Total electrical cost for a new house build

[AJBangkok]

I have been looking at taking over a partially complete build. The house is 2 story about 500sqm with a pool deck around the same size. The existing owner has a quote for full electrical which is roughly 1,500,000 of which roughly 45% is labour. I think they are including builder grade light fixtures.

This seems pretty high to me. I'm not sure what the materials cost should be and I'm not sure how long it takes to completely wire a house but from what I read on the web it's about 2 weeks. Even if it took a month then the labour cost seems to high at 700,000. Say the head electrician earned 100k a month then that would mean he would have 30 guys working for him at say 20k a month. I don't see that happening.

Any ideas of would be a reasonable estimate of the cost of materials and labour or is it a case of how long is a piece of string. The house is a high end build

[chiang mai]

I just had a rewire professionally done, 18 circuits and around 60 points for 32k baht inclusive of material and labour, 1.5 mill seems like at it's at best, ten times too much, hi-end or not. BTW it took five days for two people, they did an immaculate job, everything in conduit, new consumer unit and new plugs/switches.

EDIT to add: the electrician I used is sitting his Masters in Electrical Engineering at CMU.

[Pib]

Say the head electrician earned 100k a month

More like around 35 to 50K if wanting to compare to say a Lead Electrical/Mechanical Engineer at a top Thai company. Yea, it sure sounds like they are quoting a very high cost unless maybe they are ripping out every wire in the house (unlikely) and putting in the highest quality (costly) material with nice price markup along every step of the way. Just seems very high.

[blackcab]

What is the specification? It's difficult to comment without that. Do the specs include full automation, WiFi, cctv and access control, audio, video and high end features? Does it include the air con or any of the swimming pool equipment?

[AJBangkok]

What is the specification? It's difficult to comment without that. Do the specs include full automation, WiFi, cctv and access control, audio, video and high end features? Does it include the air con or any of the swimming pool equipment?

The BOQ is not specific. No automation, cctv, access control, audio. It does not include aircon or swimming pool equipment but does include the electrical connections to those.

The BOQ is a bit of a joke. What he contractor did on the BOQ was list costs on a room by room, area by area basis so I see things like living room electrical system unit cost 39200 labour 22,400, total 61,600. Bathroom master bed room electrical system unit cost 31,500, labour cost 18,000 total 49,500. Swimming pool electrical system unit cost 65,000 labour 17,500 total 82,500.all outdoor garden electrical system unit cost 70,000 labour 40,000 total 110,000. Etc etc for area and every room . The driveway is electrical system unit cost 70,000 labour 35,000 total 105,000.

Aircon and swimming pool equipment and even entrance gate are quoted elsewhere in the BOQ.

I didn't get these quotes they were given to another person who was looking to buy and finish the house.

[blackcab]

Quote is way too high then, but that's business.

Shop around.

[crazykopite]

I suggest you rip the quote up and bring in three independent electricians and ask for full written estimates , from there you can make a decision make sure you insist on proper electrics with earth wires saves getting a shock off the washing machine !!!!!

[Naam]

The BOQ is a bit of a joke. What he contractor did on the BOQ was list costs on a room by room, area by area basis so I see things like living room electrical system unit cost 39200 labour 22,400, total 61,600. Bathroom master bed room electrical system unit cost 31,500, labour cost 18,000 total 49,500. Swimming pool electrical system unit cost 65,000 labour 17,500 total 82,500.all outdoor garden electrical system unit cost 70,000 labour 40,000 total 110,000. Etc etc for area and every room . The driveway is electrical system unit cost 70,000 labour 35,000 total 105,000.

a joke indeed! our home is slightly bigger, total cost for electrical installation was 488,000 Baht. the specifications were prepared by me and included all in Thailand available/possible bells and whistles. i accepted the (in my view) rather high total because the electrician spoke an acceptable English and assured that no work is executed without him being on site.

addendum: written specs were accompanied by a dozen drawings, i.e. no big margin for misunderstandings.

