What a quote covers
A Litmec quote is a fixed price for a defined scope. It is written after someone has been to the property, opened the board and looked at the mains, and it sets out the work, the materials and the number of visits. Nothing is billed by the hour against it, and nothing is added later unless you ask for something that was not in the scope.
- A written scope — what is being installed, replaced or made safe
- Materials, switchgear and cable, specified rather than assumed
- The number of visits and roughly when each one lands
- The Certificate of Electrical Safety issued on completion, to AS/NZS 3000
What moves the number
On the work we do most, the same four things account for nearly all the variation between one job and the next. They are worth understanding before you compare quotes, because a cheaper number usually means one of them has been left out.
The board and what is behind it
A board with room to grow is a different job from one that is full, and a board with an asbestos backing panel is different again — that has to be removed under controlled conditions before anything else happens.
The mains and the meter position
Upgrading a board without checking the incoming cable just moves the bottleneck. On older properties the mains were sized for a house with a stove, a fridge and a few lights. Where the mains or the meter position also have to change, that is the bigger half of the job.
Access
Roof space, subfloor and wall construction decide how long cable takes to run. A single-storey weatherboard with a generous roof cavity and a double-brick period home with no subfloor access are not the same rewire, whatever the floor plan says.
What has to stay live
Staged work — keeping half a house or a whole shop running while the rest is rewired — takes more visits and more temporary supply than a job that can be turned off for a day. On commercial sites that often means the switching is done out of hours, and we price it that way from the start rather than discovering it later.
Quoting from drawings
For renovations, extensions and fit-outs we quote against the drawings as issued. The rough-in and the fit-off are priced as separate stages so they can be programmed independently, which is how a builder actually needs them — the rough-in books against frame stage and the fit-off against practical completion. Send the plans through and we will scope it from those.
Working with builders and trades →
Getting a quote
Tell us what the property is, what is prompting the work, and when it needs to happen. For anything on plans, send the drawings. We will arrange a site visit, and the quote follows in writing. There is no charge for any of that and no obligation attached to it.
Common questions
Why is there no price list?
Because the work Litmec does is not list-priced work. A switchboard upgrade on a full board with an asbestos panel and undersized mains and one on a modern board with room in it are the same line on a price list and completely different jobs. Publishing one number for both would mean re-quoting on site, which is exactly what a fixed price is meant to avoid.
Is the quote fixed?
Yes. What is quoted is what is paid. The quote is written against a defined scope after a site inspection, so there is no allowance to blow out. If you add work once we have started, that is quoted separately before it happens.
Do you charge for a quote?
No. Quotes are free and carry no obligation, including the site visit.
Is there a minimum charge?
Yes, for small call-outs. It covers getting to you anywhere in the service area with no travel surcharge by suburb, and it is confirmed before the visit is booked. It does not apply to project work.
Do you price against drawings?
Yes. Send the documentation through and we will price the scope as issued, with the rough-in and the fit-off quoted as separate stages.
How do you handle variations?
In writing, before the work is done. If opening up a wall or a board reveals something the inspection could not, we stop, tell you what we have found and what it changes, and you decide.
What do I get at the end?
A Certificate of Electrical Safety for the work completed, issued to AS/NZS 3000, and an invoice that matches the quote.