fire damage

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ceb

Senior Member
Location
raeford,nc
I have been doing new construction wireing for a local contractor two weeks ago his house caught fire (hair dryer not my work) he wants me to give price on the rewire. Insurance co. says only lr, bed room kitch. and mast. bath will need rewireing what would be a fair price per sq.ft for this. the going rate around here is 2.25 sq.ft + fixtures on new const. This is one that i am not sure on ie: other damage that cannot be seen ect. my butt on the line.
 

charlie b

Moderator
Staff member
Location
Lockport, IL
Occupation
Retired Electrical Engineer
Re: fire damage

I?m not an electrician, so I can?t give you advice on pricing. But I do recommend that you give your bid in writing, and explicitly state that your price is limited to rewiring the areas approved by the insurance company. You should clearly state that any additional repairs that you discover to be necessary only you begin the rewiring is not included in your bid price.
 

definitive

Member
Location
Washington
Re: fire damage

Ive done alot of burn jobs and Ive never had an insurance company tell me what had to be rewired and what didnt. Did they have it inspected by an AHJ?
Typically the insurance company asks me what needs to get done. Besides, if the fire was big enough, and hot enough to damage wiring in three rooms of the house then the smoke no doubt left a smell and residue bad enough to require taking the entire house down to the studs and having Kilz sprayed throughout. If they dont, the house will smell like a campfire forever.
 

ceb

Senior Member
Location
raeford,nc
Re: fire damage

S.B.I. and ins. arson inspected to find cause.
Ins. adjuster wrote up what she felt was justified however I was told she was getting ready to go on two week vacation. She missed a lot. I agree the whole house is a mess and if it were mine the ins. co. and I would have a big problem. what I am trying to determin is what to bid. I know their will be a lot of old wireing to remove and trace the other circ. out to check for damage. and yes all of my jobs are in writing.
 

charlie tuna

Senior Member
Location
Florida
Re: fire damage

first - give the insurance agent your wallet...
second - give the homeowner your check book...

there is only one way to do this job short of a price to re-wire the entire house. do you think the insurance agent knows what it takes to re-pull a home-run back through the existing un-damaged section of the house? how many fixtures you might remove to access these raceways? you might get lucky and be able to repull-if piped? or are you going to dig into the walls to replace damaged romex? the owner will want the job done once and thats all the insurance company will pay for - so it's gotta be right when you walk away!!! t&m is the answer!
 

wayne123

Senior Member
Location
North Carolina
Re: fire damage

I agree with charlie. I have done several fire jobs with the company I used to work with. There is really no way of telling what needs to be ripped out until you start working on it. We primarily did fire restoration with only two insurance companies and the adjusters knew the quality of our work and he also knew that we wouldn't cheat him because it was a large source of our work. There have also been times when the fire got so hot that I questioned some wiring myself so I called the AHJ and got him to look at it and give suggestions. The adjuster will not argue with an inspector because they want the work done ASAP.
 

brian john

Senior Member
Location
Leesburg, VA
Re: fire damage

We do switchboard repairs after fires and arcing faults, usally we give a T&M Not To Exceed price.

If we approach the number we notify all parties involved. It is hard to price what one cannot see.
Spell out your scope of work in STRICT terms.

Remember you will have a mess in your tools and clothes, and may need dust mask, tyvek suits ect.
 
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