Plumber hourly rate

paulb06 · 17-01-2014 8:14pm #1

Hi Guys

Quick question, we had a kitchen tap replaced for €70 earlier today and he was here about 25 minutes and charged €140 alltogether. Would that be correct?

The Gride · 17-01-2014 8:17pm

Was it just a handyman or a qualified plumber ? Did he travel far to get to you ?

chris445 · 17-01-2014 8:20pm

I know €70 labour seems expensive for 25 minutes but when you add in time spent getting the tap and travelling to and from site it might add up to 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Then there could be a call out charge aswell.

wexie · 17-01-2014 8:22pm

paulb06 wrote: »

Hi Guys

Quick question, we had a kitchen tap replaced for €70 earlier today and he was here about 25 minutes and charged €140 alltogether. Would that be correct?

So the tap cost €70 and he charged another €70 for the 25 minutes or were there any other charges?

Cause €70 per half hour......€140 per hour......:eek:

There was definitely nothing else? Callout charge, any other materials etc. etc.?

dpofloinn · 17-01-2014 8:24pm

Did the plumber have to use additional fittings or piping or replace valves ?Did he have an apprentice with or assistant with him?

rightjob! · 17-01-2014 8:26pm

paulb06 wrote: »

Hi Guys

Quick question, we had a kitchen tap replaced for €70 earlier today and he was here about 25 minutes and charged €140 alltogether. Would that be correct?

did he have to come look at the tap first?go off to the suppliers to get the tap come back and fit it?thats a quick 25 mins

roy rodgers · 17-01-2014 8:28pm

Most companies will charge about 80 euro an hour. Either if it went in tova second hour it be another 80.

Op you done well at 140 euro you were not ripped off anyways because some times changing taps can be a right c***.

Billy Bunting · 17-01-2014 8:29pm

I would be very suprised if he didnt have a call out charge, it cost money to run a business

dpofloinn · 17-01-2014 8:35pm

roy rodgers wrote: »

Most companies will charge about 80 euro an hour. Either if it went in tova second hour it be another 80.

Op you done well at 140 euro you were not ripped off anyways because some times changing taps can be a right c***.

Holy fcuk E80 an hour and part there of .Is that after call out charge and less fittings? Most companies I worked for even in the good times were never more than E30 an hour and E10 to E15 for an apprentice

paulb06 · 17-01-2014 8:35pm

Billy Bunting wrote: »

I would be very suprised if he didnt have a call out charge, it cost money to run a business

Yeah most likely a call out charge, just wasn't sure that's all. No nothing else was done he had the tap in his van when he arrived, didn't need to leave anywere to get it. 20-25 mins max.

dpofloinn · 17-01-2014 8:38pm

You were probably charged a E50 call out and E20 for the job

sawdoubters · 17-01-2014 8:39pm

seems ok price

you could have bought the wrench yourself $25 and the tap taken about 2 hours
you would have saved $45

rightjob! · 17-01-2014 8:40pm

paulb06 wrote: »

Yeah most likely a call out charge, just wasn't sure that's all. No nothing else was done he had the tap in his van when he arrived, didn't need to leave anywere to get it. 20-25 mins max.

it took him 25 mins to do the job,sometimes it goes well taking them off and sometimes its a pain.his went well,if he was there longer it would prob have been the same price.
also he had to get the tap from somewhere even if it was in the van so that costs too

shane0007 · 17-01-2014 9:01pm

Also the vodka & tonic was in that.

roy rodgers · 17-01-2014 9:58pm

dpofloinn wrote: »

Holy fcuk E80 an hour and part there of .Is that after call out charge and less fittings? Most companies I worked for even in the good times were never more than E30 an hour and E10 to E15 for an apprentice

€30 an hour. lets work that out.13.5% is vat, then union rates are at 21 or 22 an hour, than you have insurance, rgii subscriptions, van, tools maintenance, diesel, road tax, d.o.e, phone bills, admin costs, office staff. and thats all before a profit.
most companies work on a profit of 10 to 20% so they can survive a rainy day. but plumbers profit margins are more like 3 or 4%

when you work it all out you be a mad man to do this job. its 24/7 people expect the work to be done for nothing

scudo2 · 17-01-2014 10:07pm

roy rodgers wrote: »

€30 an hour. lets work that out.13.5% is vat, then union rates are at 21 or 22 an hour, than you have insurance, rgii subscriptions, van, tools maintenance, diesel, road tax, d.o.e, phone bills, admin costs, office staff. and thats all before a profit.
most companies work on a profit of 10 to 20% so they can survive a rainy day. but plumbers profit margins are more like 3 or 4%

when you work it all out you be a mad man to do this job. its 24/7 people expect the work to be done for nothing

+ 1 on that.

dpofloinn · 18-01-2014 5:09am

roy rodgers wrote: »

€30 an hour. lets work that out.13.5% is vat, then union rates are at 21 or 22 an hour, than you have insurance, rgii subscriptions, van, tools maintenance, diesel, road tax, d.o.e, phone bills, admin costs, office staff. and thats all before a profit.
most companies work on a profit of 10 to 20% so they can survive a rainy day. but plumbers profit margins are more like 3 or 4%

when you work it all out you be a mad man to do this job. its 24/7 people expect the work to be done for nothing

I wont argue with you, I didnt set the rates with these companies .All that I can tell you is that if I quoted E80 PH and part there of my weekly income would be E0 because im trying to compete with lads who will supply and fit a circulating pump for E50, I mean how is that even possible?

