material estimate on electrical bid

[ClearWaterMS]

i am working to get electrical run out to a small building on my property. The plan is to run a 50A two pole breaker in my main 200A service panel and bury 6 gauge wire approximately 100' to the building. Inside of the building we will install 6 outlets using a main trunk down the middle of the building and t'ing off that to minimize the amount of conduit.

The labor estimate I got was very reasonable but the total estimate was higher than I was expecting and when I asked the contractor to break it down he quoted roughly 1700 for materials and tooling (we need to rent a trencher for approx. $200)

does 100' of buried cable, a 8 spot sub panel, 50A fuse, conduit, and 12 gauge wire inside of the building cost $1500?

3/4" conduit at my local home goods store is $7 a 10' section
500' spool of wire (I was told we need red, white, black) is $40 a spool
50a fuse is $12
12 breaker spare panel is $50

I live in Dupage county and I believe if I bury it 24" underground feeder cable is sufficient and that appears to be around >$4 a foot for 6/3 cable.

so this is what i'm thinking
breaker, fuses, panel = $100
interior wire = $120
conduit, connectors, boxes, etc. (rounding up, assume 3 pieces of pipe, 6 connectors, one box per connection) = $210
underground feeder cable = $400
---------------------------------------
$830 add 20% for contingency and I am coming in at around $1000.

 

[wyliesdiesels]

Prices vary wildly by region.

No point in asking this on the internet. We cant tell you if its high or reasonable.

If you think the price is high, go get 2 or more quotes from other contractors.

 

[dcg9381]

does 100' of buried cable, a 8 spot sub panel, 50A fuse, conduit, and 12 gauge wire inside of the building cost $1500?

breaker, fuses, panel = $100
interior wire = $120
conduit, connectors, boxes, etc. (rounding up, assume 3 pieces of pipe, 6 connectors, one box per connection) = $210
underground feeder cable = $400
---------------------------------------

Offer to pay for the materials he specifies if you don't like it. Over the last few months electricians have taken it on the chin if they honor earlier bids. Romex is up 100%.

Here, a 36" trencher is $250 without the junk fees - more like $300, plus the time it takes to haul and return.
Sounds like a 50-60A feed, so 6 gauge wire - Look at the price of #6 copper (or whatever the AL equiv is). Wire is way up.
2" electrical conduit - $240 or so, not counting turning it or ends. Do not try to pull 60A worth of wire in 3/4" conduit. 1-1/4 minimum. I'd do 2" for future upgrade. Here, new "main" requires 3" conduit min.
Panel with breakers for $100? Maybe. Look at a Siemens Talon panel (already has breakers, 4 spare slots, some outlets - $165.

I'd add 10-20% for various misc connectors, lube, cable pull, all the **** that adds up.

For this job, I'd offer to trench it and lay conduit myself - that's high "simple" labor and may decrease the cost.

 

[sparky 1971]

It's probably about right.. Material prices are almost always marked up. You can always get another quote. You could offer to buy the material, but the contractor will probably say no. I only let customers supply decorative light fixtures and ceiling fans. There have been exceptions for people I know, but there is no warranty.

 

[83VillageRepair]

Just like mechanics do electrical contractors mark up their material (typically around 100%) . It is part of their profit margin. If you take the profit out of the material then they will need to mark up their labor. Either way he quoted the job with the margin he needs to make a living.

 

[Terry D]

Electrical material has gone up in price considerably. If you are only paying 40.00 for a 500 ft roll of THWN, you are getting a very good deal

Sent from my SM-G960U using The Garage Journal mobile app

 

[acer66]

@dcg9381 yeah, I got a sticker shock yesterday after looking at romex prices.
$90 for 25’ of 10/3, 250’ of 14/2 was around $140.

 

[Bopbop]

Material prices are going out of site. Right now we are seeing the supply houses only holding their quotes on materials to the contractor for a couple of days. Talking with several contractors they are getting notice of material cost increase weekly.
This is on everything, copper, steel, wood, PVC, you name it.

 

[BFBOB]

Even if he's not marking it up to make a profit on the materials, you're paying for his time to go get it, or order and pay for delivery - one way or another, it costs. If he'll give you a list and you do all that, you'll save money and spend your time & car expenses.

