repossessions

[betty swollocks]

hi guys, have just got a new job in the new year and wondering if anyone has any thoughts or advice on how to price it up.

the house is only @ four years old but has been repossessed.

the previous owners have pretty much destroyed the fittings, every light fitting/ socket/ switch/ smokes/ alarm panel smashed, and now the plumbers just rung me to say all the pipes for heating/water have been severed upstairs and in all the bathrooms in the hope, he thinks, someone will just turn water on and cause huge flood damage, he also told me all the cables he saw unders the floor were also cut :_|

I've told customer that its best if i PIR it first so we both know extent of damage and also enable me to give him a better idea of final cost but he doesnt want to pay for this, he just wants it doing, he thinks 3/4 days labour plus materials and has budget of

 

[jl-heating]

i have done a few of these for local councils.

ignore all the damage and bare wires .... measure up and price on a re-wire including new board.

it will take twice as long to patch and make good. also you have no idea whats in the walls or under the floors, split/crushed and stretched cables.

its not really how much he wants to spend its how much he has to spend to make it right.

he cant be that skint to go round buying up demo houses.. can he now. ??

give him a price and walk away . i would rather watch day time tv than pander to idiots like this.

 

[M107]

I'm with jl, if it's that bad the new owner will have to look at claiming on insurance or passing on the cost to whoever sold the place.

But I'd defo want to be doing a pir first, if he's not wanting that just price up for full rewire with a letter stating why the large quote...you just know the old disgruntled owner will have done something you cant find on a quick look at the place, especially if they've gone to the trouble of lifting the floor to cut pipes & cables.

 

[binky]

I would suggest price subject to survey, and by no means a fixed price.

 

[Theorysparky]

price it for a full rewire,,,,,telling him that will be most the repairs would be.

then sell the PIR route to him saying some of the circuits may be fine which would mean the cost would be lower

he got the property on the cheap,,,,,,did he not get a basic survey done ??

this would have flagged up the wiring problems with the fittings

i think he wants a cheap job done to get it on the rental market

PIR first ..........

 

[batty]

You are going to have to have a good look before you can price this up. If it does need rewireing I would not envy you this job. I am doing one at the moment with chipboard floors the only way you can get them up is by smashing them to pieces although you won't have to worry about cutting through pipes I suppose. Have a good look and price accordingly. Customer will have to pay what it costs recession or no recession.

Batty

 

[Evans Electric]

The electrics have been sabotaged so its a complete rewire, price it as such. If you go down the patch and repair route , you may miss something, you put your name to it and it comes back to bite you on the ass.

Don't let the new owner push you down a road you don't want to go.

Deke

 

[Apache]

The electrics have been sabotaged so its a complete rewire, price it as such. If you go down the patch and repair route , you may miss something, you put your name to it and it comes back to bite you on the ass.Don't let the new owner push you down a road you don't want to go.

Deke

I don't mean to be rude or argumentative but if you test properly at the PIR (continuity, IR etc) then ANY problem should be shown up.

So with a full PIR showing up problems and the necessary repairs a good job could still be done? Depending on the extent of the sabotage - obviously!

no?

 

[Mr Sworld]

If the electrics in a house had been sabotaged I wouldn't feel happy unless I visually inspected every inch of it on a PIR. A visual check will show far more problems than relying on what a meter tells you!

And if you are going to do that then you may as well re-wire anyway, after all, you've had to open everything up.

 

[paulh]

If you think about it probably every cable they could get to will of been either tugged as hard as they could and damaged internally but invisible to the naked eye or cut/shorted or worse(?) and hidden. This is a minefield and should be treated as such. Stuff the pir that is for genuine causes not wilful vandalism. Quote a complete rewire and make sure you do a COMPLETE rewire. I would also look very close at the mains before the meter. Sound's like someone was very very bitter!!!

 

[poheZ]

Wouldnt it depend on what he wants doing?

If it is just altering a couple of ciruits then who cares about the other circuits?

If he wants all the problem fixed then a PIR is the only way! If you know he will not give you the job unless you do it for his price (and you need the work) just take it!

 

[batty]

You need to have a good look at the job. I did a job years ago thought it was a repossesion as the people who had moved out had took light fittings down they had cut all cables flush with the ceiling I had a hell of a job sorting it out. Take a good look and price accordingly. I assume it is a builder who is telling you how long job will take. Price it according to what you find.

Batty

 

[Evans Electric]

I say again , if sabotage is present its a rewire . Think about it when you come to sign the EIC , did you track them all down. You are putting your name to it. If it was gas I bet the GORGI plumber would strip it out and start again.

I'll be interested in which road you take !! Happy New Year

Deke

 

[-X-]

In sabotage cases like this...

My answer is that the estimate = day rate + materials.

How many days they may ask... well that depends says I, it will be somewhere between 3 and 14.

 

[PC Electrics]

I'm with X. You cannot know how much damage has been done until you start dismantling and testing as you go. You may find some sections of circuits that are re-usable which will cut the time down, but how do you know where they are til you get into it?

Start at 10 days plus

 

[SPECIAL LOCATION]

I say again , if sabotage is present its a rewire . Think about it when you come to sign the EIC , did you track them all down. You are putting your name to it. If it was gas I bet the GORGI plumber would strip it out and start again. I'll be interested in which road you take !! Happy New Year

Deke

"Sabotage" is in reality not a fat lot different from a poor workmanship job where a cable (or several cables) get damaged due to bad installation practice!

say cables run over top of joist with small notch, then trapped with floorboards, or pierced accidentally by nails.

wiring run around room caught or damaged by carpet gripper

wires cut back too short or too much exposed live conductor..

assuming ALL of your dead & live tests are compliant with current regs, that is what you are signing for.

You could sign off a full rewire you have done then the following day a customer could go and drill though the cable!

You are signing to say that the work you detail on the certificate,

"HAVING EXERCISED REASONABLE SKILL AND CARE"

is

"TO THE BEST OF YOUR KNOWLEDGE"

compliant with the regs.

you aren't saying everything is perfect as per a full rewire, if you haven't done a full rewire!

 

[Andy™]

the previous owners have pretty much destroyed the fittings, every light fitting/ socket/ switch/ smokes/ alarm panel smashed, and now the plumbers just rung me to say all the pipes for heating/water have been severed upstairs and in all the bathrooms in the hope, he thinks, someone will just turn water on and cause huge flood damage, he also told me all the cables he saw unders the floor were also cut :_|

for that amount of damage, its probably more cost effective to re-wire. If he wont go with that, then day rate+ materials. could add upto more than a re-wire, but he did have the choice

 

[EL Zappo]

You could advise him that should he be considering to rent the property out that a PIR would be in his own interest anyway. More local authorities are now insisting PIR's are done prior to any new tenants renting their properties. Covering their own bums if you ask me.

Legally he should be covering himself against any negligence.