Cable installation - Cost: Rule of Thumb

[DWilson911]

Looking for opinions on a general rule of thumb for the installation of voice/data cabling. Assuming 2 drops per workstation, what is a good rule of thumb (assuming no strange drop requirement like coring or extended lengths)?

If been given a number of $50/drop, but am unsure if this is high/low or average.

TIA,

DW911

 

[mikeydidit]

I think you are looking for something that’s not going to happen. The costs will vary by region, state, locations, number of drops, and too many other variables to mention. One thing that may come close to what you are after will be T&M and that too will vary. I think that is one thing that I like about this field of work. Everyone has their own way of doing things to the same standards.

Mike Jones
LSUHSC

 

[toolman18]

Depending on length and working conditions, at least around here, most companies charge between $75 and $150 per data run and $50 to $100 for voice.

 

[ddobb]

All depends on the customer and your relationship. I know that that really doesn't answer you question but it also depends on the size of the job (is it a large project with a competitive bid battle?), do you have a long relationship with the client? Also, if you are pulling duals, triples of quads you can give per drop doscounts. Say 25% off for a quad since your labor cost only increases with the added terminations at the jack and head end. It is also a good idea to have a firm knowledge of your overhead operating costs when determining what you are going to charge. If you are marking a job up based only on profit margin but neglect the fact that you have higher than normal overhead than your per drop profits are being chewed up. Gross may look good, but net is the truth.

 

[Refire]

Be sure to account for the hidden costs such as labeling
tape, tie wraps, so called 15 min. cust addons, hanger brackets, pull wire, setup, cleanup,testing,ordering materials, etc.etc. these are the things that will getcha.

 

[daronwilson]

If I'm forced to come up with a number on the fly, I usually use NTE $250 for a combo voice/data drop. It's a bit high but includes hardware, patchpanels, labeling, testing, etc. I usually explain that they could save quite a bit of money by being specific and doing multiple drops at the same time, but if they just want a dollar amount that they can budget for anytime to add a voice/data drop, I suggest they put that in to cover whatever needs to be done.

Sometimes they are 40' runs and a piece of cake, sometimes they are 250 runs and involve drilling concrete and such, just depends.

For us to do it right requires a permit as well, commercial permits are something like $50 now, so a single location add can be a bit spendy if done with the permit.

Your individual mileage may vary.



Daron J. Wilson, RCDD
daron at wilson dot org

 

[commresources]

Just look at it from a piece by piece POV (assuming marked-up pricing).

4 Cat 5 jacks (2 at jack, 2 at patch panel) $5.00 each, 200 feet of Cat 5 cable (100' average drop?) $20.00, faceplate $2.00, 3' patch cable $3.00, 10' patch cable $5.00, and lets say everything goes REALLY well and it gets done in 45 minutes at $60.00 per hour. Total this up and you get $105.00 for your duplex drop. This is basically an almost-best case scenerio. This is also assuming there are no service charges, trip charges or otherwise. More than likely it will be closer to $125-160 just because labor will probably be more.

 

[MilwTD]

Hi,
I know that this thread is not exactlly new but in my browsing I came across this link. These are the prices they charge internal users at the university.

http://www.tec.uga.edu/customer_service/cabling_cost.html

I hope this might help those who are trying to figure out what to use as a rule of thumb in estimating.

I found it while trying to value an install for a nonprofit that I am doing pro bono. Their insurance company wants a dollar figure.

--
"If we all did the things we are capable of doing, we would literally astound ourselves."
Thomas Edison