What have you paid for downlights to be fitted?

Hi all just wanting to know what you might have paid to have downlights fitted not by the builder but through an outside source? thanks

Hi gadgetman,

Through the builder - $130 each supply and install! (bloody ripoff)
Through the electrician directly - $400 for 10 supplied and installed (more like it).

John

thanks john. Its amazing how much of a markup there is in light supply and fitting. about 40 bucks per light supplied and fitted sounds more realistic.

sounds like we got ripped a new one.. $100 each and we only got about 15..

$100 per unit. Thats what we had been quoted. As always it would pay to get a couple of quotes.
How can some sleep at night ripping people blind.

Having built a few houses now it is amazing what you learn when it hits you in the hip pocket - and how quickly you learn...

The way we do it now is get the basics from the builder, of course I ask prices for certain things for some free entertainment, but then you just rock-up to the tradie on the day and offer cashies for stuff, it is absolutely amazing the price you will pay them when you pay directly.

Get this:
- Satellite connections for Austar/Foxtel through Builder - $220,
- Satellite connections for Austar/Foxtel directly for ca$h - case of grog $35

- Extra Integrity HWS Controller via the Builder - $265
- Extra Integrity HWS Controller directly for ca$h - $120

- Run 20m x 100mm ag-pipe with geotextile sock around garage via builder - you will like this - $1100
- Directly with the Drainer - $100 for the pipe and ANOTHER case of grog $35.

- Carpentry - raise a wall following contract signing - $1000 for the change and $220 for the work.
- Approaching the Carpenter directly - $0 (Don't worry buddy, there's enough timber here to look after it...)

So, my point is, we will all get rorted and screwed somehow, all we need to do is limit the amount...GO DIRECT TO THE TRADIES and show some polymer notes or cartons of beer.

John

The labour for downlights is quite intensive when installing in an existing home, but for a home without plaster on it yet it's pretty basic. Adding 10 downlights to a home without plaster on it will cost the electrician at most $150 in materials (cable, clips & 10 downlights) and a few hours of labour, so $400 might be a reasonable price if that is the case.

If you're getting the builder to organise it, bear in mind that builders aren't electricians and have no idea how to quote electrical installations so they'll more than likely just be relaying what their electrician tells them with a bit of a mark-up (that's business), or they'll have an arbitrary number per point that is on the high side to guarantee them of a profit.

In an existing home, you might get the apprentice or worker using the boss' tools and cable to do it for $40 per downlight but that is awfully cheap and I dare say there wouldn't be many electrical contractors doing it for that price unless they are running their business at a loss.

We're paying $70 to have them installed and that doesn't included the light.

I asked the same question here:
http://www.forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=15422&hilit=downlights

Hey all after getting 3 quotes i ended up getting 70 downlights and 5 dimmers fitted for a total of $3800 cash. This was fitted by a qualified electrican with a certificate. They are a decent sizes business that have been around for a while

Our builder wanted $170 each for down lights, consequently I have 2 mates that are sparkies, guess who is doing them, not the builder!

If I got the builder to do as many as Gadgetman it would cost $11,900!!!!!

We supply the lights - sparky quoted us $18 a fitting.

I think its costing us about $70 per downlight for installation and that is with them all having dimmer's - the sparky said that without dimmer's there pretty cheap to install something like $10-15 per light.
We got our DL from ebay for 8.80 for 2 including trasnformers. Got one lot sent for the sparkie to check and he said they were just like the ones sold in the lighting shop here (same transformer and everything) just at half the cost

HI,
We were asked to pay $101 thru metr1con supply and install.
Outside $80 per downlight.

I thing i will say, we built first time and had it done by an electrician not thru builder. As a result we had to repaint all the ceilings cause you could tell they were done after.

This time we are gettting the builder Metr1con to do it, so we don't have that problem. Cost a little more but better in the longer term.

All the best!
Carla

I bought 30 downlights (with dimmers, transformers and globes) for $270 including shipping off ebay
Carton of beer each for two mates (certified sparkies) = $80 installation
total = $350, supplied and installed

42 downlights (energy efficiant crome gimble-if it matters
5 outdoor lights
1 chandelier
1 air con output thingy
5 extra points
and putting in 8 clipsal saturn l.e.d light switches

cash direct $1750

As mentioned before our builder wanted $170 (I looked up our paperwork it is is actually $177 each!) we were undecided as to if we really wanted down lights, last week the sparky who is wiring up our house for the builder arrived, I spoke to him about it and said we would get our friend (sparky) to do it later, but we eneded up coming to an arrangement with the builders sparky who put all the wiring/plugs etc in readiness for future lights for $30 each, it's still nowhere near what my mate would do it for but it saved the hassle of rushing to get everything done before the gyprock goes in and is still thousands cheaper than if we got the builder to do it, with the benefit of hindsight I would have got him to do the extra powerpoints for cash too!

Hi I just saw this and think its excellent, but I was wondering how you went about doing this. Do I ask the builder when the sparky will be there and if so do I just walk up to him and ask him to quote for downlights? What happens to all the other lights or do I take them off the plan? Im lost, my first build Also what other things can I do cheap

wow.. i cant beleive someone is doing downlights for 40.00.. are they making ANY money..
i do them for $55.00 without the fitting.. thats switch, wiring and fit-off.

your getting an AWSOME deal

I was lucky as we lived next door while we were building so I was often there to chat to the tradies (while not annoying them) coffee, soft drinks, home made cakes/muffins, (and beer late in the afternoon) go a long way to getting them "on side".
I approached the sparkie when he was first there and got to know him a bit and then mentioned what a rip off $177 for a down light was he absolutely agreed, I then said we would be getting them done afterwards by a friend, after a while he said he could run all the wiring and put the 413 plugs where we wanted them for $45 each, I said I would speak to my sparkie mate he then said how about $30 each and I figured this was quite good as he could do it before the gyprock we in so we agreed.
We also got him to run a junction box for the shed and put in another circuit.

Good luck with your project.

the builder will look at the wholesale price/fitting then whack 150% on it.