Quote for Electrician referred by Interior Designer - is the price inflated?!

You can garantee that any quote provided by and designer be it interior or anything else will be inflated. It covers the project management time. If she gives you an itemised quote it will still be inflated. You can't expect people to ring around, get quotes and source materials for nothing. Yes they say no worries I will do it for you, but ask yourself why? Is it because they think you are a fantastic person and really just want to help out :no:or is it a means of them making some extra money:)?


I agree with Mr Fix It, you can not expect the electrician to deal with you if they have an ongoing relationship with the ID. Get other quotes as suggested. If money is not an issue and you want someone else to deal with any headaches, go with the ID.

JustAChick, first lesson, always get more than one quote that details all work and ask to see their registration number. I've just had a lot of electrical work done and the rate was $60 per hour. A couple of years agao I was charged $150 per fan to install excluding the cost of the fan. That was fair enough because they are time consuming (about 2 hrs each) and fiddly.

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Originally Posted by JustAChick

I had a local interior designer out to get some advice on a few things and she had an electrician to come out and quote on the following:

...snip...

The invoice has been retyped by the designer and is not cost itemised so I don't know what the labour time or charge per hour is, nor do I know cost of items. Is it reasonable to ask for an itemised quote?

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The designer has, quite naturally, marked the quote up to cover service costs. Sorry, but you are asking to have it both ways. You are happy to have the designer get the quotes, select the products, etc. but evidently do not want to pay for his/her time to perform that service. It is certainly ok to ask for an itemised quote from the designer, of course, but not from the sparky directly, as the designer has now become your agent.

You are perfectly entitled to call another sparky on your own and get your own quotes.:)

sounds like a fairly big job, labour would be the large cost if they have to redo cables in cathedral ceilings.
but always get more than 1 quote

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Originally Posted by Tabby

JustAChick, first lesson, always get more than one quote that details all work and ask to see their registration number. I've just had a lot of electrical work done and the rate was $60 per hour. A couple of years agao I was charged $150 per fan to install excluding the cost of the fan. That was fair enough because they are time consuming (about 2 hrs each) and fiddly.

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Tabby you got a hell of a bargain there
The Sparkie wouldn't have made much money at all.
I'm wondering if he was registered and did you get a Certificate of electrical safety

you pay the designer to do design work, select finshes and fixtures. If you manage the contarctors ie open up, clean up and make them a coffee. then why should the designer make money from the transaction.

I think you would find that all building work over $1000.00 the princple contactor needs to be licensed builder and the plumber, gas fitter, elc etc has to have there own speciality lic.

Chances are this designer does not have a builders lic, more the more reason not to employee trades from her.

If she gives you a specification who can then have two or threee compaines price the work inclduing the supply of fittings if required or you can supply them and they would install them.

Now if you are not a nice person you can get the designer to do the electrical work plus what ever else needs doing then not pay her, when she aks for the money ask for her builders lic. She has no recourse using the court system to reclaim the money and infact she could be fined for doing un-lic building work.

Tabby you got a hell of a bargain there
The Sparkie wouldn't have made much money at all.
I'm wondering if he was registered and did you get a Certificate of electrical safety<!-- / message --><!-- sig -->
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That is all I charge for a ceiling fan pending on location and ceiling access!
Why would you get a certificate of electrical safety for?
All I do is fill out their Warranty Certificate and all is good!

I have no doubt in my mind you are being had here by the interior designer I worked out a rough quote in my melon sight un seen did the electrician actually come and see the job? And it came between $2,500- and $2,800 get 3 quotes simple as that or if you can afford someone to tell you what colour to paint the internals of your house you should be able to afford the price quoted!

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Originally Posted by patty

<!-- / message --><!-- sig -->
That is all I charge for a ceiling fan pending on location and ceiling access!
Why would you get a certificate of electrical safety for?
All I do is fill out their Warranty Certificate and all is good!

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In Vic (I quote off the Chief Electrical Inspector website)
"Whenever a licensed electrician completes any electrical installation work, they must provide a certificate of electrical safety."

Patty you are either not in Vic or Not licensed

Yep she's putting her bit on the quote. I don't know a thing on the stuff you're getting fitted, but common practice is to put on 10% to 30% of the price quoted by a subbie in my industry - I doubt it'd be different in hers either.

Tell her you'll accept her quote minus the sparky.

By means of a certificate are you referring to a NOWE a Notification of Electrical Wiring? No Im not licensed I have only been doing it and runnning my own business for the last 25 years

Ladies and gentlemen:

Let us not turn a perfectly good bun fight over whether or not interior decorators deserve to get paid for their work (:D) into yet another stoush over licensed sparkies. (:rolleyes:)

If you want to fight about licensed sparkies vs any other, start your own thread. You will have no lack of responses. :wink:

[This gentle reminder brought to you as a courtesy whilst Neil finds a replacement for Groggy. :; :p ]

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Originally Posted by Honorary Bloke

Ladies and gentlemen:

Let us not turn a perfectly good bun fight over whether or not interior decorators deserve to get paid for their work (:D)

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Honoraary Bloke is right. Not to be hypocritical to what I wrote, but. If you want to bring someone to do al the running around and bring it al together, then it can save you some of the agro and it'll come at a cost. But if not, then negotiate what you want in her quote or not. My clients do it from time to time and they're quite allowed to, just means a little less for me if they do.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by patty

By means of a certificate are you referring to a NOWE a Notification of Electrical Wiring? No Im not licensed I have only been doing it and runnning my own business for the last 25 years

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No sorry in Vic we have a Certificate of Electrical Safety
http://www.esv.vic.gov.au/ForConsume...3/Default.aspx

Guys, JuatAChick has probably had the job done a longtime gone now. This thread was started last year in Sept/Oct