.jacksparrow. · 18-01-2014 10:03am

dpofloinn wrote: »

I wont argue with you, I didnt set the rates with these companies .All that I can tell you is that if I quoted E80 PH and part there of my weekly income would be E0 because im trying to compete with lads who will supply and fit a circulating pump for E50, I mean how is that even possible?

It depends on the job, fitting a like for like pump isn't complicated and won't take too long.

But if you're trying to find and diagnose a boiler problem its different.

Billy Bunting · 18-01-2014 12:46pm

dpofloinn wrote: »

I wont argue with you, I didnt set the rates with these companies .All that I can tell you is that if I quoted E80 PH and part there of my weekly income would be E0 because im trying to compete with lads who will supply and fit a circulating pump for E50, I mean how is that even possible?

Anyone who operates on a callout system has the callout fee to cover the first hr or half hr to cover their costs of operating, the remainder of time on site would normally be covered by a simple hourly rate.

And anyone who is competing with "Lads" who can supply and fit a pump for €50 should be rubbing their palms because "Lads" like that are normally here today and gone tomorrow.

rightjob! · 18-01-2014 1:22pm

dpofloinn wrote: »

Holy fcuk E80 an hour and part there of .Is that after call out charge and less fittings? Most companies I worked for even in the good times were never more than E30 an hour and E10 to E15 for an apprentice

any of these companies around anymore?

dpofloinn · 18-01-2014 7:06pm

2 of them are still going strong ,granted they are a little bit smaller now than they were at the height of things but still going all the same and showing no signs of going tits up yet

Froststop · 19-01-2014 2:27pm

paulb06 wrote: »

Yeah most likely a call out charge, just wasn't sure that's all. No nothing else was done he had the tap in his van when he arrived, didn't need to leave anywere to get it. 20-25 mins max.

If tradesmen charged by the minute, there would be no tradesmen!
What about tax, vat, insurance, diesel, van insurance, cost of replacing tools!
Nobody thinks about the hidden cost of running a business or being self-employed. Plus the fact if he has no work there is no dole to live off for the self-employed. He must make a profit to live on when there is no work.

DGOBS · 19-01-2014 5:52pm

Mother-in-law had a guy out Saturday to rep lair her stairlift.

Callout €140 (€160 for Saturday)
Repair took about 10 minutes (dirt on the contacts between chair and charger), so he offered to service it, then charged another €140 for the service…..€300!
Took under an hour, don't even know what took that long, a motor, board and battery! (service what??)

Think I'm in the wrong business

oikster · 19-01-2014 6:17pm

Think I'm in the wrong business[/QUOTE]

No,it's called having a conscience.;)

LIFFY FISHING · 19-01-2014 10:36pm

paulb06 wrote: »

Hi Guys

Quick question, we had a kitchen tap replaced for €70 earlier today and he was here about 25 minutes and charged €140 alltogether. Would that be correct?

If that is what you paid then its correct!, all the rest of these posts is only opinions... and you know what they say about opinions?

jimf · 20-01-2014 12:06am

DGOBS wrote: »

Mother-in-law had a guy out Saturday to rep lair her stairlift.

Callout €140 (€160 for Saturday)
Repair took about 10 minutes (dirt on the contacts between chair and charger), so he offered to service it, then charged another €140 for the service…..€300!
Took under an hour, don't even know what took that long, a motor, board and battery! (service what??)

Think I'm in the wrong business

that's a total disgrace we all have to make a living and try and run a business but this to me is a feckin rip off

CarrickMcJoe · 20-01-2014 12:12am

(rubbing hands) I have to decorate a room for a plumber tomorrow, boy is he in for a shock....:D

anthonyos · 20-01-2014 12:33am

CarrickMcJoe wrote: »

(rubbing hands) I have to decorate a room for a plumber tomorrow, boy is he in for a shock....:D

You would want to be fairly good to out wit a plumber when it comes to money you might even end up paying him for your days work

jimf · 20-01-2014 12:36am

anthonyos wrote: »

You would want to be fairly good to out wit a plumber when it comes to money you might even end up paying him for your days work

the saying goes youd want to be up early in the morn :P

id say you wouldn't want to go to bed at all :P

Froststop · 20-01-2014 3:59pm

CarrickMcJoe wrote: »

(rubbing hands) I have to decorate a room for a plumber tomorrow, boy is he in for a shock....:D

Make sure you get all the wall behind the rad painted, he might dock you if he has to take it down for you!

