No, but this is a change order, so yes. Should have thought about it before you started

It depends on what part of south Florida.

If the electrician has already started, you're changing the work not the design. The electrician may need to rethink the circuits.

Its normal to add outlets during construction. It helps to put the additional cost in the Unit Price part of the contract.

If they're for appliances, they will be 20 amp and might involve an additional circuit and/or a GFCI. Convenience receptacles might be less..

Ask locally.

Maybe alot for a standard backsplash plug but you said "appliance plug" which is a dedicated circuit and that would be low.

My costs increase dramatically depending on when changes are made... redline before electrician on site is least expensive, additions or changes while onsite are more expensive, changes after drywall are 2-3x.

If you are working with a larger builder who has standard home designs, any changes may be relatively expensive because he/she does not want to worry about deviating from a standard design. For example, the builder may have a standard contract for the electrical subcontractor that covers a fixed set of receptacles and devices. Adding a few receptacles is probably easy for the electrician, but may require paperwork and contract changes for both you and the electrical subcontractor. The builder is charging you a larger fee to make sure all these costs are passed on to you, as the homeowner who changed the "design" after the house was already under construction.

Bruce

In addition to the small additional administrative costs, I suspect the high unit prices are intended to discourage changes.

I would contact a local electrician and get a price for an after-the-fact addition. It sounds silly, but for the reasons expressed above, it may actually be cheaper.

The only thing that is certain is it will not be cheaper to add a receptacle after the drywall is installed. $270 will seem like a bargain.

"I would contact a local electrician and get a price for an after-the-fact addition."

Were I the builder, you could shop all you please, but your electrician isn't setting a foot on my job without my permission. And he's never getting it.

You made the change; pay up.

@Joseph Corlett, LLC, I think @mtvhike' s comment is about "an after-the-fact addition", not while the house is being built.

Thanks for your advice.

Right, Amit.

If you are able to drill into the walls from an unfinished basement, you might be able to do it at the same cost. If not, you will pay considerably more. In short, there is NO advantage in doing the work later.

If this is the thing that worries you enough that you need advice, you are in very good shape and should write the check and move on.

$270 is too high. Why someone would be adding a true dedicated appliance outlet later is a big question. I don't think OP is truly talking about several extra fridges.

I added one myself after drywall for the $10 the box + outlet + some wire etc cost and it took me 30 minutes. Certainly helped that there was an outlet in the same stud bay on the opposite wall. Obviously every situation is different but $270 is high enough that I might wait until later (and decide if I really needed them).

Today we just found out that our Master closet didn't have one. We have been in 8 months. I am nearly positive it was on an electrician's punch list at some point. Guess what - 8 months in - I guess we didn't need it. We were only going to charge a xmas gift....

I agree - this is the time to get the outlets you want and need. Is the charge excessive? Perhaps. But getting it right is the most important thing right now. What's it going to change your mortgage payment? An additional $1 a month?

See I don't agree. $270 is $270 regardless of whether you can afford it. When you sell, you get $0 for that outlet. You would have to hold the house for 30 years to get it down to $1. Are we talking 10 extra outlets? People wonder why home building has become such a racket....

And this is South Florida .... where some say 30 year mortgage is too long of a time line.

David:

Neither you nor I nor the homeowner nor the electrician get to say something is too highly priced. That is determined by the marketplace and the marketplace only.

I suspect the OP is talking about convenience rather than appliance receptacles. As a general rule. no point along a wall can be more than 6 ft from a receptacle so the additional receptacles are for added convenience. I find the thing that is missed most often is doubling up receptacles near beds and desks and that's easier to do that adding a new location, however, its not a half hour job.

What you want to avoid is removing, replacing, patching and painting wall board or drilling from above or below at a later date. However, a new receptacle is unlikely to be more than 6 ft from another one so an 8" X 72" wall board strip is probably the worst case. But unless you're very good at that kind of work and like to do it, $270 starts to look pretty attractive.

Of course, we don't know where the receptacles are; they could be in a tiled bathroom wall. So, as usual, there's not enough information to be able to give the OP specific useful advice.

However, one thing i can say for sure is that whether the contractor price is high or not is irrelevant.

Neither you nor I nor the homeowner nor the electrician get to say something is too highly priced. That is determined by the marketplace and the marketplace only.

Thanks, Joseph. Even though you directed your statement at another David, it made me think a little.

For something like this, you're right. Amit's builder charges what (he thinks) the market will bear, and Amit's choice is to take it or leave it. If enough people choose to "leave it," and the builder fails to adjust his expectations, the builder might lose his business.