[AJBangkok]

The BOQ is a bit of a joke. What he contractor did on the BOQ was list costs on a room by room, area by area basis so I see things like living room electrical system unit cost 39200 labour 22,400, total 61,600. Bathroom master bed room electrical system unit cost 31,500, labour cost 18,000 total 49,500. Swimming pool electrical system unit cost 65,000 labour 17,500 total 82,500.all outdoor garden electrical system unit cost 70,000 labour 40,000 total 110,000. Etc etc for area and every room . The driveway is electrical system unit cost 70,000 labour 35,000 total 105,000.

a joke indeed! our home is slightly bigger, total cost for electrical installation was 488,000 Baht. the specifications were prepared by me and included all in Thailand available/possible bells and whistles. i accepted the (in my view) rather high total because the electrician spoke an acceptable English and assured that no work is executed without him being on site.

addendum: written specs were accompanied by a dozen drawings, i.e. no big margin for misunderstandings.

Thanks Naam, is your house a recent build and if not how long ago was the electrical work done.

[patyh]

I did handle the electrical work for my current workplace recently.

It's a new office.. and internal wiring and everything came to about 400k Ish. I would say yours is very overpriced.

[SOTIRIOS]

...that quote you got is criminal.....

...par for the course.....

[Naam]

The BOQ is a bit of a joke. What he contractor did on the BOQ was list costs on a room by room, area by area basis so I see things like living room electrical system unit cost 39200 labour 22,400, total 61,600. Bathroom master bed room electrical system unit cost 31,500, labour cost 18,000 total 49,500. Swimming pool electrical system unit cost 65,000 labour 17,500 total 82,500.all outdoor garden electrical system unit cost 70,000 labour 40,000 total 110,000. Etc etc for area and every room . The driveway is electrical system unit cost 70,000 labour 35,000 total 105,000.

a joke indeed! our home is slightly bigger, total cost for electrical installation was 488,000 Baht. the specifications were prepared by me and included all in Thailand available/possible bells and whistles. i accepted the (in my view) rather high total because the electrician spoke an acceptable English and assured that no work is executed without him being on site.

addendum: written specs were accompanied by a dozen drawings, i.e. no big margin for misunderstandings.

Thanks Naam, is your house a recent build and if not how long ago was the electrical work done.

that's one thing i forgot to mention and which should be considered. the electrical installation was done in 2006 but as already mentioned i paid a premium because i could properly communicate with the contractor. i had two other offers which were way below (300,000 and 350,000).

[F4UCorsair]

Surely the OP has one too many zeros?? Even if B150,000, still way too high.

[AlQaholic]

You need to make a BOQ yourself by an independent Electrical Engineer (like myself) with all fixtures, lights, cables, cable quality etc, then go to a contractor and ask for a quote, if the BOQ is signed by a Thai Electrical Engineer they will probably not overcharge.

[georgemandm]

I have been looking at taking over a partially complete build. The house is 2 story about 500sqm with a pool deck around the same size. The existing owner has a quote for full electrical which is roughly 1,500,000 of which roughly 45% is labour. I think they are including builder grade light fixtures.

This seems pretty high to me. I'm not sure what the materials cost should be and I'm not sure how long it takes to completely wire a house but from what I read on the web it's about 2 weeks. Even if it took a month then the labour cost seems to high at 700,000. Say the head electrician earned 100k a month then that would mean he would have 30 guys working for him at say 20k a month. I don't see that happening.

Any ideas of would be a reasonable estimate of the cost of materials and labour or is it a case of how long is a piece of string. The house is a high end build

Are you joking me that price is bullsh?t the Thais are having you on .

Dose not cost that much to do in my home country.

Am I reading it right that price , $60,000 Australia dollars.

No way .

[Moti24]

At that price, it would be cheaper to fly over a contractor from your home country, with materials. At least it would get done properly. Whoever finally gets the job, assuming it will be Thais, I advise you to hire a qualified engineer to oversee the work; a few extra thousand baht will pay dividends in the end.

[sometimewoodworker]

Just FWIW my build is being done in stages and the price for walls, water and electrics (excluding fittings [we don't know what we want yet]) with power points every 1/2 metre or less is about 800,000. So that price looks absolutely crazy from the information given so far.

[gandalf12]

Be interesting f you can get those people with the super high quote to give you a cost breakdown so you can see exactly how they priced it. Go through it carefully and see what the price of the materiel is off the shelf

[khunPer]

If it can help OP, I found my electrician agreement from when i build my ca. 350 sq.m. house + outdoor terrasses in 2009/2010.

