A bid is a list of decisions
Every electrical bid answers a string of questions, even when it does not print them: who does the work, how many hours it takes, which parts go in, how the wire gets from the panel to the new device, what happens to the wall it passes through and what paperwork comes with it. A one-line price hides those answers. A bid broken into parts lets you see them, question them and compare them.
Journeyman, master and contractor licenses
The city's Risk Reduction office, after a Prometric or ICC exam, issues contractor licenses that include general, electrical, plumbing and mechanical, and trade licenses that include journeyman and master electrician.
Whether any of those bears on your job is a question for the bidder. Ask each one: "What state license or registration, if any, covers this work, and what is the number?" Put the answer on the bid itself, so it travels with the price.
Labor: who is on site, and for how long
Labor depends on who comes and how long they stay. Ask how many people the bidder expects to send, how many days or hours the work should take, and who will be in charge on site. If the price is by the hour, ask the rate, whether travel time counts and how the hours will be recorded on the invoice.
Parts the bid should name
A bid that says "materials" in one lump is hard to judge. Ask for the parts by name: the brand and type of any panel and breakers, the grade of outlets and switches, the kind of cable, and any fixtures, fans or covers the electrician is supplying. If you plan to buy fixtures yourself, say so up front and ask how that changes both the price and the warranty.
Small calls and trip charges
Not every bid is for a project. A dead outlet or a light that will not come on may be priced as a service call. Ask whether there is a charge just for coming out, whether it is credited if you go ahead with the repair, and at what point the electrician will stop and phone you before the hours add up.
Running wire through a finished house
The same circuit can be quick or slow depending on its path. An open attic or unfinished basement gives easy access. Finished walls, plaster, tile, cabinets and insulated exterior walls can slow the work and can mean cutting openings. Ask how the route was chosen, how many openings it needs, and whether patching, texture and paint are in the bid or left to you or another trade.
Outbuildings: the feed, the trench and the far end
Power to a separate building adds items that a circuit inside the house does not: the feed cable or conduit, a trench and its depth, a subpanel or disconnect at the far end and the work to put the yard back. Ask the bidder to list each one with its own price, and to say who requests the locating of underground lines before the trench is opened.
Service size and the utility
If the bid includes a larger service or a new panel, the utility may have a part to play: disconnecting and reconnecting power, or changing the meter or the line to the house. Ask the electrician what the utility's part is, who schedules it, whether any utility charges are in the bid, and how long the house could be without power on that day. Ask to see the load calculation that led to the recommendation.
Drinking water: the city's Water Treatment Plant
Manhattan's Water Treatment Plant works by lime softening. It is designed to handle 30 million gallons per day and runs 24 hours a day, every day of the year.
Changes after the work begins
An opened wall can show cable or connections no one planned for. Ask each bidder how changes are handled: whether work stops while you decide, whether the added price is written down before the extra work, and what hourly rate applies to unplanned work. A signed change order for each addition can help keep the final invoice in line with the bid.
Lines to compare across bids
Ask every electrician to price the same scope, then read the bids against each other on these points:
- any trip charge, and whether it is credited;
- crew size, expected time on site and the hourly rate, if any;
- each circuit, outlet, switch and fixture;
- panel and breaker brand, and the cable type;
- wall openings, patching and paint;
- trenching and feeds to any outbuilding;
- the utility's part and any charges for it;
- any permits, inspection time and fees;
- the written warranty on labor and on parts.
A gap between two totals can trace back to one of these lines.
Money and papers at the end
Spread the payments across the job so that each one follows a finished stage of the work. Ask for proof of liability coverage and workers' compensation before anyone starts. At the end, keep the bid, change orders, any permit and inspection papers, the invoice and an updated panel directory together in one folder.