Amit probably doesn't really need more receptacles. But plenty of necessities -- goods and services that everyone does need to survive -- are so highly priced that not everyone can afford them. In an increasing number of places, shelter is one of them!

The marketplace values money over people. We know that, and we accept it.

But what does that really mean? We talk and act like "the marketplace" is some kind of natural law,, but it's not. "The marketplace" is US.. You and I, we own this. We're the ones who've decided that money is more valuable than people.

Just a little thought for a Sunday afternoon. Now we return to your regularly scheduled home repair discussion. :)

My point was not what the market will bear, it was what I think it is worth given the alternative. Semantics I guess.

I can DIY a new outlet for way less than $270 in the vast majority of situations - particularly with a new house with known stud bays obstacles.

So the "reasonable" question still applies. The local market might bear that cost, but I think it is unreasonable. Heck maybe this is a high rise with steel studs and/or concrete walls.

So I will concur that we don't have enough info to know.

But then it becomes the value of that outlet and again, I think in most instances, it is unreasonable. But that really is variable.

I built with a tract builder and it was $40 to add an outlet at the beginning. That was a few years ago and I maybe added one or two that was not easy to do later.

$270 for a dedicated outlet after drywall is up vs $270 when the framing is the only thing out of the ground is 2 different things. “Under construction” does not provide sufficient information. Nor does “for an appliance”. A 240 volt ironing machine vs a dustbuster that can share a 120 circuit isn’t the same thing either.

The OP said the outlets are being added during construction rather than "after-the-fact".

The fact that the outlets are being "added to certain locations around the house" indicates the OP misspoke regarding convenience outlets vs appliance outlets.

I am sorry if this is not clear. Let me explain with a bit more clarification.

It is correct that we are in "during construction" phase. Studs have been installed, but no drywall yet.

The outlets are referring to are being added because NEC code requires them. Essentially, we made a design change in the kitchen layout to carve out a 24" wide counter top/desk next to the pantry. The GC says we have to add 2 outlets to that countertop area, per NEC.

I believe these are regular 15A/20A outlets.

I hope that clarifies it. Sorry for the confusion.

We are not looking to add 240V outlets (somebody asked that question earlier).

While I understand that $270 may appear as "reasonable" and "preferable" (vs adding them later) to some, I find it difficult to swallow. Not to underestimate the electrician's trade, $270 seems excessive to run another wire when the walls are open.

Not saying $270 is reasonable or unreasonable however with limited information it's hard to say if it is an excessive charge. Limited information? If two dedicated 15A outlets need to be individually wired to the load center/circuit breaker panel, which most likely is in the garage and depending on the house size, may be some distance away from the kitchen, in that case $270 is not too bad. It's heck of a lot easier to pull wires when wires are first pulled and may cost you far less. On the other hand, if two outlets are being connected to an existing 15A ring in the kitchen, then it sounds excessive, however you are limited to a maximum of 15A combined load across all outlets on that ring and may be in code violation and is the most likely reason the outlets need their own circuit (I am still guessing due to limited information).

Contractors usually sub out electrical work and subs have probably finished wiring per original specs and are most likely working at another building site or project; now they need to be called back for a seemingly small job disrupting their current work. My point is there is no generic answer to your question.

Thanks for the clarification. That changes things.

I'm not an expert, but I think your choices are limited. The code requires those receptacles.

The GCs here will know more about this than I will, but I expect that your GC probably is responsible for making sure your house meets all the applicable codes. So I question whether he can (or should) finish the house without those receptacles being installed.

I could be wrong, but it appears to me that your choices are to either pay up, or give up your extra counter section. Sorry.

Not really a choice anymore. The costs of making plan changes.

Only one receptacles would be required at a 24" counter. Perhaps its two receptacles together and perhaps it requires a home run circuit. There's still not enough information. It appears the thread was just for the purpose of complaining.

The more you use the added outlets, the cheaper they will be.

So it's required outlets based on a bigger change. You don't have a choice of doing it or not if you want the additional counter space.

I'd suggest not looking at the individual prices of the modification to your plan. Look at the big picture number for the design change and decide if it's worth the price. If it isn't, don't do it. It doesn't matter what the itemized prices are. You can't pick and choose whether to do some items and not others.

David Cary wrote, above: "I built with a tract builder and it was $40 to add an outlet at the beginning. That was a few years ago and I maybe added one or two that was not easy to do later."