Total quote including wires and pipes and fuse-box with magnetic relays and accessories, but excluding materials for switches and lamps/spots/fans/water heaters etc. (which I bought), and excluding installation of aircons and pool-pumps and lightning protection (separate jobs); the total quote was 309,000 baht – and the quote was kept. It was not the cheapest quote, but the one electrician I felt understood me best.

The total installation was of 32 groups, earthing (2 x 3 spikes), power connection 14m underground cable to meter/post, 4509 meters of single-core wire (pipes and wire included); installation 146 down-lights/ceiling spots, 10 outdoor lamps, 7 aircon outlets, 8 water heaters, 6 wall fans, 11 ceiling fans, 7 weather-safe outdoor outlets, 43 normal outlets + 33 earthed outlets, 18 dimmers, 94 switches, 20 2-way corresponding switches, kitchen hub and hood, 12 LAN connection points + build-in wall cables in pipes (included), 7 pcs. TV distributed antenne outlets (incl. cable), 2 daylight relays (including relays), 6 separate UPS power networks from inverters (UPS' excluded).

The specified quote was for example 100 baht for a lamp (labor only) – you can/could buy a normal non-LED down-light for about 150 baht or less, so labor about 40% to 45% – outlets 100 baht, dimmer switch 65 baht, water heater w/earth 200 baht, ceiling fan (including assembling of fan) 300 baht etc.

Wiring was quoted per meter, for example 2.5 sq. 9 baht for material and 7 baht for labor, and 1.5 sq. 6 baht material and 5 baht labor.
My quoted was split in 3:

Circuit breaker box with main and grund system all inclusive totaling 41,784 baht,

Equipment, 47,880 baht labor + 14,500 baht material (2 system daylight switch relays + magnetic relays in box), totaling 62,380 baht,

Cable & Pipe, 120,475 baht material and 84,850 baht labor, totaling 205,325 baht.

Grand total 309,489 baht.

I don't have an easy access total figure of my own account material costs for down-light lamps and spots and switches and all the other stuff – been bought in separate lots – but I chose a little up-market brand of panel switches/outlets, so in general I probably spend more on materials, than normally included in all-in quote – my electrician would for example quote standard Panasonic, but I chose Häco. My guess would be in the area of 100,000 baht for lamps and switches etc., and another 150,000 baht for LED bulbs (today you can buy them together, some of the bulbs and Philips-spots, were quite expensive in 2010), my inverter aircons were around 30,000 baht each, water heaters some 3,500 baht to 4,500 baht (I have two types), ceiling fans I cannot remember, but one with lamps was a bit up-price.

I would reckon another 300,000 baht on top for equipment and 200,000 for aircons, so an all inclusive would be around 800,000 baht for 350 sq.m. in 2010-prices.

[khunPer]

I shall add to my post above, that I had extremely detailed drawings, so there were no points of misunderstanding – and that I don't think an electrical job can be done in 2 weeks, if cables/pipers are hidden in walls and over gypsum ceilings, you will need to separate the job to other workers have finished; i.e. pipes & cables in concrete ceiling, then gypsum, then paint, and finally down-lights/spots; pipes & cables in walls, then plaster, then paint, then fitting of equipment.

[AJBangkok]

If it can help OP, I found my electrician agreement from when i build my ca. 350 sq.m. house + outdoor terrasses in 2009/2010.

Total quote including wires and pipes and fuse-box with magnetic relays and accessories, but excluding materials for switches and lamps/spots/fans/water heaters etc. (which I bought), and excluding installation of aircons and pool-pumps and lightning protection (separate jobs); the total quote was 309,000 baht and the quote was kept. It was not the cheapest quote, but the one electrician I felt understood me best.

The total installation was of 32 groups, earthing (2 x 3 spikes), power connection 14m underground cable to meter/post, 4509 meters of single-core wire (pipes and wire included); installation 146 down-lights/ceiling spots, 10 outdoor lamps, 7 aircon outlets, 8 water heaters, 6 wall fans, 11 ceiling fans, 7 weather-safe outdoor outlets, 43 normal outlets + 33 earthed outlets, 18 dimmers, 94 switches, 20 2-way corresponding switches, kitchen hub and hood, 12 LAN connection points + build-in wall cables in pipes (included), 7 pcs. TV distributed antenne outlets (incl. cable), 2 daylight relays (including relays), 6 separate UPS power networks from inverters (UPS' excluded).

