plumbing prices

[steve1209]

hi all i was just wondering about how to price up jobs as im starting up on my own and just wanted a few basic ideas on how you long timers price your jobs ie:

1 = fitting new pump
2 = fitting bathroom
3 = fitting and adjusting pipe work on radiator
4 = replacing storage tank
5 = replacing hotwater cylinder

there just a few but do you do it by the hour or set prices as some jobs can take alot longer than expected and then there is the overheads to like travelling time and expense and insurance... how dear for a plumber...??
any help much appreciated thanks

 

[supermario]

no offence mate but you sound a long way from being ready to go on your own. Judging the aggro factor of each job is the key to getting the price right you might get people chewing your arm off cause you priced too low but you'll soon get naffed off with work where yyou didnt judge the aggro factor right

 

[PEDANTICVINDICTIVEMAN]

1 two weeks to shift air locks
2 2 years if it's bought from a shed
3 5 wEeks if it was diyer who fitted it in the first place
4 fek knows, havent seen the job, is it in the loft, in a cupboard, do the doors need to come off, are they from an ethnic culture that pratts around withholding payment, if so the job wont even get priced for.

GET REAL

 

[Paul Barker]

Never give a price for anything on the phone, because it never results in a job.

Never give estimates for little jobs, you will get too busy to run round estimating small jobs. Tell them when you can go to do it turn up, size up the job, give them a figure to do it then or walk.

When you are starting out, if you are on a biggish job like fitting a bathroom and the phoine goes "help I've got water coming through the ceiling" drop everything and go to the emergency if you don't do it there and then you've lost it, it's better paid work and you're guaranteed a longstanding happy customer for your much needed customer base.

Over time you customer base will generate your work, but never miss out on a fresh emergency whenever you can.

There can be no standard charge for any of the jobs you quoted, you learn as you go along how long things should take, the agro in each new situation, you'll underestimate agro every time, but you'll get better at it.

BUT don't charge customer for your ineptitude. Charge what you think a skilled plumber would have managed. If you don't have a point of reference for that you need to work with a skilled plumber first to see how fast and efficient they are. Starting out you'll be a complete prat by comparrison.

All the trades require a great amount of skill which is aqcuired over time and working with the right people. There are some people in the gene pool who don't pick up that skill. If you are one of those keep looking for your level, because you can't earn money out of plumbing without results. That is why we have labourours who are good at carrying tools passing tools being on the other end of a flue/pipe/wire, fotting a ladder, but can't get a pipe straight for love nor money.

 

[ChrisR]

you need to work with a skilled plumber first to see how fast and efficient they are. Starting out you'll be a complete prat by comparrison

There is simply no better way to put it.
While I was still at the stage of groping hopelessly with a pipe bender I watched a CH installation being done by some fit lads who did 3-4 per week. One guy was taking 12 seconds to bend a full crossover. I could do one in a couple of minutes. I have got quicker, but nowhere near 12 seconds!

ANother - recently I was changing a thermocouple on a boiler I'm familiar with. Normally they take about 5 minuted on those, once the cover's off the boiler. This boiler was in a corner, so at an angle, and had a cupboard not far away, in front of it. I couldn't quite see, got something wrong, and it took 30 minutes.

A guy I know took on a job first-fitting complete new houses. He had some huge number to do in 3 months. First one took him a 3 days and he did the sums and had reason to worry. But by the time he'd finished them all, well in time, he was doing 3 in one day.

Plumbing is worse than most jobs when you start, if you dive straight in - it can be terrible!

 

[Paul Barker]

Yes, I think the biggest misnomer is that people think we earn a fortune for just being there. Earnings are related to ability.

A case I may have mentioned here before really got under my skin. Since the coach building firm locally shed most of the workforce guys who have just piped up a drinks machine on a coach all their working lives emerged onto the scene corgi registered, presumambly payed for as part of a redundancy package.

One of these took a week to replace an Ideal eType with a combi foir a mate of mine, but charged the full rate every hour he was on the job plus travel time.

