How much to pay a neighbor for electrical help

[atsah]

I’ll bet if you hand him $500 he will either be happy with that or not take it all, either way you will still have a neighborly neighbor, and that’s all that really matters at this point.

 

[Deere Dude]

I would give him a couple hundred. That is still good for a days work especially if he is retired and is enough to still tickle your pocketbook.

If I charged what I made as a pipefitter in my field as I helped a friend doing a volunteer job I would be embarrassed.

I had a friend from church who is a ductwork and furnace installer at work. He volunteered to come out and help me lay out my ductwork for my furnace. I said, come on out, it shouldn't take that long.

After a partial day cutting holes for ductwork I got wind he was expecting this to be a hourly paying job until the ductwork was finished. This wasn't my first furnace installation and I though this was to be a bonding experience as I would do for him. He was put off when I told him I would pay him for his hours put in, but that would be it for his services. Going through that gave me a couple sleepless nights.

$200 is fair.

 

[Travelover]

OP here. Thanks for all the replies and suggestions. You aren't kidding about the cost of the parts - Washington has adopted the 2017 NEC code here , so I had to pop for about $400 worth of arc fault breakers that will no doubt provide hours of fun in the future.

My guesstimate was that $500 was about right to pay my neighbor, but the suggestion to give it to him in cash is a good one.

Thanks again.

 

[Industrial Toys]

Do the right thing, that I always read about here with neighbors. Have your wife bake him some delicious cookies.

If he is (still) in business despite retirement and want's to be compensated financially, this should have been discussed prior to the job. HE, has to say now what he wants out of it, or he gets just the cookies! And YOUR help if needed in future.

I have worked for a number of electricians years ago. All of them were as tight as skin on a wiener, when it came to money.

 

[atsah]

My guesstimate was that $500 was about right to pay my neighbor, but the suggestion to give it to him in cash is a good one.

Thanks again.

You never know, if he thinks $500 is too much and you have cash he can hand some back to you, not so much with a check.. let us know how you make out..

 

[newbury]

Well it痴 clear he didn稚 say don稚 pay him. If it痴 too much he will decline all or part of it. The $25/hr figure seems low- maybe what an employee is paid (no tools and a supervisor to oversee them) I壇 be insulted by $150 for 7hrs of work. Electricians are billed between $60-$80/hr in most parts of the country. More in expensive areas (typically big cities).
I壇 have $500-$600 in $100 bills and hand that to him. If he takes it all you paid what his time is worth. If hands back more than $200 take his family to dinner or something with the difference.
I知 betting the minimum a licensed contractor would charge is $1500 plus full pop for parts and they won稚 let you help!
Bottom line- you got a deal.....even at $600!!!

I've got to agree with this line - Taking into consideration -
If he's retired and good $100/hour may be less than what he used to get paid - heck burger flippers are getting $15.
By his reaction it seems he expects compensation, if you overpay him what is the harm?
Does it need/did it pass inspection? In Fairfax, Va. I think we need permits and inspections to unscrew a light bulb, in Sandy Springs, Mississippi there are no permits/inspection. If you face inspections an experienced electrician can make all the difference.

Reads like he would be handy to have for future work
Do you have any friends that know him which you could ask?

 

[GirlWhoWantsTractor]

Does it need/did it pass inspection? In Fairfax, Va. I think we need permits and inspections to unscrew a light bulb, in Sandy Springs, Mississippi there are no permits/inspection. If you face inspections an experienced electrician can make all the difference.

Good point. If that work needed to be permitted/inspected and wasn't, it's already worth way less than market value.

 

[Industrial Toys]

A friend once welded a neighbors tractor or something, pretty much all day long and used a lot of rods. The farmer gave him five bucks! If you don't negotiate in advance, that's what it's worth. You either help a neighbor for FREE, possibly materials are extra or you arrange the rate in advance. This debacle is on the electrician, not the o/p

 

[GirlWhoWantsTractor]

A friend once welded a neighbors tractor or something, pretty much all day long and used a lot of rods. The farmer gave him five bucks! If you don't negotiate in advance, that's what it's worth. You either help a neighbor for FREE, possibly materials are extra or you arrange the rate in advance. This debacle is on the electrician, not you.

Agree 100%

 

[Alan W.]

An offer to help is just that. If I offer to help someone thats what I do with no expectation of money or goods. If I wanted to be paid I would tell them I could fix that for an amount.
The people I do for would do equal for me. Even though we offer to pay each other we know it will never be accepted.
True help and charity comes with no charge.