The specified quote was for example 100 baht for a lamp (labor only) you can/could buy a normal non-LED down-light for about 150 baht or less, so labor about 40% to 45% outlets 100 baht, dimmer switch 65 baht, water heater w/earth 200 baht, ceiling fan (including assembling of fan) 300 baht etc.

Wiring was quoted per meter, for example 2.5 sq. 9 baht for material and 7 baht for labor, and 1.5 sq. 6 baht material and 5 baht labor.

My quoted was split in 3:

Circuit breaker box with main and grund system all inclusive totaling 41,784 baht,

Equipment, 47,880 baht labor + 14,500 baht material (2 system daylight switch relays + magnetic relays in box), totaling 62,380 baht,

Cable & Pipe, 120,475 baht material and 84,850 baht labor, totaling 205,325 baht.

Grand total 309,489 baht.

I don't have an easy access total figure of my own account material costs for down-light lamps and spots and switches and all the other stuff been bought in separate lots but I chose a little up-market brand of panel switches/outlets, so in general I probably spend more on materials, than normally included in all-in quote my electrician would for example quote standard Panasonic, but I chose Häco. My guess would be in the area of 100,000 baht for lamps and switches etc., and another 150,000 baht for LED bulbs (today you can buy them together, some of the bulbs and Philips-spots, were quite expensive in 2010), my inverter aircons were around 30,000 baht each, water heaters some 3,500 baht to 4,500 baht (I have two types), ceiling fans I cannot remember, but one with lamps was a bit up-price.

I would reckon another 300,000 baht on top for equipment and 200,000 for aircons, so an all inclusive would be around 800,000 baht for 350 sq.m. in 2010-prices.

Thank you very much Khun Per that is excellent information. Very much appreciated

[FT10toLOS]

I shall add to my post above, that I had extremely detailed drawings, so there were no points of misunderstanding – and that I don't think an electrical job can be done in 2 weeks, if cables/pipers are hidden in walls and over gypsum ceilings, you will need to separate the job to other workers have finished; i.e. pipes & cables in concrete ceiling, then gypsum, then paint, and finally down-lights/spots; pipes & cables in walls, then plaster, then paint, then fitting of equipment.

This is a very important point from khunPer and relates to all aspects of building work, not just electrical.

Ensure you have detailed documentation (be it drawings, specification, Bill of Quantities etc) in place PRIOR to commencement of construction.

Documenting what, how and when different elements go into your project, will save a hell of a lot of headaches down the track of construction.

It will help with a problem I come up against here all the time, "something lost in the translation!" hahaha!

[Sealbash]

...that quote you got is criminal.....

...par for the course.....

Really nothing criminal about it. Client asks for quote. Vendor supplies quote. From there it is up to the client to perform due diligence. Simple. This is standard procedure in every business everywhere.

[Naam]

I shall add to my post above, that I had extremely detailed drawings, so there were no points of misunderstanding – and that I don't think an electrical job can be done in 2 weeks, if cables/pipers are hidden in walls and over gypsum ceilings, you will need to separate the job to other workers have finished; i.e. pipes & cables in concrete ceiling, then gypsum, then paint, and finally down-lights/spots; pipes & cables in walls, then plaster, then paint, then fitting of equipment.

i prepared 9 sketches like this one:

[khunPer]

I shall add to my post above, that I had extremely detailed drawings, so there were no points of misunderstanding – and that I don't think an electrical job can be done in 2 weeks, if cables/pipers are hidden in walls and over gypsum ceilings, you will need to separate the job to other workers have finished; i.e. pipes & cables in concrete ceiling, then gypsum, then paint, and finally down-lights/spots; pipes & cables in walls, then plaster, then paint, then fitting of equipment.

i prepared 9 sketches like this one:

LITES SWITCHES.JPG

Very well and easy to understand – which is most important when working with Thais – I've seen building construction workers with drawing upside-down, confused why everything look so wrong in real-time. I had a foreman saying, that my construction was wrong, as there was too long distance between 2 posts – we looked at the drawing – ops, he had forgotten a post..!