Just in stage payments my mate had payed more than one of us would have charged for what at most is a day and a half. I told my mate not to pay a penny more.

 

[Agile]

I dont fully agree with Paul's first posting above.

In all cases I give a quote on the telephone based on the information given to me. I NEVER waste my time going to unpaid visits to give free quotations. That policy enables me to quote competitive prices and weeds out clients who want it done for nothing.

I stick to our quoted fixed price unless the client has intentionally given false information. I never do jobs at an hourly rate!

Now I do appreciate some of you will have a problem with that. I can answer that by saying whats a reasonable hourly rate? I rarely get it wrong and if something takes a little longer then the hourly rate is less but so what?

In particular boiler repairs, our main activity, we do for a fixed charge of £84 plus any parts at trade prices. Since I usually find the fault within minutes thats fine. The worst one, a Worcester 9.24, took me 3 hours and was eventually traced to an o/c conductor in an interconnecting wire which was carbonised where it had been arcing and tested ok at first sight. It was in a dark difficult access location and would have been half the time otherwise.

Tony

 

[ChrisR]

Tony I have trouble seeing how the one-rate fix can work fairly. £84 is steep for a thermocouple, but if you come across an old combi which needs a new pressure vessel (boiler off the wall first, maybe), and both h/e's and connecting pipes are sludged and (dhw one) limescaled up, and it's up high in a corner with a cupboard facing, you could be there all day. Added to which would be your time to go and get parts.

Even with your experience you won't always know of all the faults up front when part of the trouble is that the boiler isn't working! EG a dud pcb will hide a lot!

ANd if let's say, it's some old French heap, you've got a pile of crap when you've finished!

 

[Nige F]

Work on your charm and persuation skills....people expect to pay nowadays.and hone your instincts as to Rogue customers.Walk away from them,better to spend a day on this forum than to engage with an arrogant person( you can take the mick out of them on here)Also, try and find what B.Gas would charge, undercut that by a bit . and let the customer know that you could be a BG fitter And if you`re out of your depth Bullshit them, but don`t do it with Gas or electrics Think how much the property is worth, and relate that to what a small % of it`s value they are paying you. Q.4=£400..Q5=£550.from other posts here. And Aim to retire @ 50

 

[ChrisR]

Good grief I retired a long time ago. How do you think I have time to be on here? I just do the odd repair , = £2000 a month or so, nearly all cash natch.

As to how much you should charge - as much as you can get away with of course.
And remember, if you get a job by word of mouth, you were too cheap.

 

[corgiman]

**** FUNNY

Nice one chrisR

if you dont how long a job will take YOU, forget everyone else, DONT GO SELFEMPLOYED, cos if you do bankruptcy becons BIG TIME

work for someone get the experiance and then think about it

 

[Sylvan Tieger]

Never give a price for anything on the phone, because it never results in a job. <Quote

GIVE ESTIMATES over the phone and GO HIGH ,very high this way you get the bums who are price shopping a heart attack

Never give estimates for little jobs, << Quote

Exactly Give an HOURLY RATE TIME and materials



.

Over time you customer base will generate your work, but never miss out on a fresh emergency whenever you can.<<<Quote

I very seldom bother to pick up new accounts ESPECIALLY for an emergency.

Tjhe very first question I ask is WHO DOES YOUR NORMAL PLUMBING /GAS FITTING?

If they say they cant get ahold of their regular person I say good luck keep trying as I only give emergency service to my long standing accounts not new ones


There can be no standard charge for any of the jobs you quoted, <Quote

Sit down and add up the cost of doing busines phone,office insurance, other aspects of overhead phone advertising, and how much do you want to make.


Do not do the nonsence of calling another contractor and ask what they charge as everyone has a different $$$ value on their skills.

There is no such thing as the going rate.

What I used to do to judge how much to charge was when I was fully booked for 2 or 3 weeks in advance I raised my prices 25% and lost less then 10% of my accounts So in reality I made more money working less time.

It took several more adjustments to finally get established to work 20-25 hour work week making more then the other plumbers around here who work 40- 60 hour work week.

