Electrical work

[FollowingAmirage]

So we are planning a kitchen/diner knock through. And the electric work (listed below has come back at £1700 we are in the south east. Can someone please tell me if this sounds reasonable (The first quote came back at 4.5K, so this is an improvement but I still feel it’s a bit high). Any thoughts/past experiences will be super helpful:

• install 2 outdoor lights either side of the patio door
• moving BT master socket to the opposite corner
• moving alarm/detector to opposite corner
• installing 4 downlights in dinning room side
• moving the socket on the wall coming down to the adjacent wall
• adding a new electric socket in the dining room side
• Kitchen door to be blocked up so socket to turn the lights on/off in kitchen area to be moved next to current dining room door
• 6 downlights in the kitchen + 2 pendant lights ( pendent lights on dimmer switch)
• remove 3 sockets from wall coming down
• install 2 new sockets in kitchen area
• move one socket to the right
• replace the consumer unit
• a heat alarm in the kitchen area

If you are in east Kent I can recommend someone, he did a total rewire 3 bed house for £4000 for me.

My husband is an electrician in the South East and he said £1700 is about right for that. I read the list to him and he added it in his head to roughly £1800.

You can find local Niceic registered electricians on the Niceic website. They will be approved and inspected every year.

@Flamingo30

You can find local Niceic registered electricians on the Niceic website. They will be approved and inspected every year.

You mean like people at any registered competent persons scheme, here is the official government backed register www.electricalcompetentperson.co.uk/

Price wise if anything it may be a little cheap i'd probably estimate around £2300 for a similar job.

Ah thank you all for the replies. Very helpful .

I think we had £2100 for similar ish so it seems fine, I think we probably overpaid but noone else seemed to want the job and I was happy enough with the price.

So one more question please for those on the know: what’s the usual payment schedule for such work. I was thinking 50% upfront to cover materials etc. and the 50% upon completion once we receive certificate?

My husband doesn't ask for anything upfront. He sends invoice along with certificate after completion.

I think that sounds ok. New consumer unit installs aren’t cheap for a start.

I paid when all completed.

That's what ours asked for, but we compromised at 25% upfront, 35% halfway, 40% completion. I
25% upfront more than covered expences apparently, most could obviously be used elsewhere if the job fell through anyway.

@FollowingAmirage

So one more question please for those on the know: what’s the usual payment schedule for such work. I was thinking 50% upfront to cover materials etc. and the 50% upon completion once we receive certificate?

over 1k we usually ask for materials upfront which will all be delivered on day one of the job deposits offered by credit card so the customer knows they are protected and cant do a runner with their cash. Love it this way protects me and the customer a win win.

I'm having my electrical work done at the moment. I paid for the materials, he gave me a list, I picked most of the stuff up from Toolstation (cabling, boxes etc) which came in at around £100. The sockets/dimmers I'd already purchased myself, these were closer to £300. I offered to make part payment this week since he's been working all week and has made good progress, but he insisted I pay on completion.

I have found electricians to be the most reliable and competent of all the tradesmen.

That price sounds reasonable....we rent a few houses so have had a fair amount of work done.

Do NOT pay anything up front. A decent electrician will not expect payments up front. At the most for a very large job they would expect staged payments but that is small and materials minimal.

Thanks so much for the advice re payment! Feeling more confident now. I used the guy before but for a much smaller job, so I had no idea...

@MarieG10

That price sounds reasonable....we rent a few houses so have had a fair amount of work done.

Do NOT pay anything up front. A decent electrician will not expect payments up front. At the most for a very large job they would expect staged payments but that is small and materials minimal.

Nonsense

@R1R2 *
*
Do NOT pay anything up front. A decent electrician will not expect payments up front. At the most for a very large job they would expect staged payments but that is small and materials minimal. 
Nonsense

Why is that nonsense? We have plenty of experience with all sorts of different trades. Decent trades people do not demand deposits or upfront payments. They will be solvent and it is part of their business to fund up front.

When friends have had problems with workmen with quality or turning up, there has been a link that they paid money up front...although thankfully not many.

In a busy economy with a lot of demand such trades might get away with it but few people I know pay up front..and business here is word of mouth, not through adverts. These trades don't need to advertise as their reputation does it

OP..please do not pay money up front. There are enough threads on MN about rogue builders and the OP being left high and dry

Agree. My personal experience is that those that request payment upfront, are generally not very good. They will cut corners at every avenue. 75% of payment should be made on completion, providing every last bit of work has been completed, as stipulated in a written contract.

Trades are not your personal credit account, taking deposits on materials where the cost is significant is sensible business practice or perhaps we should start performing credit checks on every customer upfront? Im sure that will go down well, the fact idiots pay in cash to people who they didn't bother to vet is of no consequence a "decent" tradesperson will protect themselves and you. Deposits should always be traceable and if possible paid by credit card, you should also always have a contract on any works over a few hundred quid.