installation issues

[ade007]

I just got an estimate from an installer and i must say i was very shocked. The estimate was $2,500. There's a Plasma and system hookup for $750, labor for speaker drop $840, program remote $200, labor for plaster work $150, universal remote $500. My room is 19.5 X 15. At this rate I may not hang my lcd on the wall. This doesn't include hdmi cables or a wall mount. I know orange county california can be expensive but this is ridiculous. At this rate I might as well not hand my lcd on the wall.

 

[Davemcc]

A decent universal remote is about $100 and can be programmed easily on the internet with no specialized knowledge. My wife does all my universal remote programming. The rest of the charge is labor that you could yourself for free. Having said that, even at $100/hr. that would represent more than 3 full 8 hr days for something he will probably have done before lunch, unless there are some serious issues with what is behind the walls.

 

[ParadigmDawg]

Yes, that's crazy. You can hang a plasma and hook it up in 20 minutes yourself if the only handyman skills you have is hanging pictures. Running speaker wire can be time consuming but is not difficult. A great remote is Harmony and like Dave said, you plug it into your computer, tell it what equipment you have and it takes 15 minutes to program it. Use Monoprice or BlueJeans for your cables, a good HDMI will cost you 20 bucks vs. 100+ bucks if you buy one from a dealer.

 

[MDS]

The labor charge for running speaker wire doesn't sound too out of line and you may want to have them do it because sometimes there are issues that make it difficult and the installers have various tools to help get it done correctly. I paid to have some additional wire run (speaker and CAT5) and the installers charged $75/hour times two because you need two guys to do it (one in the room and one in the attic).

The rest of the charges are way too much, IMO. $750 for 'hookup'? It takes 30 seconds to plug the cables into the TV.

Unless your system is reallly complicated or you have a dozen devices to control, you don't need to spend anywhere near $500 for a universal remote. The aforementioned Harmony is one option and I'd suggest the Universal Remote Control, Inc Home Theater Master series as well ($150 for the MX-350). Programming is not that difficult.

 

[ade007]

thanks for your replies. I definitely would have done it myself but I'm disabled. He isn't using any special wires, it will be 14 gauge wires. I'm having bookshelf speakers installed on the wall not in-wall speakers. I have some holes in the wall they will be using and I'm having them hook up my blue-ray dvd, dvd recorder, receiver and satellite receiver.

 

[ParadigmDawg]

Heck, if you live by any of us, we would come and help you for free. The prices he quoted you seem high so be careful.

 

[davidtwotrees]

I'd get some more estimates before I throw this contractor under the bus and say he is charging too much. Many do it yourselfers scoff at any estimate and will tell you how they could just zip zip zip through things when in fact if they did it every day for a living they'd know that isn't how things go for the most part. For that kind of money I would not be in a hurry and get some more estimates. Orange county is a big dollar area and I bet there are installers galore. Get some quotes. Make sure you tell them what you want, and that cost is an issue. Ask smart, pertinent questions. Like do they have insurance? If the system goes down, do they come back and fix it for free? Do their employees speak English? How long will the work take? Does the drywall repair include painting? Do you need a $500 remote? Perhaps have a budget ready. Be an informed consumer and do your homework. Get multiple bids and make sure you are comparing apples and oranges.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

The estimate was $2,500.

CRAZY.

I say place the LCD on a $150 TV stand, which will do two things:
1) hold your AV components &
2) hide cables & wires

The only wires that may be tricky to hide are the surround speaker wires.
If you have carpets & a relatively "closed" room with 4 walls, you can hide the wires along the bottom of the side walls & place your surround speakers to your sides.

Place your bookshelf speakers on speaker stands, not on walls.

No drillings. No holes.

Do everything yourself.

 

[davidtwotrees]

CRAZY.

I say place the LCD on a $150 TV stand, which will do two things:
1) hold your AV components &
2) hide cables & wires

The only wires that may be tricky to hide are the surround speaker wires.
If you have carpets & a relatively "closed" room with 4 walls, you can hide the wires along the bottom of the side walls & place your surround speakers to your sides.

Place your bookshelf speakers on speaker stands, not on walls.

No drillings. No holes.

Do everything yourself.

The OP mentioned he couldn't do it himself as he was disabled.....