You're converting a 3-family into 8 units. The architect's set is moving, the lender wants a budget, and the GC is collecting electrical bids.
Then someone asks: who's doing the electrical drawings?
On most small NYC jobs, nobody has an answer yet. And every week nobody answers, the job is already paying for it.
What "no drawings" actually costs you
You won't get an invoice for it. It shows up in four other places.
1. Bids you can't compare. Without a drawing, every electrician prices a different job in his head. Three bids come back far apart, and you can't tell which one left something out. The cheapest one usually did.
2. Change orders. What wasn't drawn wasn't priced. It comes back mid-job as "we didn't know about that," when you have no leverage left.
3. The wrong service. Add up the breakers and you get one number. The NEC 220 load calculation gives the code number, and on our own sample apartment that's 94.2 A instead of 149.6 A. Guess high and you buy gear you don't need. Guess low and you find out at inspection, or when Con Edison asks for the load.
4. Lost weeks. A filing that bounces. A utility request that stalls. A crew that stops to call: "where does this feeder go?" On a building you're carrying, every week costs interest, insurance and rent you're not collecting yet.
Do your own math. Take your monthly carrying cost on this building. Now ask: how many weeks has the electrical slipped on your last two jobs? That's what no drawings cost you. It's almost always more than the drawings.
"Just hire an engineer"
On large jobs, yes. At 1,000 kVA and up, or over 600 V, you must.
On a small residential building, here's how it usually goes. Stamped service drawings start at $1,500. That's one NYC firm's own advertised starting price. That's the first draft. Then the plan examiner comments, the layout changes, the owner moves a kitchen, and every round of fixes can be billed again. On a building that goes back and forth, the first number is rarely the last.
And for what? In NYC, electrical work under 1,000 kVA is filed by the licensed electrician, with no design-professional stamp required. That covers most homes and residential buildings up to 60 units. You'd be paying a premium for a stamp the filing doesn't ask for.
One price. Before the job starts. It doesn't move.
Altheim & Sons prepares the electrical drawings for NYC homes and residential buildings up to 60 units. One fixed price per building, all-in, no add-ons:
| Building | Full electrical plan set |
|---|---|
| 1-3 family | $479 |
| 4-10 units | $997 |
| 11-20 units | $1,897 |
| 21-40 units | $2,897 |
| 41-60 units | $3,897 |
Every set includes the NEC 220 load calculation, the riser and feeder schedule, a panel schedule for every unit, power and lighting layouts, and a material list.
Plan-examiner comments on our sheets are answered free for 90 days. No "per fix" invoices. The number you see is the number you pay.
Make it the default on your jobs
You don't have to order anything yourself. Write one line into your bid documents:
"Electrical contractor to provide a full electrical plan set from Altheim & Sons (or equal) before rough-in."
Then:
- Every bidder prices the same drawn job. Now the bids are comparable.
- Your electrician orders it at the fixed price and files under his own license. That's how NYC already works for these buildings.
- You see everything before the walls open: the service size, every panel, and the material list your budget is built on.
We prepare drawings; we don't stamp them. If your job needs a PE (1,000 kVA and up, or over 600 V), we'll tell you before anyone pays a dollar.
The short version
On a small building, the drawings are the cheapest line in the job. Not having them is the expensive one.
See real sample sheets and the price for your building: www.altheimandsons.com/order
A family business, founded by Arik Altheim, NYC licensed master electrician.
See your price before you send anything. Full electrical plan set, 1–3 family: $479, fixed price.
Questions
Do small NYC residential buildings need stamped electrical drawings?
Electrical work under 1,000 kVA and 600 V is filed by the licensed electrician and does not go through DOB Electrical Plan Review, which covers most homes and residential buildings up to 60 units. Bigger jobs need a licensed Professional Engineer, and we say so before anyone pays.
What does the full electrical plan set cost?
One fixed price per building, all-in: 1-3 family $479, 4-10 units $997, 11-20 units $1,897, 21-40 units $2,897, 41-60 units $3,897. Plan-examiner comments on our sheets are answered free for 90 days.