The Electrical Meeting

Hello There!

The explanation of another asinine RH process...

Okay, so the electrical meeting is set up similar to the Design Meeting. Yep, another meeting you will walk into completely blind!

Prior to the meeting we requested an itemized sheet of electrical add-ons, options and associated costs. We were told, "no, that list doesn't exist".  Hmmm, interesting... Are we living in the dark ages?

Well we were not comfortable going to a sales meeting knowing absolutely nothing. After some serious nagging we were able to get the electrical prints of what comes "standard" for outlets and lights. Tell the SR you want the electrical prints of your model before the meeting!

So basically you meet with an electrician (or salesman) and in less then 3 hours decide if the standard items and their placement work for you. If you need to add, change or remove any of the standard items it is done at this meeting. In addition to the standard you will also go over upgrades and add-ons. Let me tell you this is A LOT of information to absorb and work through in 3 hours!

Right there on the spot you have to decide if you want the upgrades, if you can afford them, and where you should locate them in your house.  I wish I was joking, but I'm not.

I'm not going to bore you with every detail of what we added or changed in our house, but I will share the list of questions/notes I wrote prior to our meeting along with the  pricing and add-on options that we were able to discover during the meeting. Note: the pricing for these items probably differ slightly based on the location of your build.

Finally, before I paste my lists here I'll end with this... We made our electrical selections and changes, but as of right now we have no final total of what we spent. We are estimating our electrical add-ons are approximately $12k. It's been almost a week and we are still waiting for the electrician to send us a quote or list of what we spent during out meeting... always a guessing game. I'll keep you posted.

Pricing to add additional: *Probably subject to location*

Exterior Outlet: $150/ea.

Dedicated Circuit: $250/ea.

Future Tube : $175ea.

Sub-panel: 100 amp/20 space: $750

Carriage Light: $250ea.

Overhead Light: $200

Cable TV Prewire: $60/ea.

Recessed Can Lights: $150/ea.

Ceiling Fan Rough-in: $295/ea

Roofline Lights/ LED Soffit Lights: $225/ea

Recessed LED Lights: $180/ea.

110v Outlet (interior): $125/ea

Dimmer Switch: $50/ea

Separate Circuit for 3 way Switch: $250

Wall Mount Hood Range (includes $400 wall hood range and the install): $1200

Future Tube : $175ea.

220v/30amp Generator prewire: $750

Flood Light: $250/ea.

Bluetooth Volume Control: $150/ea.

Bluetooth/Auxiliary Volume Control on wall: $225/ea.

LED light bulbs Whole House Package (Don't recall price)

Outdoor Speakers Prewire $375

Bluetooth Volume Control: $150/ea.

Bluetooth/Auxiliary Volume Control on wall: $225/ea.

Speaker Prewire: $150/per set

Speakers - Russ Sound $300/pair or Yamaha $400/pair

Central Vac (Don't recall electrician telling us the price)

PVC pipe for future ran from basement to attic: $120

Under Cabinet Lighting ($1495 for our model of home)

Dimmer Switch: $50/ea

Decora Whole House Switches: $350 

Decora Whole House Plugs: $350 

Things to question and consider:

• What size panel box comes standard? Location?
• Do I need a sub panel?
• Do you need an outlet on stairs landing?
• Where do you want cable, phone and network? How many come included? 
• Consider future tubes to hide TV wires and cables

• Do you have a post light by outside sidewalk? 
• Do you need security camera prewire? 
• Do you need surround sound pre-wire?
• Do you need any dedicated outlets? (think additional refrigerators, freezers, adding an electric fireplace)
• Do you want your outlets in garage higher than the standard height? (think workshop or having to move things on garage floor to reach the lower outlets)
• Do you need more outlets in the garage? Location?
• Do you need floor outlets? (think office and family room)
• Do you need outlets in places they are not included such as the pantry, master closet?
• Is there an outlet or two on your kitchen island?

• Do you need additional exterior outlets? (think power-washer, holiday lights, patio or deck)
• Lighting Tip: Add a rough-in or light in every room that does not include a light as standard. If you don't do this you will be confined to lamps. Adding them during the build is much cheaper than adding them after you close. 
• Morning Room- Most do not come with a light standard, don't forget to add a prewire or recessed light in there!
• Consider if you are planning to hang heavy lights (chandeliers etc) or put in fans you will want the fan prewire. It supports more weight than the light prewire. 

• Do you have pendant lights over your island or recessed lights?
• Is there an outlet or two on your kitchen island?