Electrical Installation in Berlin

Our price does not come from a flat rate per square metre but from three factors: the number of circuits and connection points, the length and accessibility of the cable routes, and the condition of the distribution board. In Gruenderzeit flats (Berlin's late nineteenth century housing stock) cables often run in old plaster ducts that give way as soon as they are opened, so chasing out the walls and closing the wall surfaces again accounts for a substantial share of the time. In a Plattenbau (prefabricated concrete panel building) the routes are shorter and easier to predict, but there we often meet aluminium wiring that has to be replaced. These are exactly the points we clarify during the site visit, before we name a figure.

What shifts the effort further often has nothing to do with electrics: a rear side wing without a lift, working hours dictated by the Hausverwaltung (the property management company), neighbours in an occupied building with whom every power shutdown has to be agreed. We cost these constraints openly as separate items instead of hiding them in the hourly rate. That way the quotation shows you which share goes to materials, which to installation and which to restoring the wall surfaces.

A partial refurbishment is the right decision when the distribution board has to be renewed but the remaining wiring is still sound. In that case we replace the meter cabinet and the sub-distribution board, add residual current devices and run individual new circuits for the kitchen and the bathroom. A complete refurbishment is called for where there are old fabric or rubber sheathed cables, no earthing, and where a heat pump, a wallbox or a photovoltaic system is to be connected later. Anyone who creates the spare load capacity only afterwards opens the walls twice. A full electrical refurbishment of a three-room flat in a Berlin period building typically comes to 4.000 to 9.000 Euro, and the figure only becomes binding after the on-site appointment.

For flats in Milieuschutz areas (districts with a local statute protecting the existing resident structure) we also check which measures require official approval, because not every upgrade is permitted there without further ado. If the work reaches beyond your own flat, for example into the rising mains or the meter position in the stairwell, responsibility changes and the start depends on the decision of the WEG (Wohnungseigentuemergemeinschaft, the association of flat owners). We prepare the technical documents for that and align the schedule with this process instead of promising a date beforehand.

In a renovation the sequence determines the cost. Electrics belong in the shell construction phase, that is after strip out and before plaster, Estrich (floor screed) and tiles. If painting and wallpapering come first, you pay for that work twice. We therefore coordinate the chasing and cutting work with plumbing and heating, so that all wall openings are made in one pass. If a new bathroom or a new kitchen is planned, we define the connection points together with you before tiles and units are ordered.

Included with us are the planning of the connection points, the cable installation, the fitting of the distribution board, switches and sockets, plus testing and the test report. Not included are painting, wallpapering and tiling work unless you commission them as well, and setting the meter itself: that is done by the metering point operator, while we handle registration and coordination. Because we work as a main contractor, you can commission the adjoining trades from us too, and the renovation then runs on one schedule and one invoice.

Many enquiries aim at booking fitters for a few days. For private clients this is rarely the cheaper option, because you then also take on responsibility for planning, materials, testing and documentation. We therefore work on a contract basis: you describe the goal, we supply planning, materials, execution and the test certificates. You receive a fixed-price quotation instead of open-ended hourly billing, and if there are defects you have one clear point of contact.

For property managers and commercial clients with ongoing requirements we set up fixed contacts and recurring appointments instead, for example for the testing of fixed installations, fault clearance and smaller extensions. That makes sense above all where several existing properties are looked after. Whether a single contract or ongoing support suits you better is something we clarify in the first conversation, based on your building stock and the number of properties.