Sq. Ft. labor pricing?

[hey_poolboy]

I was approached by a G.C. that is a friend of mine last week for a bid. He is building a spec. house, and wants me to wire it. The only catch is that he wants to buy materials on his account. I haven't done this before, but it boils down to a sq. ft. price for labor on the house. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.
I do trust the guy and we would just write up a modified contract, I just don't quite know where to start.

1500 sq. ft. ranch
basement finished
very few extras (above code compliancy)

Thanks

 

[bigjohn67]

Re: Sq. Ft. labor pricing?

Your labor actual cost will be about $1.00 per sq. foot. You can start from there and add your desired profit.
Best advise:
1.Be sure to notify him that you will not honor any warranty on the materials furnished by him.
2. Put it in writing that you are providing labor only and that any malfuction of the material he provides will not be covered by your insurance.
3. Put it in writing he is to deliver all materials for completion of the job when needed.
Segmented in roughin, service and trim out. If he delays, there will be extra cost for pulling off of the job for each occurance.
4. Any material pulled off your truck for completion will be an extra charge.
5. Upon completion of job and testing, set a rate to return to job if problems arise.

He is obviously trying to cut out your profit on materials. Above all, I would sit down with him and value engineer the job and develop this type of partnership with him rather than going about it this way. I would still give him an estimate of about $6000 to handle the entire electical segment of the job.

 

[tryinghard]

Re: Sq. Ft. labor pricing?

Bet him a steak & lobster dinner in Main that if he supplies the material and you are labor only the project will in fact cost more than a lump sum bid!
There is no safe square footage price. One could come up with an average outlet and controls price though. If you have a 2000 sq' with 120 outlets & controls it will not be the same value as a 2000 sq' with 200 outlets & controls, yet both scenarios are likely. Either way if you have a Contractor asking for labor only you should not work for them.
If you must have the Contractor sign your subcontract agreement which should specify your hourly per man rate, Contractors signature of ALL daily field reports (this will absolve any future discrepancies of hours), terms of pay should be no more than bi-weekly, clarification of material supplied by others needs to include ALL material (tape, wire-nuts, 6-32's, ALL, labor only means just that you show up with your tools only). You will need to clarify who is: ordering, delivering, picking up, returning, who is responsible for extra material.
Keep in mind if you are ordering it is your design and you should be paid for ALL labor spent on this Contractors project. You will need to clarify that ALL product warrantee & guarantee is by the party furnishing, therefore all follow up work is chargeable labor. If your project goes into dispute you need to ask yourself: what will insure my pay?
It is my experience a request like this reveals the Contractor is not qualified to do the work. It is also my experience these end messy, whether with acquaintances, friends or family. As you can see there is no simple way to supply this Contractors request, unless you go to work for the Contractor on their payroll.
Give the Contractor a lump sum bid sealed and managed by a neutral party, then give the Contractor a subcontract agreement with a line item, which states ?in the event the Contractors budget overruns the submitted sealed bid, the Contractor will furnish and supply a steak & lobster dinner in Main.?
Just don?t do it!

 

[tx2step]

Re: Sq. Ft. labor pricing?

I've just never found that pricing electrical work by the square foot is sufficiently accurate. I've looked at the completed cost of a lot of projects, and there is just too much variance in the cost per square foot for me to use that approach.

Whether it is for commercial work or for residential, there is just too much variation in the density and extent of the electrical work to be able to price it by the square foot.

There can be a lot of difference in the electrical required between two different 2,000 SF houses or two different 20,000 SF office buildings.

In residential, you can get pretty accurate using the per-opening approach.

In commercial, you should always do a complete, detailed take-off/estimate. Nothing else is as accurate.

[ March 28, 2005, 11:52 PM: Message edited by: tx2step ]

 

[hey_poolboy]

Re: Sq. Ft. labor pricing?

thanks for the thoughts. You guys have expressed some good ideas and some concerns I had not yet thought of.

Thanks

 

[electricmanscott]

Re: Sq. Ft. labor pricing?

You will probably be calling him a former friend after this is done. A real friend would not be looking to undercut your profit so as to increase his.

 

[peter d]

Re: Sq. Ft. labor pricing?

If he is a GC and a friend, why not agree to trade some services instead?

I do work for friends and close relatives free or nearly free.

 

[hardworkingstiff]

Re: Sq. Ft. labor pricing?

What ever you figure you would have done the labor for, ad 50% of the profit you would have made on the materials. Let him keep 50% for putting up the money, but you get 50% for handling it on the job (plus you have to coach him through the material list).

I believe it is best if you can avoid this.

 

[macmikeman]

Re: Sq. Ft. labor pricing?

Try telling him you want $35 a square foot for your labor only. When he starts jumping up and down, jusk ask him why not? It's about what he charges his customers. When I was able to build my own house(my labor, my materials) for $65 a sq foot, but contractors around here are at least $125 a sq foot for low end job.