Lucas_Dad

We've had a quote from a sparky that was recommended to us. Four ceiling fans to install, no wiring required, $560+GST.

$140 each is more than we were expecting, but we don't know what the going rate is. Is this a fair quote?

Cheers

Amazulu

If there is zero wiring involved then that's very expensive - $250-300 max

Do it yourself if no wiring is required and you can use a screw driver and pliers

Lucas_Dad

I thought about having a go, but isn't it Aussie law that it must be done by an electrician?

Amazulu

That's been done to death on here - lot's of disinformation too. It's easy - use your judgement to see if you can do it or not

I'm of the opinion that if it's sold in Bunnings, you can DIY

GarryP

Yep, and putting in ceiling fans counts as "must be done by a tradie" in the insane world of aussie protectionist laws.

Many do 'do it themselves', but in theory your insurance isn't valid if you do it and they find out.

For 4 fans, I'd be looking around for a sane quote, and maybe including anything else you need doing at the same time. In theory the building game is supposed to see a down turn from Jan if you can wait that long.

Oh, and if you do get a tradie, check over what they do yourself - I wouldn't trust that bunch of trained monkeys not to stuff things up.

Amazulu

How are 'they' going to 'find out'?

Seriously, this topic has been smashed to pieces on here - and a lot of what has been written about it is bollocks

teza

Amazulu

But the wiring is already installed so it's just a case of connecting the fans - in that case, the original quote is OTT

ozzieeagle

How long would it take, I think electricians charge around 120 bucks an hour now.

I know they generally don't like small jobs, so depends on how busy they are. I can't see it being done for less than 400 myself.

Sometimes they give you a high quote to move you on to the next sparky.

old.sparkles

Not just the wiring to consider - probably needs to put noggings in to support the weight of the fans at each location unless very lucky

Lucas_Dad

Correct - noggins required as far as I can tell.

I got back to sparky to ask 'what if I put the fans together myself & pay another way' (i.e. cash) ... no reply received. Seems he doesn't want the job.

Sparky 2 said 'yep go ahead' for me to assemble the fans. Boring for him, saves me money, should bring the cost down to about $125 each he reckons.

Amazulu

If you are not happy making electrical connections, do the supports (I refuse to call them noggins ) yourself. Bit of timber and wood screws from Bunnings and crawling around in the ceiling - done - and you definitely don't need a licence to do that!

Amazulu

Easy to do yourself

Beoz

I had some electrical work done end of summer which included installing 3 fans. I went for a lump sum negotiated price of $1600 (ie if he screwed up and went over time his problem). He quoted about 16 hours work which I thought fine, you are throwing in some contingency, all good. He was here for about 20 hours but that's luck of the draw, he could have finished in 12. This is just to give you a guide for hourly rate, lump sum v hourly rate.

On the fans, he had to put a noggin between the rafters. (a piece of timber between 2 other supporting timbers) to hold the fans.

How one thing I would recommend is buying some really good fans. We got some top range ones. On 6 (highest setting) there is no noise and there is a top breeze blowing. We had a couple of really hot nights towards the end of summer and all we needed were the fans (no aircon required) so it pays to invest. They were about $350 a fan so at the higher end of the fan prices.

Amazulu

These are awesome fans:
Sycamore Ceiling Fan

We have 3 around the house - lots of wind and very quiet. They look great too