How much would you pay???

[Ralph]

My house does not have a cover on the existing switchboard so I asked the RE agent to get a quote for a lockable box to put around it.

Quote came back from their 'preferred' handy man.

Steel 550+ GST
Wood 660+ GST

I literally need a box 40cm * 20cm * 40cm. THIS is 4 bits of wood, a door, two hinges and a lock. 2 hours labour if the labourer is a professional (I'm confident I could do it in that time).

Am I crazy or is this a little over the top???

 

[geoffw]

It certainly does seem over the top- unless there's a minimum standard which needs to be applied.

Your local hardware shop could probably supply your materials with offcuts, cut to size. I'd suspect you could do it yourself- or get other quotes.

Perhaps REA gets commission from tradies?

 

[Ace in the Hole]

Hi,

You could go to a roofing supplies or sheetmetal shop and they would make one up for you, might cost $100 then get it fixed on with a few fastners.

Regards

Adrian

 

[lizzie]

give bunnings a call - they seem to have just about everything at a reasonable cost.

 

[willair]

Ralph,
just a simple question.is the elec box inside the house or external
maybe a sparky has to reset the the wires if the box is external
but the price seems very high..
good luck.
willair..

 

[Jimmyjamjars]

Without knowing the situation of your wiring, I cannot say whether it is a rip-off or not but, keep in mind, if an electrician modifies your wiring system, he must leave it in a way that complies with the AS/NZ3000 wiring rules, EVEN if it didn't comply before he touched it. This can often mean he needs to put in extra gear other than the obvious. I'm not saying that this is the case in your situation, but it IS a side most don't often consider.
JIM

 

[demoman]

does seem expensive

Hi Ralph,

Yes, the quote does seem expensive but as some other posters have said there could be wiring issues to deal with. Another thing is that the backing boards to older switchboards usually contain asbestos so a lot of tradies wont go near them.

Try a Demo yard .............you should be able to pick one up for a few bucks.

Might be worth asking for a breakdown of the quote. Labour vs Materials.

Cheers

Jared