If they know exactly what you want, you get it. If not, they make it how they think you want it – the "Thai-way"...

I did little different electric specifications than Naam in my drawings, but my electrician understood and was very satisfied with the way I had it drawn. I shall add, that I draw the house myself with pencil, but had an architect firm to put it into computer drawings and make steal-construction specifications, and apply for building permission. With a basic set of drawings I sketched the electric circuits and the architect added another layer. Lots of check - and double check - before we had the final set; the last minor changes of a wall and a fan-hood I just added myself.

If it can be inspiration for anybody into building a house in Thailand, I did it this was:

We created a number of icons – shown right – for the various things, as there we both daylight-switched circuits and separated inverter circuits. The house has 3 floors, shown is Ground Floor.

All switches and outlets were also drawn in symbols, and they came in 3 levels: low panel 20 cm. from floor, middle for normal handy switches, and high position for dimmers and stuff you normally shall not use.

I made separate plans for corresponding circuits, as I was told that was a problem for some Thai electricians to make – however, where I live it's not a problem, but we did keep it on separate drawings; here example for 2nd floor.

Finally also the special circuits from daylight switch (light at night time) and from battery-inverters (light staying on during black-outs, which are extremely common at Samui), where placed in separate drawings, one for each of the 3 floors.

The inverter back-up system powers light on stairs, one lamp in each bathroom, lamp in kitchen and some lamps at entrance. Black-outs often happens shortly after sunset, when everybody switch on both light and aircon and loud music and whatever can use electric. That's also the time when you for example shower to make yourself ready for dinner or party. If you have tried to stand with soap in hair, running down in the eyes, black-outed and no water running – no power for pump – you will understand why I kept light in bahth rooms and water from an attic tank; black-out no problem, even hot water from the solar-panel-tank...

[Naam]

looks like Tcherman efficiency khunPer

[AJBangkok]

Naam and khunper these are really helpful as is yiubshareinh your knowledge. I very much appreciate it.

I am not as skillful as you are on the drafting side but I will try to get a few quotes from local companies and individual tradesmen and see what they cine back with.

[Naam]

Naam and khunper these are really helpful as is yiubshareinh your knowledge. I very much appreciate it.

I am not as skillful as you are on the drafting side but I will try to get a few quotes from local companies and individual tradesmen and see what they cine back with.

come on AJ! you must be having blueprints. go to a shop and have them make some copies size A4. then you buy a box felt pens and mark where you'd like to have fans, switches, outlets, lighting, etc. in different colours. it's not rocket science!

but Google seems to be rocket science. i googled "yiubshareinh" and Google came up with Showing "results for you sharing" and "No results found for yiubshareinh".

[AJBangkok]

Naam and khunper these are really helpful as is yiubshareinh your knowledge. I very much appreciate it.

I am not as skillful as you are on the drafting side but I will try to get a few quotes from local companies and individual tradesmen and see what they cine back with.

come on AJ! you must be having blueprints. go to a shop and have them make some copies size A4. then you buy a box felt pens and mark where you'd like to have fans, switches, outlets, lighting, etc. in different colours. it's not rocket science!

but Google seems to be rocket science. i googled "yiubshareinh" and Google came up with Showing "results for you sharing" and "No results found for yiubshareinh".

Hi Naam things get lost when threads get long. My original post I did say that I was looking at buying a partially completed build. I am not the owner yet. I'm sure the owner has a complete set of blueprints for the property but I was only able to get the Floor plan and a BOQ that a local contractor provided to finish the property. I thought at the time it was enough to start some investigation of what was required to complete the property and assist with price discovery so I could place an informed bid.

Going through the BOQ I have been able to see areas where there are potentially large savings like the ceilings and internal doors and other areas like the exterior windiws and doors which may cost more. The electrical issue was a complete black hole to me so the help I have been given on this thread is invaluable. I have also done some reading up on wiriing a house and combined with a lot of what Khunpar shared on his build I think I have reached the "a little knowledge is dangerous" stage.

I have a lot more due diligence to do on the legal side but I think I have a ballpark number on the completion costs so I can start talking numbers.

Sorry about the gibberish it was supposed to be "you sharing" unfortunately it was late at night and what I thought I typed wasn't what ended up on the screen.

[Naam]

don't forget to let us know any results AJ!