Never,ever take a job to keep busy that is a sure way to go broke because if your stuck on a job then you cannot leaver to make money of the better paying one.

Dont be afraid of charging to high as your highly skilled and should be compensated for all the training you have.

GOOD LUCK

 

[Agile]

Sylvan, you are replying to a post which is THREE years old!

Can't you find a US forum to write on?

You havew no idea of pricing matters for work in the UK.

Tony

 

[Softus]

Can't you find a US forum to write on?

You havew no idea of pricing matters for work in the UK.

As barking mad as Sylvan might appear to be, his view of price setting is spot on. The only way to make a sustainable profit is to understand your overheads, and a very good way to maximise profit is to raise prices until you discourage some customers.

These are business principles that make national boundaries irrelevant.

 

[Sylvan Tieger]

Sylvan, you are replying to a post which is THREE years old!

Can't you find a US forum to write on?

You havew no idea of pricing matters for work in the UK.

Tony

Tony with all due respect to a fellow professional I do not care what part of the civilized side of the planet you reside the following holds true for all contractors

1- We have to carry insurance

2- We have phones and people answering the phones not some flunky machine

3- We have an office not being dummy who is unprofessional and works out of their home as we believe separate home from office

4- We have late model trucks ALL PAID FOR the day we buy them as we charge enough so we do not have to carry a note on them a penny down and catch me when you can type of bum

5- All our bills from suppliers are up to date, rent for the office paid one month early to maintain a perfect credit score

6- We pay employees a real living wage so they to can own a home instead of looking to pay rock bottom prices

7- We like FAST cars and do not mind buying petrol 94 octane as we can afford $5.00 or more a gallon for my toys

8- We own our business it does not own us.

9- If a person is charging cheap prices then I can imagine the standard of living of their employees and the junker they arrive at a job site in.

Many moronic contractors call a successful contractor a thief as they worry where the next dollar is coming in and have to work long hours and really never understood why others are able to buy a home and have new cars and 3 full sized late model vans all paid for.

The ones I have to worry about are my accounts and they can hire me or hire someone who is willing to work for $75 per hr less then me.

Tony, many contractors are dumb thinking if they charge more then a lawyer or doctor some how this makes them a thief.

They rather work their 50 -60 hours a week to feel good about themselves rather then raising the bar for their family /employees.

Many plumbers are charging a lot more then I am and God bless them as they also realize that their training did not come free.

To be a qualified class A journeyman plumber /gas fitter I had to attend a 5 years 10,000 hour 744 class room study apprenticeship program and work for a master plumber for another 5 years before being eligible to take my 4 part masters exam practical and written.

Someone has to compensate me for the time invested.

Tony, look around and see the blokes who are playing I can work cheaper then you game and then ask "do I want to be with the rift raft or be one or two notches above the crowd.

How come a moron playing basket ball or foot ball should deserve more then a highly skilled gas fitter who if they make a mistake can kill a lot of innocents.

What quality of life issue does a ball player have over the Master plumber who motto is "we protect the health of the nation" Prevention rather then cure means I am entitled to make a really good living as I paid my dues and make life much more comfortable for people by giving them heat and fresh water and a safe means of disposal.

You get what you pay for in life and everyone has to know their own worth.

By he way my average as of last month for drainage is $225 per HR as I just invested in some upgrades on water jetters and color video inspection for main sewer lines.

Color video inspection is a flat rate of $500 (normally 1/2 hr) and the ones who understand these prices are professionals I work for as many doctors when they ask how come a color sewer inspection cost $500 or more I say same reasoning an MRI cost over $1,500 someone has to pay for my equipment and wear and tear and upgrades and my training to use it properly as doing a diagnostic service of a sewer that keeps backing up.

Nothing wrong knowing how to charge professionally and THANK YOU Tony. for answering a posting so old.

Glad you took notice...

I am so Glad Bill Gates who makes over $100,000 an hour is not a plumber as many Softminded people would call him a "thief" as he charges to much insterad of saying "he is the American dream SELF MADE"