Browse Forums Owner Builder Forum 1 Aug 25, 2009 11:01 am "A dream you dream alone is only a dream. A dream you dream together is reality" -John Lennon Re: How can you save money on electrical & plumbing costs? 2Aug 25, 2009 5:37 pm Ways to save money. Electricals - avoid downlights this will increase costs substantially - sometimes sparky can get switches etc cheaper - get what you need. Some people go overboard with powerpoints some times - get standard switches instead of slim line, get HPM instead of clipsal Plumbing - have the plumbing down one side if possible - if you need a roof plumber for box gutter, ask if plumber can do it (legally) rather than getting a roof plumber specifically for that only. - avoid flick mixers throughout - get plastic piping where possible instead of copper That's all I can think of for now. Re: How can you save money on electrical & plumbing costs? 3Aug 25, 2009 9:08 pm Minx Ways to save money. Electricals - avoid downlights this will increase costs substantially - sometimes sparky can get switches etc cheaper - get what you need. Some people go overboard with powerpoints some times - get standard switches instead of slim line, get HPM instead of clipsal Plumbing - have the plumbing down one side if possible - if you need a roof plumber for box gutter, ask if plumber can do it (legally) rather than getting a roof plumber specifically for that only. - avoid flick mixers throughout - get plastic piping where possible instead of copper That's all I can think of for now. Very nice thank you for the info Melbourne, Victoria My Journey, My Mistakes, My Issues and My Problems My Blog : http://homebuildingresource.blogspot.com/ Re: How can you save money on electrical & plumbing costs? 4Aug 31, 2009 8:20 pm you can also get all of your own fittings, I found that I was able to do a deal with a small lighting shop to get all of my fixtures thru them and it was cheaper then the electrician could get them (with his mark up of course) but thats talking about $3500 worth of lights. also depending on the tradie you have, and if your willing to get dirty you could ask if you can be their apprentice for the day/s. I was able to organise that with both my plumber and electrician so now they tell me what to do, I do it and they check it and flip the switch/turn on the tap. And it gives them a bit of flexability cause they can go on with another job, or duck off the job site to get a part. My Owner still Building thread viewtopic.php?t=9026 Re: How can you save money on electrical & plumbing costs? 5Sep 02, 2009 8:11 am So far the quotes for the fittings are about $8 per fitting. "A dream you dream alone is only a dream. A dream you dream together is reality" -John Lennon Re: How can you save money on electrical & plumbing costs? 6Sep 17, 2009 10:45 pm Shop around and get lots of quotes (but check the work from previous customers) We found huge variations in the prices (sometimes in excess of $5000. We also offered to pay in cash on completion (it sometimes helps, and cash flow often cripples small businesses so they may do a better deal) Re: How can you save money on electrical & plumbing costs? 7Jan 17, 2010 4:47 pm g'day here are a couple of tips that will bring down an electrical quote. use overhead mains if availible in your area... huge cost saver use a combination meterbox/switchboard over a seperate internal switchboard ( called a sub board )...huge buy your own downlights and light fittings... you can get the waaaay cheaper AND wont cop any 'sparky' mark up that we do. ( dont forget downlight insulation cans AND PLEASE buy the fittings early on in a build, theres nothing more anoying when you roll up to fit-off the electrical and the owner has to run to the shops to get light fittings ) dig your own underground make sure you think about every last thing thats electrical related when in the plan stages of a build.. and WRITE it on the plan.. no matter if its relevant or not.. the more info the less suprises ANYTHING electrical ( yes were talking phones, tv, foxtell aswell ).. that way the sparky can quote accordingly.. ( if you get a quote waaaay under what everyone else is quoting, the sparky is knowingly leaving out stuff to winthe job AND is going to sting uou with extras on the final bill ) also you can try and find a newly started electrical business.. they are LOOKING for work and will most likely do a cheaper quote if you give them some quotes already obtained and ask if they'll beat it.. every new sparky business will fight for work. also the comment about using HPM over CLIPSAL... they sparky will still charge the same per point no matter what brand you tell them to use UNLESS you are going fancy ( slimline, saturn eclipse etc etc ) so go on what looks better to you. ( CLIPSAL ) i hope all that helped Electrical - Automation - Smart wiring - New homes - Commercial - Data cabling] 1300 050 315 www.cenemelectrical.com.au www.facebook.com/cenemelectrical Re: How can you save money on electrical & plumbing costs? 9Jan 18, 2010 12:49 pm Clipsal Standard, 2000 or Slimline - Should be the same Price!! Don't believe your sparky on this one! In actual fact, Standard plates are now dearer thena 2000 or Slimline (by $0.68).... List price is $17.19 for a Double 10A GPO... If you want to make your Electrics cheaper, then try to place GPO's back to back on walls (i.e. bedroom/lounge)... Saves on cable and labour! Electrical Engineer... Don't hold that against me... And keen owner builder... Mainly the building part!! Re: How can you save money on electrical & plumbing costs? 10Jan 18, 2010 6:38 pm chuth77 If you want to make your Electrics cheaper, then try to place GPO's back to back on walls (i.e. bedroom/lounge)... Saves on cable and labour! mabey if its an extra power point AFTER the house is finished but during the build back to back gpos are the same point price no matter where they are placed.. it jsut means profits are better if they are placed close together sorry didnt mean to hijack Electrical - Automation - Smart wiring - New homes - Commercial - Data cabling] 1300 050 315 www.cenemelectrical.com.au www.facebook.com/cenemelectrical Re: How can you save money on electrical & plumbing costs? 11Feb 24, 2010 12:42 pm because we are having steel bearers / joists and strawbale walls there's a lot of conduit thats going to be needed - one sparky we are gettinga quote off suggested we do these sorts of things with his supervision.. Denise I've just had a look at the website. The company are just building broker's. There are plenty of similar companies that basically draw your plans (they own them so you… 8 10927 If there have been changes, variations, during construction then the drawings should be revised, the building permit amended and the current, as built drawings given to… 2 4480 As a tradesmen get a private inspector although I don't think there worth it in their profession themselves the reminder they serve to the tradesmen doing the work is… 3 27361 |