[spark25]

I live in Utah. I am currently charging $20 per opening, $20 to install simple light fixtures, $70 to install ceiling fans and $55 per can light. Do those figures sound right? What are some of the amouts you charge? Is there an accurate, simple way to bid that you use?

Thanks

 

[seabee41]

Wow!!

 

[JohnR]

Yeah, 125$ per gang no matter what it is. Surface mount fixtures are on the owner, Service is separate.


Your asking leaves me to believe that you are having problems keeping up with finances. I could really see that based on your prices.

 

[McClary’s Electrical]

Ibtl

 

[spark25]

It's relative to your location. My journeyman rate here is about $21/hr. I'm just starting out. How do you justify that price?

 

[Rockyd]

Clue - even in residential in SLC area we were 60+ an hour back in 2004. QUIT GIVING AWAY time and effort!

 

[Rockyd]

$21? We were paying $25 back then

 

[Rockyd]

AAt that rate I'd have every job in town, and would be going broke with every box I put up!

 

[dronai]

Two parts to this job; Rough in, and then finish. at those prices you are at about $10/hr ! Remember, you have to purchase all of your material, and get it to the job as well.

 

[mr hands]

You self perform the work?

 

[That_Dude]

Only $21/hr? Are you freelancing or working for a contractor? That sounds like a 3rd year's wage. Most of the contractors I know in UT pay their JM more than that. If you are on your own you might want to work under a contractor to gain the bidding experience, that's what I am working on.

Or are you a Resi JM? For those who aren't in UT, a Resi JM is a Apprentice with 2yrs experience licensed to do Resi on their own.

Ibtl.

 

[Speedy Petey]

I live in Utah. I am currently charging $20 per opening, $20 to install simple light fixtures, $70 to install ceiling fans and $55 per can light. Do those figures sound right? What are some of the amouts you charge? Is there an accurate, simple way to bid that you use?

Thanks

How do you justify that price?

Why should anyone have to justify their pricing?

 

[chicken steve]

Why should anyone have to justify their pricing?

Because supply and demand dictate what the market can bare Petey

For instance, normal folks would question a $100 pizza or a $40 bottle of pop, or a $1500 oil change , especially if they should have a phone book available

~CS~

 

[B4T]

Doubling those prices brings you closer to the real world unless you live in a tent and drink rain water..

 

[aftershockews]

I live in Utah. I am currently charging $20 per opening, $20 to install simple light fixtures,$70 to install ceiling fans We charge 50 and 75 I still think it is too low. Do you include the trip charge?and $55 per can light. We charge 150 per can opening Do those figures sound right? What are some of the amouts you charge? Is there an accurate, simple way to bid that you use?

Thanks

I responded within your quote.

 

[spark25]

I have my residential electrical contractors license. I have been working for someone else making $29.08 as a commercial wireman. I got laid off and am trying to do some residentail jobs to get by while waiting for something to come up. Residential rates are much less. I didn't know how much to charge. In the past, I put plans out to bid with other electrical contractors. That is where I got my prices. That was a while ago, though.

Your prices seem high. Maybe that's because the cost of living is higher where you live. Maybe I should charge those prices. I might get more business.

 

[sbrn33]

Why would resi be cheaper than commercial? It is not easier.

 

[CADPoint]

... I didn't know how much to charge.

You need to do your homework;

There is no general accounting on your part for all that goes on (cost wise) behind the scene of you going to work! Once you understand your cost your price will rise and while your stuck in a cost per hole - it will probably change as to how you relate at bid time once your understand your costs.

You need to know your Billable hours, selling price, the total cost of overhead items (oh which could easily be a 40 entry item list)- which will give you your yearly expenses. In the yearly expenses is a line item called payroll burden, just research that term alone! One should realize from that one item alone how much money is lost going to work every hour of every day.

:thumbsup: Good Luck

 

[aftershockews]

Your prices seem high. Maybe that's because the cost of living is higher where you live. Maybe I should charge those prices. I might get more business.

10 Cheapest U.S. Cities to Live In
4. Memphis, Tenn.


Mark Gstohl via Creative Commons

Cost of Living: 14% below average

City Population: 652,050

Median Household Income: $37,072

Median Home Value: $99,000

Memphis is a big city -- it’s the biggest in Tennessee and has over half a million more residents than the next-largest city on this list (McAllen, Texas). Yet it doesn’t have big-city prices. You can buy a home in Memphis for less than $100,000, a price tag that’s hard to match in a comparably sized city. Proximity to the Mississippi River makes it a hub for the shipping and transportation industries. Memphis is home to three Fortune 500 companies (FedEx, International Paper and AutoZone), numerous colleges and universities, mouthwatering ribs and, of course, Graceland.

Read more at http://www.kiplinger.com/slideshow/...st-u-s-cities-to-live-in/#D2Bs6tm2j0XTyF6q.99

:no:

 

[EBFD6]

Why would resi be cheaper than commercial? It is not easier.

Supply and demand. Anyone who owns a screwdriver and a pair of wire strippers can strap a 6' ladder to the top of the minivan and call themselves a residential electrician. Commercial/industrial usually requires a little more financial investment. I don't know how you guys make any money competing with the lowballer hacks.

As far as one being easier than the other, you're right. They are 2 different skill sets and can't really be compared. I suck at residential work. I'm ok with that and have no plans to change it.