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Am I right to question the cost of a change order for electrical work in a kitchen remodel
Posted on 10/14/26 at 3:15 pm
Posted on 10/14/26 at 3:15 pm
Quick recap of what's occurred:
Asbestos abatement company nicked a wire when removing subfloor from the kitchen. The wire runs under the new subfloor and up into the wall to an electrical outlet.
After demoing the sheetrock where new cabinets are going, a lot of messy wires were exposed. Some of the wires were cloth wrapped and one was pretty significantly frayed.
The electrician came out and surveyed the kitchen. He said the broken wire was a difficult repair and not something that was a quick fix like he was led to believe.
When he saw the mess that was left behind the sheetrock, he said it needed to be addressed before anything else happened in the kitchen.
He identified the following:
1) Repair damaged wire from asbestos company
2) Demo cloth wires, rerun new wires, and move overcrowded and misplaced electrical box to crawlspace
3) Install 3 20 amp circuits with 5 plugs
The quoted price was $3100.
I already agreed to and paid for electrical work removing existing lights, moving wires for new recessed lighting and a pendant light, and running wires for under cabinet lighting.
The electrician arrived at 8am and did prep work until 9:30am. He left and came back at noon. He finished the entire job by 3pm.
It was a two man crew.
Am I paying $3100 for 4.5 fricking hours of work?
Is that right?
Asbestos abatement company nicked a wire when removing subfloor from the kitchen. The wire runs under the new subfloor and up into the wall to an electrical outlet.
After demoing the sheetrock where new cabinets are going, a lot of messy wires were exposed. Some of the wires were cloth wrapped and one was pretty significantly frayed.
The electrician came out and surveyed the kitchen. He said the broken wire was a difficult repair and not something that was a quick fix like he was led to believe.
When he saw the mess that was left behind the sheetrock, he said it needed to be addressed before anything else happened in the kitchen.
He identified the following:
1) Repair damaged wire from asbestos company
2) Demo cloth wires, rerun new wires, and move overcrowded and misplaced electrical box to crawlspace
3) Install 3 20 amp circuits with 5 plugs
The quoted price was $3100.
I already agreed to and paid for electrical work removing existing lights, moving wires for new recessed lighting and a pendant light, and running wires for under cabinet lighting.
The electrician arrived at 8am and did prep work until 9:30am. He left and came back at noon. He finished the entire job by 3pm.
It was a two man crew.
Am I paying $3100 for 4.5 fricking hours of work?
Is that right?
Posted on 10/14/26 at 3:32 pm to StringedInstruments
thats 9 hours of work with 2 people.
Posted on 10/14/26 at 3:44 pm to StringedInstruments
quote:
The quoted price was $3100.
I don't understand, they quoted you and you said yes?
Anyway that seems high. I'd guess something like $1200 for a job that takes 4.5hrs w 2 people. $200 for materials and $1000 labor
Posted on 10/14/26 at 3:46 pm to StringedInstruments
Did you get an invoice? What was material costs? Labor?
Posted on 10/14/26 at 4:01 pm to StringedInstruments
What was the price for the other work? Was this quote in line with the other work?
Sometimes jobs go quicker, sometimes jobs go slower. They don't typically give money back when they go their way.
Sometimes jobs go quicker, sometimes jobs go slower. They don't typically give money back when they go their way.
Posted on 10/14/26 at 4:02 pm to StringedInstruments
quote:
The quoted price was $3100.
He quoted a price and you agreed. Did
Y’all discuss his proposal?
Often times on unusual tasks the contractor is not comfortable doing the work so he guesses high to avoid losing money.
In cases like that I’d recommend letting him do the work cost plus. Agree to set labor rates and to a mark up on materials and labor.
Now he has no risk, but you do.
Posted on 10/14/26 at 4:07 pm to Turnblad85
quote:
I don't understand, they quoted you and you said yes?
Electrician arrived at my house last night at 5:30pm. By 6:00pm, he said we had fire hazards and a list of needs that needed to be addressed. Electrician could come this morning at 8am to do the job. He was next available Tuesday of next week.
General Contractor sent change order at 9:30pm. Said electrician wouldn’t do work until the change order was accepted.
Hardwoods are being installed tomorrow. Cabinets installed Friday.
Cabinets would be delayed a week, according to the GC.
I didn’t know the electrical work was a 4.5 hour job. I was told it was some huge job that cost $3100 and needed to be agreed upon immediately.
And now that I’m home, I’m not seeing any new breakers in the panel.
This post was edited on 10/14/26 at 4:08 pm
Posted on 10/14/26 at 4:13 pm to StringedInstruments
are you sure he's 100% complete with what you authorized him to do. since the cabinets are installed, he hasn't trimmed anything out. That's typically when they take care of breakers and such.
