I need an electrician to move my fuse box. Through my previous experiences with electricians, they seem to charge a premium for electrical items. Double to triple the price at Bunnings for connection boxes, wire etc.
So my question is, has anyone bought the items themselves from Bunnings for the electrician? Or do they get all funny about it and say they can't warranty their work as it's lower quality etc
Thanks
I have an awful lot of people returning the electrical items they bought as the electrician 'brings their own'. My advice would be to buy what you need, keep your receipt and return if you need to.
Tradies don't like it when you buy your own materials.
But if are going to get a sparky to come in and work on it, they have to be ok with using the stuff you bought.
Call up the electrician and ask what you need to buy.
No point buying the materials if a sparky won't use yours.
The Electrician is responsible for their work. If I was the electrician I wouldn't trust equipment I didn't buy myself.
If I was the electrician I wouldn't trust equipment I didn't buy myself.
all the electrical supplies from shops like bunnings should in theory be approved for use in australia. there is no reason for a licensed electrician to refuse to install these parts.
one of our clients supplies parts to supply shops that supplies tradies (say that three times). these parts are already marked-up a few times before the customer gets the invoice.
If you need to save money its best to accurately/confidently describe the job over the phone and get multiple quotes. Regardless of the parts/hours breakdown the job itself is priced to match the market. If you cant confidently describe the job (how many metres, is plaster work required, how many cables need extending, are they all 2.5mm2) then they will overestimate so they do not get caught out and loose money. No one wants to work for free.
Buying your own stuff, well you run the risk of buying more than you need, or not enough and cause more stuffing around than required, which you'll pay for.
Don't be surprised if the old fusebox requires RCD's, take comfort in the fact they may save your life.
As stated in my original post, electricians put a massive mark up on materials (same with mechanics etc).
I've been charged 2 to 3 times the value of items such as junctions boxes etc. In the case of the junction boxes they were all USED too. As I was there when they put them on. They were still 3 times more the value of NEW boxes from Bunnings.
I do agree though, it's probably going to end up a lot of stuffing around by trying to have all the items they need, as it can change during the course of the job depending on what they come across. I'll just have to bite the bullet and except their crazy mark ups I guess.
Or do they get all funny about it and say they can't warranty their work as it's lower quality etc
I don't see a reason why they can't warranty the work unless the stuff you buy are of lower quality. You should be able to have a say on what brands you prefer. Make sure you get the specifications from the sparky though.
But the warranty would be on workmanship only. They wouldnt be able to warranty the parts as they would have been supplied. So if they break, sparky gets called out and goes sorry they were your parts that broke, my work was fine and then joe bloe OP gets angry, comes back on ozbargain and complains that the sparky isnt covering the fix as per ACCC. Which he would be able to charge to rectify with whatever parts he wants (or OP can supply the parts again and have a vicious cycle)
I take my own food to a restaurant for the chef to cook because I can get the food cheaper from Coles…. doesn't quite work!
Ultimately if any provider of services is charging "2 to 3 times the value of items" they use, you're within your right to tell them you don't want them to do the work and will get another quote. Consider also if you're needing a $2.50 junction box for the job to be done and he charges you $5, would you want to take the time, effort and fuel to drive to Bunnings to save a couple of dollars?
Cable - Anything sold has to meet Australian standards, so there's no "cheap" cable that's going to cause a fire on its own. If you use your own, then expect them to not be too pleased about it. If you let them use their own cable, check the $/metre and question it when given the invoice - you're prepared to pay for materials, but not be fleeced on it.
What about all that cable that Masters sold a few years ago that got recalled. I would rather leave it to the Electrician to buy from their preferred store / supplier.
If the electrician bought the same cable, it would likely have caused a fire. Sometimes bad batches come through the system (eg Samsung phones and washing machines that explode or catch fire). An exception doesn't disprove the rule that typically items made to Australian Standards are of sound quality.
My point was more that, for an electrician, it is much easier for him to buy one brand and from same store, so at least if it is recalled he would have a very good idea of where exactly it has been installed.
@kev98: Completely agree - You don't go and buy a cheaper oil filter, cheaper spark plugs, cheaper brake pads and ask your mechanic to use them instead of the brands that they have used for years and trust. Yes there are greedy tradies out there, but I've been lucky and have only ever had ones that focus on quality first before the profit. Others have said "I tend to use XYZ brand, do you have a preference?"
My recommendation is to let the professional make the decisions… the reason why you called them in to do the work is because you can't!
MY sparky charges by the job, eg $80 for a power point install. We buy our own light fittings etc, he supplies cables, standard power points and switches unless we want something different. Works for me.
how much do you need to buy though.
You might buy 100m roll and the electrician only needs half. or you half to buy two rolls but only a few metres are used off the second roll.
just let them do their work and they supply the wire.