Hubs and I bought our tract home just under 30 years ago when it was in the framing stage. The builder gave all buyers the option to add additional electrical outlets, phone jacks, cable jacks, and ceiling fans (2 fans were standard - master bedroom and family room); as well as adding gas log lighters to the wood burning fireplaces (our model has two fireplaces - master bedroom and family room). The cost for each additional electrical outlet, phone jack, and/or cable jack was $40. Gas log lighters were $160 each. We added 2 gas log lighters, 3 electrical outlets (one of which is an outdoor outlet), 3 cable jacks, and 6 phone jacks. We also added two sets of security floodlights for the backyard (we have a very large backyard). I can't recall the exact cost for those, but I think it was $200+ each, which included the fixtures, bulbs, and the additional light switch inside the house to control them. The cost for those additions had to be paid in full in cash before the work would be done. At the time, 30 years ago, it seemed like it was a lot to hand over $1,200+ for those things. Now, 30 years later, it's an insignificant drop in the bucket, especially considering that those extras have made living in this house a lot easier/more convenient.

As Greg_2015 said, above: "I'd suggest not looking at the individual prices of the modification to your plan. Look at the big picture number for the design change and decide if it's worth the price. If it isn't, don't do it. It doesn't matter what the itemized prices are."

Does this require a return trip for the electrician? They can make that kind of money a couple of times per day doing service calls. Anyone else have to return to the project for this? Superintendent or GC?

One some projects my time is 50% dealing with changes, most of which could have been avoided. My change orders are usually just to mitigate cost, risk and warranty.

Changes are expensive to everyone, but the real cost to a homeowner is added time to a project due to changes & indecision. While you ponder these decisions, progress on the home slows and stops while they make the changes to bring it back to the point it was. Maybe 2 weeks now or 1/2 month's worth of double housing payments, taxes, insurance, etc.

@Jeffrey R. Grenz, General Contractor, no the electricians are on site everyday doing the work that is per plan. So no special trips.

As others have said, the cost of the materials and possibly even the cost of labor is only a small factor. It's all the other things related to making changes that end up driving costs up.

As a home owner, I can spend $5 and do a DIY job to double up an outlet. That's probably the cheapest way you could ask for another outlet. If I asked for a change order for the same task, it now impacts the overall project schedule, and the same $5 would cost around $30-$50 dollars. If I wanted to move the new additional outlet a few feet away from the existing one, then this might cost $80 instead. But if it requires upsizing the the circuit, then it's maybe $120. And if it requires an entirely new circuit, then it's $180. If any of this happens after sheet rock is already installed, then add another $100.

In other words, it all depends. The best thing is to figure these things out before the drawings are finalized. In fact, something as basic as making all outlets into quads could very well be done at zero cost to you, if your contractor feels even slightly generous. And incidentally, that's a great idea for all new construction!

Once you decide on a larger change order that triggers all sorts of other changes (including electrical), this just becomes one of the many line items. You can try to negotiate. But you'll likely not make much headway. Changes are expensive.

I don't really have anything more to say about this. I'll just say what I said above a little more bluntly.

The $270 might be a fair price, or it might not. It doesn't matter, because that's what they're charging you. If you want the extra counter space, it looks like you'll have to pay it.

If you don't want to pay $270 per receptacle, then maybe you can tell them to forget about the extra counter space. MAYBE.

Or maybe you can say "If I have to pay $540 for wiring, I don't want the counter," and persuade them to charge you only, say, $400 for the wiring. MAYBE.

Then again, if you've already signed a change order or whatever, it's likely that you can't cancel the counter and the electrical work, and they're going to build it and wire it, and they're going to bill you for it, and you're going to have to pay whatever they bill you for it. Sometimes contract law can come around behind you and and bite you where it hurts. :(

And, as you're seeing, building a house can entail some financial surprises. But then, so can buying an existing one.

Come to think of it, life in general throws all kinds of surprises at us, financial and otherwise. Some you can fight, others you just have to roll with.

A change order could have the outlet be $50, $260, or $500. Or $1000, if the builder wants to discourage those changes. The costs on a change order do not have to have any justification whatsoever for those costs. The builder can charge whatever he wants. And add an administrative fee on top of it if he wants.

That is the penalty for poor advance planning, a vague contract, and working with a virtual tract builder.

Building a custom home would have none of this as an issue. You and your architect would be in control of the specifications from the beginning. Your attorney would have reviewed the contract, and insisted on a fair procedure with minimum penalties for change orders. And your GC would have a higher compensation fee from the beginning, so would be more inclined to have a more flexible timeline to deal with the downstream delays that even “minor” changes really cost a construction schedule.

Because that’s always the bigger issue. It’s not the extra outlets. Or the extra cabinets. Or the extra counters. Or the flooring issues. Or the lighting issues. Or the extra backsplash material. It’s the extra time to order the extra, and install the extra. It snowballs, with so many different trades being involved in such a “simple” change.