with magical excess slack..


I also had an epiphany earlier, in the garage... I cant fit new circuits, but I could certainly replace the old cable for new cable..

 

[RF Lighting]

Can you?

 

[EFLImpudence]

I can't be bothered to read it all again but -

isn't everyone agreed that this person may not be the best choice?

So, what is the point of slagging him off?

Get a solicitor to do it.



Half price MoTs. More likely to find a fault ???
(I realise logically that shouldn't be the case but...)

 

[ban-all-sheds]

The job requires 5mtrs of 10mm earth, several cable clips and 2 earth clamps - certainly not £100 worth of work there.

Vehicle
Stock
Scheme membership costs
Regulations and other publications
Tools
Tester calibration costs
Public Liability Insurance
Professional Indemnity Insurance
Van insurance
Tool insurance
Medical Insurance
"Holiday pay"
"Sick pay"
Pension
Van servicing
Fuel
Accountant

And that's just what comes immediately to mind.

20mins work ~ £35

Go away.

 

[First-time-buyer]

I think you are forgetting that he/she will already be on site. Therefore I expect all them things have already been included into the £300 price.

 

[RF Lighting]

No you pay for my years of training, experience and overheads every time you use it.

Do tescos sell you your second, third and fourth item of shopping at a reduced rate as you've already paid all their overheads with your first item?

 

[AndyPRK]

Yes. Buy 2 and get the 3rd free.

 

[First-time-buyer]

I think he/she is being obtuse because they can be.

The sales tactic is good, get in the door then ramp the prices right up. Sounds similar to a large national UPVC window/door company.

I would expect to pay an electrician (labour) £70 for the first hour, then £60 for each subsequent hour, or part of. This includes all the waffle you have gone on about.

Therefore my £45 estimate to earth Water/Gas is fair.

 

[JohnW2]

No you pay for my years of training, experience and overheads every time you use it. ... Do tescos sell you your second, third and fourth item of shopping at a reduced rate as you've already paid all their overheads with your first item?

It's easy for you, and countless millions like you, who charge an hourly or daily rate. The fixed (or essentially fixed) overheads (which is what most of the things in BAS's list were) should simply be part of that hourly rate - so that, fairly, customers pay for your fixed overheads pro rata to the amount of time you work for them.

It's much more difficult for retailers, like Tesco, who deal in 'items', rather than 'an hourly rate' (for an approximately known number of hours per year). They have little alternative than to build in an element to cover their fixed overheads into the price of every item they sell. That means that,in effect, someone who buys lots of items is getting a very bad deal. Indeed, with that system, if enough people buy enough products (more than they estimated when working out the 'allocation' of their fixed overheads charge) they can end up recovering from customers an amount to 'cover their fixed overheads' which considerably exceeds the cost of their fixed overheads. The same should not happen with an electrician, unless (s)he works more hours in a year than was assumed when working out how much to add to their hourly charge for 'fixed overheads'. ... the reason for the difference is obviously that, whilst the 'target number of hours worked per year' is approximately known to an electrician, a retailer is always aiming to sell as many items as possible in a year!

Of course, one very often does get discounts for quantity purchases, particularly from manufacturers and wholesalers, but also to some extent with retailers - which goes some way to making things a bit fairer.

Kind Regards, John

 

[ban-all-sheds]

I would expect to pay an electrician (labour) £70 for the first hour, then £60 for each subsequent hour, or part of. This includes all the waffle you have gone on about.

Therefore my £45 estimate to earth Water/Gas is fair.

Well, you can expect that if you want.

But if your expectation is not one which is shared by any electricians then no matter how much you talk about waffle and what you think is fair, you won't find anybody to take the job.

If/when you do, remember the adage about paying peanuts.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Of course, one very often does get discounts for quantity purchases, particularly from manufacturers and wholesalers, but also to some extent with retailers - which goes some way to making things a bit fairer.

I believe that all the BOGOF and related multibuy deals in supermarkets are funded (often under pressure from the supermarkets) by the makers/growers/etc.

 

[JohnW2]

I would expect to pay an electrician (labour) £70 for the first hour, then £60 for each subsequent hour, or part of. This includes all the waffle you have gone on about.

I'm not going to comment on the actual figures since I'm not sufficiently conversant with the magnitude of the overheads involved) but the concept of charging less for 'subsequent' hours than for the first hour is only valid if there is not a separate charge for travelling time/actual travelling costs. If that is not charged separately, then it's reasonable to add that on to the first hour's charge (although I very much doubt that £10 would usually be enough).

Kind Regards, John

 

[JohnW2]

Of course, one very often does get discounts for quantity purchases, particularly from manufacturers and wholesalers, but also to some extent with retailers - which goes some way to making things a bit fairer.

I believe that all the BOGOF and related multibuy deals in supermarkets are funded (often under pressure from the supermarkets) by the makers/growers/etc.

You are probably right. It's certainly true that many of the 'multibuy/ multipack' deals are 'factory applied'.

My grandfather and his father before him) was a baker and shopkeeper (more than one shop), but also very religious and of high moral standards. Rather than seeking to 'maximise profit', he decided what he thought was a reasonable/moral income for him to derive from his businesses. Whenever he found that, because sales were increasing, he was 'making more' than that reasonable income (at the cost of his customers), he would reduce his prices accordingly. Such days will presumably never return!

Kind Regards, John

 

[First-time-buyer]

I would expect to pay an electrician (labour) £70 for the first hour, then £60 for each subsequent hour, or part of. This includes all the waffle you have gone on about.

Therefore my £45 estimate to earth Water/Gas is fair.

Well, you can expect that if you want.

But if your expectation is not one which is shared by any electricians then no matter how much you talk about waffle and what you think is fair, you won't find anybody to take the job.

If/when you do, remember the adage about paying peanuts.

Get Monkeys!

I dont need a all singing dancing monkey, i just one which will do the job..!