Costs, Quotes & Choosing an Electrician

How to calculate electrical labour cost?

By Jordan Statham, Director and Registered Electrical Inspector at The Conduction Company. EWRB registration I272615.

How an Auckland electrician works out the hours on a job, what labour covers that clients never see, and why two quotes for the same job can differ.

Hands with a red screwdriver fitting a switch plate to a tiled bathroom wall.

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Two electrical quotes for what looks like the same job can be a long way apart. This guide covers how to calculate electrical labour cost the way The Conduction Company does it in Auckland: how the hours are set before a job starts, what those hours include, and what pushes them up or down. Jordan Statham, the company's director, is a registered electrician and electrical inspector, and the answers below are his.

The Conduction Company calculates electrical labour from its own job records. Each section of a quote carries a set amount of time, based on how long the same work has actually taken on past jobs. The price for each section covers arrival, safety checks, setup, the work, clean-up, and travel, as one lump sum.

How to estimate electrical labour cost?

The Conduction Company estimates electrical labour cost from how long similar work has really taken its team, not from a guess on the day. Every quote is built from pre-built sections, and each section carries an allocated amount of time.

At the end of a job, the team back-costs it: it checks how long each part of the job actually took. The Conduction Company crunches those numbers into averages for each type of installation, then adjusts the time in its pre-built sections to match. "We know that we are pricing labour where it should be, based on years of experience and the actual raw data of how long previous jobs have taken," says Jordan Statham. The Conduction Company sets out how the rest of a quote is put together in its guide to quoting an electrical job.

Does the estimate usually hold?

Yes, on average. Jordan Statham says The Conduction Company's estimates work out "pretty much bang on", because the team has been pricing jobs for so long. Some jobs go over, usually because the team has hit something unexpected. Some come in slightly under, on a day when everything goes right. Taken over a month or so, the actual hours line up almost exactly with the estimates.

What does labour include that people do not see?

Far more than the time spent with tools in hand. Take one new power outlet. This is the time The Conduction Company's labour covers on a job like that, start to finish.

Arrival and walk-through. The technician introduces themselves and walks you through exactly what is going to happen. For a new outlet, that includes agreeing exactly where you want it, with suggestions on position from experience.

Safety check. The health and safety paperwork, and a "five by five", where the technician assesses the safety of the job and the job itself before getting stuck in.

Setup. Bringing the tools inside, putting the ladder in place, and laying the drop sheets.

The work. Cutting the hole with a dust collector so dust does not go everywhere, setting the height with a laser to match your other outlets, clipping the cable in place, and terminating it neatly in the switchboard.

Clean-up and pack-down. A vacuum, and all the gear back in the van.

The Conduction Company factors all of that into the total price of the job.

Is travel time inside the labour, or charged separately?

On a quoted job, it is inside. The Conduction Company's quotes are a lump sum per section, so travel time and every other expense are included in that one number. The quote is broken down by section and no further.

Nothing is added at the end of the job. The only exception is extra work agreed with you on site, and The Conduction Company prices that before the work is done. As Jordan Statham puts it, "there's never any surprise numbers on a bill."

Why do two quotes for the same job differ so much?

Usually because it is not the same job, even when it looks the same on paper. Jordan Statham of The Conduction Company says the gap comes down to two things: the quality of the materials, and the skill of the person installing them. It is the same in every industry, he says. You can find a cheap dentist who does cheap dental work and an expensive dentist who does expensive dental work. Take a single new power outlet on a circuit.

The materials

The higher quote may use a better outlet, with a longer warranty, that is more robust and will not discolour over time. The bigger difference is the circuit protection in the switchboard, which guards that circuit against electric shock and fire. The circuit protection The Conduction Company installs carries a 25-year warranty. The cheapest circuit protection on the market costs about one fifth of the price, according to Jordan Statham, and carries a one-year warranty.

That is the one device protecting that circuit from electric shock and fire. AS/NZS 3000, the New Zealand wiring rules, names shock current and excessive temperatures likely to cause fires among the three major types of risk in an electrical installation (clause 1.5.1). So it often pays to spend a little extra. The Conduction Company explains how an RCD works in a separate guide.

The skill

Jordan Statham describes a rough installation like this. Marks on your wall. A hole cut in the wrong place, because nobody asked where you wanted the outlet. An outlet at a different height from the rest in the room. Under the floor, maybe five clips holding the cable when there should have been a dozen, so it sags in places. A rough termination in the switchboard that does not look like the rest of the board.

A skilled installation, the kind The Conduction Company aims for, looks different. A walk-through with you first, to agree the exact spot. A laser to set the height to match your other outlets. A dust collector when the hole is cut. Cable clipped firmly in place with no sag, and terminated neatly to suit the wiring in your switchboard. Then a proper clean-up.

Under a floor you can get into, support is more than neatness. AS/NZS 3000 treats wiring in a space between a floor and the ground that a person can enter as likely to be disturbed, and requires it to be supported at suitable intervals to prevent the undue sagging of cables (clauses 3.9.3.3.1 and 3.9.3.3.2).

"That's what you're paying additional cost for as a job well done in really high quality materials that aren't going to fail soon afterwards and are going to protect you from electric shock and fire," says Jordan Statham of The Conduction Company.

How should a homeowner compare two quotes fairly?

Look past the bottom line. Price matters, but Jordan Statham's advice is to take a harder look at the quote and the company behind it. The Conduction Company suggests checking these.

