Oh, and this quote does not include any light fixtures.

this was the main reason we went with an experienced gc his first estimates from 17 months ago were within two thousand dollars of the final bill which we received yesterday and did several extras that were not cheap....
we knew we would not be able to play nice with people changing their bids
that could get very very ugly.

You're not kidding. Especially since we personally selected this guy as he is a friend.

That's a big jump. Mine is around $13k. But I have been out of town, and DH was adding and removing stuff in my absence. I don't have the revised bill yet.

We've got a smaller house, but labour is crazy high in my city.

When I built this home 18 years ago, the electrician I was asked to talk to by the builder, gave me estimate of $8,500 for the same size house as yours with unfinished basement. I said what? you crazy? and got my buddy, a certified electrician to come and give me an estimate for the job, $3200 and he was prepared to do it but was fine if I did not use him. Armed with this estimate I negotiated rate with original electrician and brought it down to $3500 with no contingencies; that's exactly how much I paid. Now I do the work myself.

Michelle1973:

How much did you add to the contract that caused the price to increase?

Tre, we added a few cans throughout the house. Maybe 10 total. And some more outlets. Also around 10.

You're talking about a 3500 sf house PLUS a basement. That's big.

Does that include no Decorative fixtures, or not even the recessed cans?

Ours is 4789 total sq ft (including exterior which is wired for lights, fans, outlets, etc). We are paying right at 20K in South Louisiana. We supply all fans, light fixtures, and can lights.

Can you tell me what your electric quotes are? Our house is 3,500 sq feet, unfinished basement

Unless it's the same house being built in the same town at the same time, stranger's quotes aren't much use.

Bungalow? two-storey? three storey? How large a serevice? Any subpanels needed? How many receptacles and switches altogether? how many three and/or four way switches? electric stove(s)? pot lights etc.?

Your best comparison is from licenced electricians looking at the same plans.

I can tell you that the rough budget around here for can lights (electrician supplied) is $100 each. $75 per outlet.

So, your upgrades should have been maybe $2k. Not $7k.

I would ask him why it jumped so much.

When you make changes after awarding a sub-contract you lose all price control. One way to avoid such problems is to include unit prices for various electrical devices in the contract. Without that you had better have a completed set of electrical drawings.

If the sub-contract has not been signed, ask the GC to bid the work again. No one should be surprised nor should anyone take it personally. Your friend owes you for letting him bid the work so you don't owe him anything more.

I'll bet the electrician will find a way to get his price down before the request for bids goes out but i would still make him earn it. Don't imagine your exchange with your electrician friend was a cost-take-off exercise; its was a negotiation! Would you take the first price a car dealer gave you?