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Posted by ET1742 on July 5, 2006, 10:59 pm
Thanks for your response. I do understand what you are saying about what it
really costs to operate a business. The person who came out to do the work
was about 23-25 years old. My guess is that he gets paid a lot less than
$50 per hour since I doubt that he makes $100,000 a year. But I picked $50
per hour just to be on the high side.
I have used plumbing companies in the past and they charged between $60 and
$90 per hour plus parts, so when I heard $175 per hour it just struck me as
high.
I'll definitely check around in my area and maybe I'll find that $175 an
hour is not unusual.
> The old rule of thumb is a worker must make for the company the same
> income he is making for himself. Of course there are all types of
> variations added to this including supply and demand and "the going rate".
>
> If the electrician earns $50.00 per hour, he must generate $50.00 for the
> company. Benefits will vary but can run from 35% to 50% for some unionized
> jobs. this will add $25.00. So far it costs $125.00. Then there is the
> overhead of the company such as insurance, vehicles, taxes
> office/warehouse space, etc. etc., including accountants, office staff,
> and even your quotation. He has to make a quotation as he may not have the
> right tools and/or supplies on hand, nor the timeframe available without
> looking at the job. Plus he will have to go to the supplier to get the
> needed items, even if he has them in stock in the office, they have to be
> replaced. This all costs money. $175.00 may seem high, it may also be the
> "going rate" in your area, but it is surprising how fast it adds up when
> you are running a business.
>
> You may be able to strike a "flat rate" type of deal when you have worked
> up a relationship with a company, where they trust your assessment of the
> job enough to send a man out on your say-so, but as a first-time customer,
> they will not be eager unless they have no work on hand.
>
>>I am trying to get an idea of what is a "normal" hourly rate for an
>>electrician. My reason for asking is that I would like to find an
>>electrician that I can use who would bill me "time and materials" -- that
>>is, "X" amount per hour plus the cost of materials. That way, when I have
>>electrical work that needs to be done, I can skip all of the back and
>>forth let-me-give-you-an-estimate for each and every job. I can have the
>>company send someone out and know they can just do the work and bill me by
>>the hour plus materials.
>>
>> For example, if an electrical contracting company said our charge is $120
>> for the first hour, then $80 for each hour after that, plus the cost of
>> materials, I would be fine with that.
>>
>> Today, I needed a simple job done -- replace a 30-foot length of 220V
>> 10/3 wire that runs from the main panel box to the cut-off box outside
>> for the AC condenser unit. It is all easily accessible in a high ceiling
>> basement and the line needs to go through a plain cinder block wall. The
>> line needs to be replaced because the outside insulation on the portion
>> that is on the outside of the house is coming off almost completely
>> leaving the black and white insulated wires exposed to the elements. I
>> thought the person coming out would just do the work and bill me for his
>> time and materials. Instead, he insisted on preparing a whole work order
>> which I agreed to, and then he will come back tomorrow and do the work.
>> The cost is $395 based on two hours of work at $175/hour (his time
>> estimate), plus materials.
>>
>> I agreed to have it done simply because I need it done, and because it is
>> for a house I own that others live in so I want it done by a licensed
>> electrician rather than do it myself.
>>
>> But that started me wondering -- if I have a lot of other electrical work
>> that I want done (which I do) in two other houses that I own, do I want
>> to be paying $175 and hour for an electrician? I don't know what the
>> company is paying it's worker, but I'm guessing less than $50 per hour.
>> Throw another $25 per hour on for benefits, down time, or whatever and
>> that still leaves the company making $100 an hour to cover it's overhead,
>> insurance, etc.
>>
>> I am definitely not cheap, so it's not about me wanting to nickel and
>> dime anyone. But isn't $175 an hour for an electrician over the top?
>>
>> I live in New Jersey.
>>
>
>
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