 

[alfredeneuman]

500' spool of wire (I was told we need red, white, black) is $40 a spool

Currently a 500' roll of #12 solid is $87.55 @ the HD, more than twice as much as you were told.

 

[klassenl]

Just like mechanics do electrical contractors mark up their material (typically around 100%) .

Can I come live where you do. If I as a contractor can mark up my material at 100% I want to work there.

 

[zeke67]

I'm not getting your math to add up. At $40/spool you left out green, so get $160 by your logic for interior wire. But, like already posted, I think your numbers per spool are low. I get $870 including the trencher which you need anyway. This is about 1/2 of your quote, he's got to mark this up and probably cover whatever surprises come up, inspections, etc. that might cause re-work, cover overhead, and so forth. I think it's a good deal, maybe a little high but he has the risk. In Lombard, can you do your own work?

 

[slow]

I'm not getting your math to add up. At $40/spool you left out green, so get $160 by your logic for interior wire. But, like already posted, I think your numbers per spool are low. I get $870 including the trencher which you need anyway. This is about 1/2 of your quote, he's got to mark this up and probably cover whatever surprises come up, inspections, etc. that might cause re-work, cover overhead, and so forth. I think it's a good deal, maybe a little high but he has the risk. In Lombard, can you do your own work?

assuming conduit they are going to skip the green and just use conduit for ground. I agree on price per spool is low. In general, anything a contractor buys and installs at my house, if the item costs $50 or less, I expect to round to 100. Items like breaker, round to 100, load center round up to 100. conduit, round to 100 for the 7 sticks needed. Misc boxes and fittings round to 100 or $200 if the cost is 100+ .

 

[mike93lx]

Sounds like you should get your license and undercut all of the pros. You'd be swimming in work.

And then go out of business

 

[Stuart in MN]

Can I come live where you do. If I as a contractor can mark up my material at 100% I want to work there.

It's not uncommon in the US.

 

[purplezr2]

i am working to get electrical run out to a small building on my property. The plan is to run a 50A two pole breaker in my main 200A service panel and bury 6 gauge wire approximately 100' to the building. Inside of the building we will install 6 outlets using a main trunk down the middle of the building and t'ing off that to minimize the amount of conduit.

The labor estimate I got was very reasonable but the total estimate was higher than I was expecting and when I asked the contractor to break it down he quoted roughly 1700 for materials and tooling (we need to rent a trencher for approx. $200)

does 100' of buried cable, a 8 spot sub panel, 50A fuse, conduit, and 12 gauge wire inside of the building cost $1500?

3/4" conduit at my local home goods store is $7 a 10' section
500' spool of wire (I was told we need red, white, black) is $40 a spool
50a fuse is $12
12 breaker spare panel is $50

I live in Dupage county and I believe if I bury it 24" underground feeder cable is sufficient and that appears to be around >$4 a foot for 6/3 cable.

so this is what i'm thinking
breaker, fuses, panel = $100
interior wire = $120
conduit, connectors, boxes, etc. (rounding up, assume 3 pieces of pipe, 6 connectors, one box per connection) = $210
underground feeder cable = $400
---------------------------------------
$830 add 20% for contingency and I am coming in at around $1000.

You prices are low just from what I have seen, I would ask for a break out of parts, know that his prices will be higher then box stores possible as he needs to pick up and inventory/handle the material. It all cost money.

 

[dcg9381]

It's not uncommon in the US.

HVAC pretty good example.. But the manufacturers make sure that happens (or at least try).

I dunno. If I get an electrical bid that says $1500 in materials, although I expect that to be a high-estimate, I don't expect there to be an express markup. I also don't expect him to work for a few bucks an hour, but the total is the total.

I know automotive has a "jobber/wholesale" rate on parts that get passed at retail with independents. Dealers sell you parts that OEM retail and their labor is based on what a book tells them they can bill for the service.

I do a lot of cost plus deals with construction. A big part of why I do it that way is fiscal safety - I've seen friends end up with liens, even though they paid for materials through a contractor. But the other reason is visibility into material and labor costs. And absolutely some contractors take it on the nose due to underestimation...

 

[ClearWaterMS]

thanks everybody, it sounds like the material price aligns and the quote is fair. It appears that my expectations are wrong. I double checked the pricing of the wire and you're correct it was $93 not $40.

At $1500 for the materials given what everybody said it is a fair price.

Thanks everybody