[brseland]

I don't know much about this stuff, hope someone can help. I'm in Seattle, WA and I'm getting 4 in-celing speakers installed and 4 in-wall speakers installed.

The dealer is quoting me $170/hour for install of those speakers and the volume controls. Plus another $85/hour for system calibration/setup.


Am I getting overcharged? Not only does it seem like a lot of time (the wires have already been run) but it seems like the hourly rate is really high.


Any advice is appreciated.

Brian

 

[adamCS]

In NYC suburbs the rate is similar, I paid $100/hr per person. It sounds like you've got 2 people for the hardware install and one for the calibration at $85/hr. My guys were willing to guess the time and cap the total there (ended up taking a little longer because of a difficult wall). You could try for that.


Adam

 

[DJ_JonnyV]

$170/hr??? That seems a little excessive. My dad had a bunch of stuff put in by a guy who really knew what he was doing, and he charged approx. $100/hr. I live in St. Louis, and I would imagine Seattle might be a little bigger of a market, but not by that much to be charging $170/hr. My only thought is that ceiling/wall speaker installations can be a little tricky. Also, are you or the installer out of pocket for any extra needed materials for installing speakers? Keep that mind as well.

 

[nhparrot]

Installing in-ceiling and in-wall speakers is a very easy task once the wires are run. Basically as long as you know the location of the wires, all you need to do is use the template provided with the speaker to cut a hole in the sheetrock, strip and connect the speaker wires to the speaker terminals and turn a few screws to secure the speakers in place. Wiring a volume control is just as easy, conect the wires to the control and screw the control into the gang box.

 

[stewc]

i'm in seattle...the going rate seems to be $60-$70/hr, per guy, for CEDIA-certified firm. and yes, often it's a crew of 2, to make the threading of cables etc a bit faster and easier. i haven't seen different rates for cable running vs equip setup -- its the same guys, in my experience.


good luck!

 

[philba]

Contact an outfit called Digitech Home Solutions (or some such, they're in Bellevue). I believe their rates in the range Stew quoted but they usually just quote a fixed bid. However, for running wires in existing construction, they may want T&M. They did work for me and in the speaker/audio area, I can recommend them. I have no idea if your job is big enough for them. http://digitechhome.com/contactus.htm


One other thing to do is to get your installer to break it down into components and have them price them seperately. This was quite effective for me in controlling the cost of my install.


Phil