RTI: I am in an area where CATV, and TEL are still loop systems performed by an electrician. Where a builder will call me about a spec house that he is building, and tell me that he is going all the way with this one , and putting in 3 outlets for a network. So don't snicker at 5.1 prewiring.... I'm thankful that there are builders in my area actually allowing any wiring for surround... I have fought tooth and nail for the past year and a half to get where I am.... which is convincing people to use rg-6 instead of 59, and allowing homeruns instead of loop systems.... educating builders. I do get the occational customer that understands the importance of proper prewiring, but all in all it's one client at a time...

I don't understand why some installers give everything away so cheap. How do you make any money? If you aren't making your average hourly rate when you do a pre-wire, you're not charging enough.

I do mostly businesses, which are much easier than residential installations, and we charge $100.00 a data drop, plus panel for new construction. Telephone drops are $85.00 each, unless we pull both at the same time, then I might discount a little. I don't have much trouble getting the job, although some people are quoting less than half as much. Even if they take away half of the jobs from me, I still make more money and don't have to work so hard for it.

Who ever said we have to give our work away with no profit? Screw the greedy contractors. They are making more profit than ever, so there is no excuse for their frugality.

I should reiterate here that this is what I am charged by the sub, I then mark it up 40% plus I supply materials also marked up 40% or more if MSRP allows. This ends up about $100 bucks a drop or so.

I believe this is a fair price for a great job and hope this improves our client relationships and referalls, and so far it has served us very well.

There is of course another way to look at this. You can charge "what the market will sustain", i.e. get as much money as you can while the market is busy, (and it's BUSY), and there are quite a few companies in L.A. that subscribe to this. But I personally find this approach shortsighted and unfair to the clients. This sort of thinking, based purely upon supply and demand, is often mistakenly thought of as "The American Way". But it is what has led us to boom and bust economies, the dotcoms and present hyper-inflation of house prices to name a few.

In the potentially impending downswing of the real estate market, (you know it's coming!) Companies that served their clients well will retain their businesses. Those that overcharged will be cut loose.

One last point, I charge about a 100 bucks a drop. I am emphatically not saying that this is the magic number. We are a mid-level company, we don't do very high end jobs. Your expertise and level that you work at should dictate your pricing. But churning out passable work for big bucks only damages our industry.

Just my opinion...

We have calculated our cost of doing business and divided it over 40 hours. When we quote a price for pre wire or anything else for that matter we use the same formula. It makes the quote process easy and we don't lose money. Materials are calculated serperatly and added to the man hour figure.
we loose some jobs , but the ones we get are profitable and we are covered when the customer changes the work order in mid stream. If construction issue arise it's on the customers dime not mine.

GP

$65 per rg6 coax
$60 cat5e pots
$85 cat5e network - both ends terminated
extra for enclosure, splitters, amp, punchdowns - material and labor
extra for feeds to enclosure
$225 if I do dual RG6 & dual cat5e - all terminated at wall plate

if the house is smaller (<3000') we may charge a little less. On larger homes or homes with very complex framing we will charge a little more.

Kevin, does this inlclude the can and modules?

no -

i figure labor to install can, trim, etc and bill per hour. I install EZRJ45s on the network jacks and use leviton 1x9 bridges for the phone and terminate all 4 pairs. i also terminate all 4 pairs at the wallplates. Typically no amp for an 8 way or less. more than 7 coax jacks (Leaving 1 for the modem) and I install an amp. more jacks - Usually ill install a 4 way for the living room and family room cable boxes, 1 for the modem and a fourth out to an amp. I doad a 110v outlet in the box for doorcoms, amps, modems, routers, etc. If I do more than 8 bundled cables, ill install 2 42" boxes to keep things neat and uncluttered.

Fortunately i havent had a job with 94 drops yet. id freak out.

Thanks. Just checking. Some of the prices in this thread seem amazingly low to me. I guess its market location as much as anything else.

one thing to consider is that construction techniques vary greatly across the country. in my area/market framing is a major bitch. tons of steel and parallams with builder/architects not wanting any holes in them. All 3 story homes without attics.

I would love to have an open attic to run wires thru - Its been so loong - i probably wouldnt recognize one anyway.

I personally use a TDR Meter at the Completion of the Pre-wire and take a Reading of ALL the Cabling, this insures the Contractor and Homeowner he's getting what he pays for and it assures me of NO FAULTS prior to covering-up. The Contractor or Homeowner Pays for the Time and the Material used for there project. The TDR only takes about an Hour for a good sized house, but this is also charged to the customer. This type of a deal seems to make everybody happy!!

Aaron

Hey everybody,

We got us a new Stanley.

Uh..... Huh??!?!?!

...although I'm glad this one raised it's head again. I've been meaning to review this very subject.

Thanks for the refresher!

Fred

You'll need a refresher after the last round of wire price increases.

Nah, this post is only a year old, not five!