charges for testing

[sparkies2306]

Hi all

just wanted to no if you guys charge for your test certificates and is it the norm

i just wired a few houses, 1st and 2nd fixed 3, but also 2nd fixed 3 others where spark had gone bust so wasnt moving in on his work

but wanted to no do sparks charge for testing every house they do

I wasnt asked to test these houses when asked to do job I no everyone going to say i should, but its not compulsory here in n, ireland

but i am niceic approved so thats not a prob but had to spend a couple of days testing these houses which my fault i no didnt allow for

just looking for some views on it

cheers

 

[Lurch]

Time = money.

 

[danny7299]

If I'm not gonna get paid for it I wouldn't even get out of bed for it , you have to charge other wise you to will go bump !

 

[Mark2spark]

Did you just do 'the fixes' or did you also energise the installation?

 

[binky]

Hi alljust wanted to no if you guys charge for your test certificates and is it the norm

i just wired a few houses, 1st and 2nd fixed 3, but also 2nd fixed 3 others where spark had gone bust so wasnt moving in on his work

but wanted to no do sparks charge for testing every house they do

I wasnt asked to test these houses when asked to do job I no everyone going to say i should, but its not compulsory here in n, ireland

but i am niceic approved so thats not a prob but had to spend a couple of days testing these houses which my fault i no didnt allow for

just looking for some views on it

cheers

If you didn't get paid to fit, then you need paying for the testing - not that you should be certifying 3rd party work anyway. The only reason for not charging would be to develop a new customer, but as last spark went bust, you have to wonder whether he got paid???

 

[sparkies2306]

guys i think your picking me up wrong here

The original spark got his money the developer went bust and he didnt want to come back i have allready spoken with him i know him well

what im trying to say is should i have included the testing in my quote or can i go back and ask for x amount for testing all of houses

as i said 3 of the houses i didnt 1st fix but did 2nd fix them

but 3 others i 1st and 2nd fixed

wen i looked at the job i just gave a price to finish them off the guy didnt think of the testing at that stage as he never asked for certs

what is the rate for a electrical inspection test and cert

 

[tom1]

from the sounds of it you have agreed first and second fix, so charge you hourly rate for testing, if there is a problem then you may want to comprimise or just take your money and see u later.

 

[Andy™]

if you have energised anything, then you must have I&T'd it, otherwise how to do know its safe

and I&T & certs (where req'd) is part of the job.

its a bit like quoting a job, but then turning up and saying 'well i didnt price to clip that cable to the wall. that'll be chaged extra'

 

[Lurch]

If you priced to finish it then testing is part of the completion of the job. You can;t charge extra because you forgot to add it on originally. I'd charge for testing, but not after I'd done it and realised I hadn;'t allowed for it, a quote for works X means works X should be done for the quote amount, otherwise it would have been an estimate and you would have then agreed to work at a daily rate.

 

[SPECIAL LOCATION]

what is the rate for a electrical inspection test and cert

Typical rate for a cert????

Whatever I can agree as a mutually acceptable level between me and my customer!

Typically this is based on my hourly labour rate..

If it took 'X' hours to do the work.. (be it first fixing, second fixing, testing, fault investigation etc..) Then it is 'X' times hourly rate.

Simples!

Remember....

labour is labour is labour is labour!! :Salute

Or as Lurch said, the basic formula for any successful business

"Time = Money"

Or Kirchoffs left buttock rule... think its something like..

"IF "time given" > 0 AND "money charged" = 0 THEN "economics of the job" = LOSS!"

I think that is correct??? :C

 

[binky]

Sounds like you ballsed up by forgetting I & T time, so can't really go back now for more money - it's part of the job. Put it down to experience and don't do it again

 

[tom1]

now i read it that its not compulsery to test in ireland and could it not be possible that the work is split into design installl and testing and he has only installed

 

[betty swollocks]

couldnt you add an additional charge for repairing the various 'faults' you had to put right on the houses first fixed by the other bust spark?

i once tested 10 houses rewired by another spark who had gone bust and genuinely spent 5 days putting things right, faults like open ended ringmains, smoke alarms not interconnected, 2way switching with missng stappers, honest guv

come on man use your imagination and recoup some of that missing money!

all the above has been changed and in no way is it the true way the op actually behaves;\

cos he's an angel reallyO)

went to church twice:O

once to get married:x

second time to fill the vicar in.... :innocent

 

[Andy™]

now i read it that its not compulsery to test in ireland and could it not be possible that the work is split into design installl and testing and he has only installed

dont know about irish regs, but I&T is always compulsary by 7671. however, its not always done by the person who does contruction (mostly larger jobs). if he has energised anything, then h must have I&T before enegrising. if he has quoted to complete the job, then he should be I&T as part of the works. if he has only quoted to second fix, leave dead and no testing then he doesnt need to test

 

[sparkies2306]

just to inform In N, ireland we dont have have part p or anything like that it is not compulsory here to be niceic approved or any other body its only the big jobs that look for certs

some contractors ask for you to be niceic but to be honest most building contractors dont care

i no some sparks here that only test 2-3 houses a year out of 20-30 and they only test them for the annual inspection

 

[NozSpark]

Ok, so I guess that you're in NI, so what regs do you follow?

BS7671 or CINLEC (?) ?

If you follow BS7671 then it requires testing and certification as part of the job,,, but as it's industry practice not to T&I, then maybe you could get away with charging extra.

 

[steptoe]

Hi alljust wanted to no if you guys charge for your test certificates and is it the norm

i just wired a few houses, 1st and 2nd fixed 3, but also 2nd fixed 3 others where spark had gone bust so wasnt moving in on his work

but wanted to no do sparks charge for testing every house they do

I wasnt asked to test these houses when asked to do job I no everyone going to say i should, but its not compulsory here in n, ireland

but i am niceic approved so thats not a prob but had to spend a couple of days testing these houses which my fault i no didnt allow for

just looking for some views on it

cheers

just to inform In N, ireland we dont have have part p or anything like that it is not compulsory here to be niceic approved or any other body its only the big jobs that look for certs some contractors ask for you to be niceic but to be honest most building contractors dont care

i no some sparks here that only test 2-3 houses a year out of 20-30 and they only test them for the annual inspection

sparkies2306

I know what you are saying,

BUT, and it is a big but,

you are still legally obliged to ensure the installation is safe,

you may not have to fill in a cert, but you still have a certain amount of tests to do to ensure this.

BTW, a lot of your not testing sparks will just be winging it, esp if they are on private jobs, no invoice= no paper trail,

done it for long enough in NI, the South used to be exactly the same until the Euro hit.

 

[S60TEM]

we charge per circuit but with a minimum charge of

 

[Robin Spark]

Apparently it only takes 10 mins to fully test a property, you know just test a few wires, then another 5 minutes to complete paperwork. invoice to customer should be 0.25 * hourly rate.

Well thats what one of my customers told me! Not a flippin clue.

 

[SPECIAL LOCATION]

Apparently it only takes 10 mins to fully test a property, you know just test a few wires, then another 5 minutes to complete paperwork. invoice to customer should be 0.25 * hourly rate.Well thats what one of my customers told me! Not a flippin clue.

The customer is ALWAYS right so they say!

:innocent:innocent:innocent