Posted on 10/14/26 at 4:24 pm to Maillard
quote:
since the cabinets are installed
Cabinets aren’t installed. It’s open wall cavities with no insulation currently.
Posted on 10/14/26 at 5:32 pm to StringedInstruments
So the electrician is definitely not finished with that job, so there will be more time added to the 9 hours worked thus far.
Posted on 10/14/26 at 5:55 pm to StringedInstruments
$100 an hour per tech.
$900.
Then parts. Sounds about right honestly.
Oh wait 3100. No. That's 2x what I figured
$900.
Then parts. Sounds about right honestly.
Oh wait 3100. No. That's 2x what I figured
This post was edited on 10/14/26 at 5:56 pm
Posted on 10/14/26 at 6:15 pm to StringedInstruments
I just reread this, you have five outlets on 3 20 amp circuits? that seems Overkill for a kitchen. I mean one should be for your refrigerator only.
Posted on 10/14/26 at 6:32 pm to Maillard
quote:
I just reread this, you have five outlets on 3 20 amp circuits? that seems Overkill for a kitchen. I mean one should be for your refrigerator only.
Refrigerator is already on its own 20 amp circuit.
I did learn that he did a “rough in” today and will do a “set out” later. So that explains the 4.5 hours.
Speaking of refrigerators — the electrician cut the power to the fridge today and never turned it back on. Temp was at 58 degrees, so I tossed the perishables and told the GC he was replacing them. Maybe I’ll add a 20% markup on the final receipt….
Posted on 10/15/26 at 9:09 am to StringedInstruments
Seems like the abatement company should be footing the bill for all scope related to replacing the wire they damaged.
To answer your title, you can and should always review a CO proposal. I've never been presented with a CO that I've accepted as originally presented
To answer your title, you can and should always review a CO proposal. I've never been presented with a CO that I've accepted as originally presented
Posted on 10/15/26 at 9:51 am to Maillard
quote:
I just reread this, you have five outlets on 3 20 amp circuits? that seems Overkill for a kitchen. I mean one should be for your refrigerator only.
A lot of this could be based on the layout. OP already mentioned fridge being on a separate outlet. My electrician told me my microwave needed a separate outlet (don't know if this is code, or his personal recommendation). If OP has an island with outlets, electrician may have ran a separate breaker for that. If Oven is electric, may split that from all of the other outlets in the kitchen to avoid overload
Posted on 10/15/26 at 11:30 am to StringedInstruments
quote:
He said the broken wire was a difficult repair and not something that was a quick fix like he was led to believe.
When he saw the mess that was left behind the sheetrock, he said it needed to be addressed before anything else happened in the kitchen.
I had this very scenario in a 1970's house kitchen that I remodeled. I had a electrician sub give me a quote on some additional last minute work and told him I felt his price was high. I got a really legit answer. He said that in older houses he isn't ever really sure what he will get into once the job starts and he would be crazy to bid low and then lose money every time something unforseen happens. The guy (very nicely) said that he was in business and had to protect himself and that I was welcome to start calling around to find someone I didn't know to come and bid the job. He was right. I paid. It was very Free Market and I respect that.
Posted on 10/15/26 at 4:51 pm to Maillard
quote:
the electrician is definitely not finished with that job
This is what I think too. We remodeled our kitchen a couple of years ago and the electrician was in and out to the end. We had a couple surprises, but no cost adjustment.
Easiest way to find out the status is to ask the general contractor if the electrician says all work is completed. If they say yes, point out the breakers and anything else you think wasn't done.
It is too late to go back on the price, but make sure you got everything you paid for.
Posted on 10/15/26 at 5:49 pm to StringedInstruments
Most contractors will take advantage of a client on items like this if the client doesn’t know better.
Posted on 10/15/26 at 7:20 pm to StringedInstruments
quote:
Am I right to question the cost of a change order
Yes. The answer is always yes.
Posted on 10/15/26 at 9:38 pm to StringedInstruments
Two things:
1. The $3100 quote is from the GC, presumably, so that has been marked up probably 30%-40%.
2. You're paying for the job to be done correctly, not for the amount of time it takes him to do the job. If he told you he was going to charge you by the hour, you would want him to finish ASAP. But you're complaining because he finished too quickly. Can't have it both ways.
1. The $3100 quote is from the GC, presumably, so that has been marked up probably 30%-40%.
2. You're paying for the job to be done correctly, not for the amount of time it takes him to do the job. If he told you he was going to charge you by the hour, you would want him to finish ASAP. But you're complaining because he finished too quickly. Can't have it both ways.
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