Every hour on a quote belongs to someone
An electrical quote is a set of hours and a set of parts. The parts are easy to picture. The hours are harder, because they belong to people, and the people on a job may hold different titles and spend different amounts of time at the house. A quote that names who does what makes the labor total easier to read, and easier to question before you sign.
The license classes, as the code describes them
West Virginia Code 29-3B-4 authorizes the State Fire Marshal to issue master electrician, journeyman electrician and temporary electrician licenses, plus additional specialty electrician classes. In 29-3B-2, a journeyman electrician is defined as having at least one year of electrical work experience and not authorized to design electrical systems; a master electrician as having at least two years of experience including all phases of electrical work, competent to design electrical systems and to instruct and supervise journeymen.
Before comparing prices, put the same question to each bidder: "Which State Fire Marshal electrician license do you hold, and what is its number?" Note the answer on your copy of the quote.
Labor, one person at a time
Ask each bidder to describe the labor in the quote by person rather than as a single figure.
- How many people does the company expect to send, and on which days?
- Is each person's time billed at its own rate, or is the crew priced together?
- Is time for anyone assisting another electrician shown as its own line?
- Is the job priced as a fixed sum, or by the hour with parts added?
- If hourly, does the clock start at the house or at the shop, and how is a part day counted?
- Will the invoice show hours by person, so it can be read against the quote?
With a fixed price, extra hours can fall on the company; with hourly billing, they can fall on you. Ask which one the quote uses, and if it is hourly, ask for a ceiling, or a phone call before the hours pass an agreed point.
Design work and installation work
The code describes a master electrician as competent to design electrical systems and a journeyman as not authorized to design them. On a quote, that can be a reason to ask whether the job involves any design at all. For a new circuit, a subpanel, a kitchen remodel or a garage that will hold new equipment, ask whether laying out the work is part of the price, who does it and whether it appears as its own line. Ask whether you will receive anything on paper from that step, such as a sketch of new circuits or a list of loads, and whether it is yours to keep if you choose another company to do the installation.
Parts named line by line
A lump sum for "materials" leaves a lot unsaid. Ask the bidder to list:
- the panel or breakers, if any, by type and size;
- the cable or conduit, by kind and roughly how much;
- outlets, switches, dimmers and covers, by grade;
- each fixture or fan, and who is supplying it;
- boxes, fittings and anything needed to mount a heavy fixture.
If you buy fixtures yourself, ask how that changes the labor price and the warranty. Ask whether leftover parts you paid for stay with you.
Weirton, briefly
Weirton was incorporated in 1947, when four towns that had grown up around the steel works merged into one city. The city is divided between Hancock and Brooke Counties, and the City of Weirton calls it the only city in the United States that sits in one state while its borders touch two other states.
Extra work and the change order
Walls and ceilings can hide surprises: a cable run nobody expected, a box that will not take the new device, a circuit that feeds more than its label says. Ask, before you sign, what happens then. Does work pause while you decide? Is the added price written down and agreed first? Which person's rate applies to the added hours? A signed change order for each addition can help tie the final invoice to what you approved, rather than to what anyone remembers.
When payments fall
Ask what is due when you sign and what that money covers. Later payments can follow stages of the work, such as rough wiring finished or any inspection passed, with the last one after a walk-through of the finished job. Ask what the written warranty covers on labor and on parts, and whether it differs for parts you supplied.
Reading two quotes against each other
Two totals compare fairly only when they describe the same job. Read them on:
- the license class and number each bidder gave;
- the number of people and the days on site;
- how each person's time is billed;
- whether design or layout is included, and as which line;
- each part, with grades and types named;
- openings in walls or ceilings, and who patches them;
- the rate for unplanned work;
- the payment stages and the warranty.
Ask each bidder for proof of liability coverage and workers' compensation before work starts.
The file to keep
When the work is done, put the quote, each signed change order, any permit and inspection papers, the final invoice with hours by person and the warranty in one folder. Ask the electrician to relabel the panel to match the new circuits, and take a photo of the labels for the same folder.