I recently had an electrical estimate done on a house my wife and I just purchased and received their quote via email. On the itemized list of the work we were wanting done, they listed 2000' of 12/2 Romex (way, way more than we would need) for $1200. I can go to nearly any hardware store and find 1000' spools for under $200. The labor rate also seemed pretty high, but I think I could deal with that if they do a decent job. Will an electrician use wiring supplied by the homeowner? Or are they likely to brush me off in order to keep their markup on supplies?Thanks
Maybe they made a mistake in their arithmetic. No contractor wants to accidentally skaroo themselves out of a job by overpricing it. Just ask them of they used the right number on that line item, since it's more than triple the retail price. As for buying your own stuff; it's unlikely that a licensed electrician is going to want to use anything they didn't buy themselves. They know its quality and how it's been stored, so they know it's like new. I once spent a day roughing-in a dozen junction boxes for a kitchen renovation and the electrician came in the next day, tore them all out and put in her own.
Although the price of wire has gone up dramatically, $1200 dollars for 2000 feet is marked up considerably. Unless the price includes the wire-nuts, boxes and covers and Romex clips, and whatever else, (cost per foot). Let's hope you get better quotes from your other bidders. You might ask them to explain the tremendous mark-up! If the price is for the Romex alone and not all the other stuff used to run and terminate the Romex, then you could say that you will be supplying the Romex.
First of all, if you think the estimate is too high be sure to get at least 3 before making a decision. Then the mark up on things they use is part of their income. So all will charge more than you can pay at the store. But don't just pick the first one that talks with you, be sure to get multiple estimates and then check reviews.
You should just get a couple of more estimates from different electricians. If you are intent on using this guy then you need to just ask him why his wire is so high priced.
