Subscriber Discussion

Conduit Installation...How Much Time?

TM
Ty Mullen
•Dec 22, 2017
COR Security, Inc.

I wanted to throw this out to see what others would estimate. 

This is a small part of a larger project. I have attached a picture below with some notes however let me explain a little bit.

Someone else will be running a 2" conduit underground and stubbing up on the edge of one building. We need to take care of the rest of the conduit work. Our scope...

  • Mount a 12x12x6 junction box where the 2" comes out of the ground
  • Mount another 12x12x6 junction box on the adjacent building where we will penetrate the building
  • Run quantity of (2) 1" EMT conduit from box to box with rain tight fittings
  • Surface mount strut to the building and attached EMT to that
  • Install pull string in conduit

A couple of considerations...

1. It's not a long run but it will have several bends and offsets. 1" isn't the quickest thing to bend by hand.

2. The strut will be attaching to the iron beams, the same way the steel cladding was, which isn't going to be the easiest thing to do.

3. Walking/crawling on the steel cladding isn't going to be very fast as everyone knows. If your not careful you can really dent it or worse. 

Love to hear feedback on the total man hours onsite to accomplish this.

Avatar
Mark Jones
•Dec 22, 2017

A seasoned electrician that knows how to bend, and a helper should be able to do this in a long day.  20 manhours would be a good figure.

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Brian Karas
•Dec 22, 2017
IPVM

Can you use pre-bent 90 degree elbows to save time?  From your drawing, it looks like you'd have 2 "inside" bends, and 1 outside going around that outer 90 degree corner where you would most likely use a conduit body to make the tight turn.  Then, it's mostly just cutting and mounting straight pieces onsite.

 

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TM
Ty Mullen
•Dec 23, 2017
COR Security, Inc.
In reply to Brian Karas

Yeah I suppose we can. The cost of the 1" 90 may be a wash we time. There will be four 90s for each conduit. So eight 90s total. Lucked out if there was one more 90 I would have to put another box somewhere. 

The mounting the strut to the I beams are going to be a pain. I beams do not like to drill and tap (I will be using hardened self drilling screws - not hand tapping - but still)

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Christopher Freeman
•Dec 22, 2017

experience talking 

2 hour Job journeyman, optimal conditions ,2 hour set up, 2-4 hour trip

8 is a great number for the small business , depends on where install is taking place, judging from the graffiti , bad neighborhood , so add on harsh condition time and expenses (200.00 )

120.00 per hour (180.00 union ) , materials @ around 240.00 

well that is a 1240.00 Job 

after all is done 

but depends on your work force, union or not 

there are standard labor rates , on the web , but usually if i use those numbers you always loose the bid, unless union or I already have the extra . 

I like to stay with your cost and area that way you stay in your knowledge zone or area of confort 

never depend on other s for your numbers , or you will loose greatly 

research the area , know your zone 

In Ca if you are in a rural area , and you go over a hill , you enter into the silicon valley , this will quadruple your numbers 

 

U
Undisclosed #1
•Dec 22, 2017
IPVMU Certified
In reply to Christopher Freeman

... depends on where install is taking place, judging from the graffiti, bad neighborhood...

I’m not sure that’s graffiti:

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Brian Rhodes
•Dec 22, 2017
IPVMU Certified

3. Walking/crawling on the steel cladding isn't going to be very fast as everyone knows. If your not careful you can really dent it or worse.

If you can use a 30 - 40 foot articulating boom lift you won't need to worry as much about this.

If I had installers that had done this before, I'd bid one day/16 manhours to get this in, including setup, cleanup, and loading/unloading the lift.

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TM
Ty Mullen
•Dec 22, 2017
COR Security, Inc.
In reply to Brian Rhodes

The only downside to that would that the conduit would be a lot higher on the roof line. Making it stick out more visually. 

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Brian Rhodes
•Dec 22, 2017
IPVMU Certified
In reply to Ty Mullen

Yes, agreed. But given the appearance of the other rigid (the lamp), I did not gather this was a showstopper. 

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Christopher Freeman
•Dec 22, 2017
In reply to Brian Rhodes

not enough detail in original statement as it said nothing about running conduit up , drawing only shows straight across detail . 

no boom, lifts , other needed according to drawing. 

cff

U
Undisclosed #1
•Dec 22, 2017
IPVMU Certified
In reply to Christopher Freeman

 not enough detail in original statement as it said nothing about running conduit up , 

Avatar
Christopher Freeman
•Dec 22, 2017

i was on a att project where the union guys followed the detail of the drawing to the letter , ran conduit down the side of the building at 4' high for about 120' as per the detail , looked really bad , but because not enough detail it was left to interpretation and theirs was 4' high around building ( easy ) 

 

So detail is very important 

leave nothing for interpretation

 

UI
Undisclosed Integrator #2
•Dec 22, 2017

Are the walls a single corrugated metal panel?  Or, are they SIP (steel insulated panels)? One might be heavier gauge 16 -18, while the other is 24 -26.  I find that SIP's are more difficult to work with due to the thin gauge.

Is there a reason you must run the conduit on the exterior?  When the exterior stub and box are installed, can you penetrate the first building and make a wire run?  May not need conduit until you need to go from the first building to the second building.

Am I correct in reading the number of 1" conduit runs as two separate runs?  So, two 1" EMT will leave the first box and end up at the second building? 

You might check with a forum comprised of electricians, specifically, which will yield a few more options.  They might have some excellent ideas on how to accomplished this run and how much they might charge.

TM
Ty Mullen
•Dec 23, 2017
COR Security, Inc.
In reply to Undisclosed Integrator #2

Single corrugated metal panels. So the strut will be secured to the beams on the other side. 

The "building" is more of large industrial hut. The other side houses a very large industrial equipment, which takes up all of the space. We saw this as the fastest route. 

Yes quantity of two 1" conduits. 

I posted not so much for advice but more to see the thought process and hours that others would have placed on a job like this. This year we have had to run a lot more conduit then previous years.  

We have factored in (1) tech for 1-1/2 days. It's not a hard job. But I know others can look at it and think it will go really quick. But all the little issues make it go longer. 

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UI
Undisclosed Integrator #3
•Dec 23, 2017

What are you running in the conduits?  Did you consider liquid-tight between the buildings for movement?

TM
Ty Mullen
•Dec 24, 2017
COR Security, Inc.
In reply to Undisclosed Integrator #3

Access control and security camera cabling.

Liquid tight was my go to because if the simplisty of installation. However as of late we have only been using that at the end of runs (going into a camera housing for example). I found that it is really hard to pull cable through because of the additional resistance. Especially when adding cable in the future. Also on long straight runs it takes double or triple the straps and even then it has the not finished droopy look.

But with that said still a fair option.

UI
Undisclosed Integrator #3
•Dec 24, 2017
In reply to Ty Mullen

I was suggesting liquid tight for the transition from one building to the other to handle expansion.  Those structures do move a little. 

I asked about the type of wire in case what you were installing required sweeps (fiber)

I would enter and exit boxes outdoors only from the bottom, and I’d use a couple of LB’s to make the outside corner if the cable allowed and would ease pulling.  

However, that’s just me and there are many ways to do this. 

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