The quote. How it is presented, and which materials are on it.

The materials. The warranty each one carries.

The people. Whether the tradespeople are qualified.

The track record. The company's reputation, how it presents itself, and examples of its previous work, so you know what quality to expect.

The future. How long the company has been around, and whether it will still be there to support you afterwards and honour its warranties and labour guarantees.

An ultra-cheap quote from a business that has only just started leaves you with no track record to judge whether it can do a good job, and no idea whether it will be around for years to come to honour a guarantee.

What does a fair day's work look like on a typical job?

On a typical day for The Conduction Company, the work is already quoted before anyone arrives, so the day runs to a plan you have already seen.

Start. The team arrives and does a full walk-through with you, so your expectations about exactly what will happen are set. If you want to add or change anything from the quote, or something has come up since it was written, the team prices that variation on site.

During the day. The team completes all of the quoted work and keeps you informed throughout, including any query it needs to ask you. The team stops for lunch, and may take a few phone calls, because there are always other projects to manage.

Materials. The team rarely has to leave site for a run to the wholesaler. The materials are on site and in the van, ready to go.

Finish. The team tidies up, takes you through the finished work, and gives you any user manuals or instructions for what was installed. Once your expectations are met and the gear is off site, the office takes it from there.

Who pays if the job takes longer than quoted?

On a quoted job, The Conduction Company does. Because the work is quoted ahead of time, Jordan Statham says, you are not charged for downtime while the team is on site. The hours sit inside the price for each section, so a slower day, a lunch break, a phone call, or an apprentice still learning does not change what you pay. Nothing is added at the end of the job.

What changes the price is scope. Extra work you ask for on site, or a hidden problem found once the work is opened up, gets priced with you before that work is done. The Conduction Company compares charge-up, estimates, and fixed quotes in its guide to what an electrician costs in Auckland.

Does labour cost more on an older Auckland house?

Usually not. In The Conduction Company's experience, labour on an older Auckland home is typically lower than on a newer one, because older construction suits retrofitting cables and fittings. Most older homes have an accessible underfloor space, an accessible ceiling space, or both. That makes getting cables around significantly easier, and in most cases the team can keep the whole job in the wall and concealed, which gives the best finished result.

Newer homes are the ones that can take longer. The team may have to cut out sections of plasterboard and route cables through the mid-floor between storeys, which makes the job significantly more labour intensive.

What does a client do that adds hours without realising?

Not much. The Conduction Company tells clients ahead of the visit if there is anything they need to do, and in most cases the team does everything. The one thing that adds time is stored belongings. If suitcases are sitting in the ceiling space, or a wardrobe is full where the team needs to work, someone has to move them out and put them back afterwards. The team is more than happy to do it, but it takes extra time, so some clients clear those spaces before the visit rather than pay an electrician's rate for it.

What happens when a labour estimate is badly wrong?

It does not happen often. When it does at The Conduction Company, it is because the team has found something nobody could see at the first site visit. Sometimes that is a problem with the building structure. The most common case is old cabling, hidden until the team starts opening things up, that cannot be used or should be sorted straight away. Replacing those circuits takes significant extra labour.

The team tells you as soon as it finds the problem, explains the best solution, and gives you pricing and options on site, so you are never hit with a surprise bill at the end of the work.

Two people on a job: does that halve the time or double the cost?

On the right job, a second person lowers the cost. Most jobs can be done by one electrician. On some, Jordan Statham of The Conduction Company says, "having two people on hand significantly speeds it up more than double." Cable routing is the usual one. Fishing a cable down a wall is much easier with one person at the top and one at the bottom, pushing and pulling, so The Conduction Company sends two people where it knows the job will go much faster.

What does an apprentice alongside a tradesman do to the hours?

It depends on how much experience the apprentice has. A brand new apprentice slows the tradesperson down a bit, usually for about the first six months, Jordan Statham says, but you do not pay any more for it. The Conduction Company wears that cost, knowing the apprentice's efficiency and skill will only increase over time. In his words, "that's all part of training the next generation of the industry to come through."

In short

Based on Jordan Statham's experience of The Conduction Company's Auckland jobs, electrical labour is calculated from how long the same work has actually taken before, measured by back-costing and built into pre-built quote sections. Those hours cover far more than the work itself: the walk-through, the safety check, setup, and clean-up, with travel included in the lump sum for each section. Two quotes for the same job differ mainly in the quality of the materials and the skill of the installer. On a quoted job, nothing is added at the end unless you ask for extra work or a hidden problem turns up, and either is priced with you before it is done.

If you would like a quote built this way for your own job, The Conduction Company does residential electrical work across Auckland. Tell us what you need done and where you are. Happy to help.

Frequently asked questions

How much labour per point should an electrician charge?

The Conduction Company does not price a home job per point. It quotes each section of the job as one lump sum, with the hours set from how long the same work has taken on its past jobs, and travel, setup, and clean-up included. Its guide to quoting an electrical job compares per point and per task pricing.

What are common hidden electrician fees?

On a quoted job from The Conduction Company, nothing is added at the end. Travel and every other expense sit inside the lump sum for each section. The only extras are work agreed with you on site or a hidden problem found once the work starts, and The Conduction Company prices either with you before it is done.

Do I pay more if an apprentice works on my job?

No. Jordan Statham says a brand new apprentice slows the tradesperson down a bit, usually for about the first six months, and The Conduction Company wears that cost rather than passing it on to you.

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