I am not an HVAC contractor nor have I seen your house, but I do have an
electrical contractors license in California though I no longer live there.

California is a VERY regulated state when it comes to contractors. There
are so many laws and codes that one must follow to stay in business. In
addition to the normal trade codes, there are seismic codes and sound codes
and handicap codes etc. An HVAC contractor usually must have a license from
the EPA to handle the Freon (Or whatever they use now). The cost of
maintaining an office in California is higher also thanks to the real estate
market. Consequently, the overhead that a contractor must carry is higher
than in other less regulated states. That overhead cost gets passed onto
the consumer.

It does not surprise me that you got a price of $8400.00 to install air
conditioning in your home.

The best way to protect yourself from being ripped off is to have a set of
plans and specifications made. You can do this yourself or have an engineer
do it. Get bids from several contractors who all base their price on the
same plans and specs. That way you can compare apples to apples.

If the prices come back too high for your wallet, perhaps you can do some of
the work yourself such as the carpentry and let the contractor do the heavy
stuff. I would discuss this with your contractor ahead of time to see it
that would be acceptable.

I hope that this helps.


John Grabowski
http://www.mrelectrician.tv




"scm" wrote in message
...
We're looking to install air conditioning in our home (~1800 sq feet
single story) in southern california.

It has never had AC so all of the duct work will need to be run.

It is an old home and the walls/ceiling are plaster but there is
excellent access to all of the ceilings and some walls via the attic
which has 20' of headroom.

I am in the process of getting bids and would like some help as to
whether what I am being presented with is fair or overpriced. I have no
problem with someone trying to make a living, but I'd like to not be
taken to the cleaners.

It seems as though ALL bids on this home happen to be high (for any type
of service) because of its beach front location.

Bid:

Install 4 ton Carrier 38YRA w/ matching coil/air handler and duct work
(consisting of 10 drops plus a return)
Install thermostat
Carpenter Subcontracter needed to make duct holes in the lathe and
plaster ceiling.

$8400
--------
Is this a fair price?

Thank you for your time.