Scorch5000 · 05-06-2014 11:05pm

Hes sitting around waiting for work with no pay.
He doesn.t get holiday pay or a pension top ups , He pays Vat, Diesel and a van plus the tools,Tax on van. Travel time, He has to pay for accounts at the end of the year, He comes to you by the way , I dropped my van into a garage and they charge me 100 an hour for 2 mechanics.Vans last 8-10 years before they need replacing.
No sick pay. No free lunches or perks. Filthy jobs sometimes, peoples waste! Sewers, and so on. Also hes usually got a family and mortgage to pay for like most people.

Call for the first hour or part thereof €70.00 Then €15 euro for every half hr or part thereof afterwards is fair. . If its an all day job a day could be set. €200.00 a day + vat is fair

Sleeper12 · 06-06-2014 7:57am

We charge €75 inc vat for first hour & €25 per hour after that. If it took the day we'd look for a days wages €250.
I live on the north side of Dublin. It costs me around €15 (inc tolls of €7.80) round trip for a call out to tallaght, rathfarnham etc. Fitting the tap might take 2 hours inc travel time. I can see how it is a lot to pay out but I don't think it is a lot to charge.

Scorch5000 · 06-06-2014 7:25pm

Yep seems fair. Im outside of Dublin( Tipperary) So i would expect higher rates In Dublin, in fact i think your a bit low for Dublin.

Dtp1979 · 06-06-2014 7:35pm

Scorch5000 wrote: »

Yep seems fair. Im outside of Dublin( Tipperary) So i would expect higher rates In Dublin, in fact i think your a bit low for Dublin.

Anywhere from 250-350 is the norm all round I think

Sleeper12 · 06-06-2014 7:54pm

Dtp1979 wrote: »

Anywhere from 250-350 is the norm all round I think

Per day?

Dtp1979 · 06-06-2014 7:55pm

Sleeper12 wrote: »

Per day?

Of course

Sleeper12 · 06-06-2014 8:02pm

Dtp1979 wrote: »

Of course

Got ya. Sounds right to me

Dtp1979 · 06-06-2014 8:52pm

Sleeper12 wrote: »

Got ya. Sounds right to me

I'd be chancin my arm charging 250-350 an hour

quietsailor · 06-06-2014 9:01pm

You all do realise by setting rates like these your pushing people towards diy?

Customers don't care how many apprentices you have - if it's a one man job but you bring 3 (plumber + 2 apprentices) then it should still be costed at one man.

Your talking about the cost of driving to buy the taps - will you give a discount if the customer has the tap onsite because logically that's what you should do if you charge for collecting the tap.

I'm seeing more and more of my friends, people I would consider non- diyers, doing jobs like changing taps because of high plumber prices. Your making your market pool smaller with high prices

scudo2 · 06-06-2014 9:13pm

It's a no win debate.

Lucky I'm busy.
+ I'm (very) expensive.
+ I'm good value.
+ I guarantee.
+ no call back charge
+ I know what I'm doing.
+ I'm insured
+I've lasted 23 years.

Figure that one out.

.jacksparrow. · 06-06-2014 9:15pm

quietsailor wrote: »

You all do realise by setting rates like these your pushing people towards diy?

Customers don't care how many apprentices you have - if it's a one man job but you bring 3 (plumber + 2 apprentices) then it should still be costed at one man.

Your talking about the cost of driving to buy the taps - will you give a discount if the customer has the tap onsite because logically that's what you should do if you charge for collecting the tap.

I'm seeing more and more of my friends, people I would consider non- diyers, doing jobs like changing taps because of high plumber prices. Your making your market pool smaller with high prices

Great idea maybe we can give discounts if the customers supplies the tools aswell.

Dtp1979 · 06-06-2014 9:21pm

.jacksparrow. wrote: »

Great idea maybe we can give discounts if the customers supplies the tools aswell.

Why stop there.... If the customer is willing to pass me the tools and go to the van for me, I'll pay them a wage and deduct it from my bill

Sleeper12 · 06-06-2014 9:21pm

scudo2 wrote: »

It's a no win debate.

Lucky I'm busy.
+ I'm (very) expensive.
+ I'm good value.
+ I guarantee.
+ no call back charge
+ I know what I'm doing.
+ I'm insured
+I've lasted 23 years.

Figure that one out.

Quality tradesmen will always be busy. This year and last year have been my busiest since 1985.
No cash jobs. Everyone gets charged vat & everyone gets an invoice.

Egass13 · 06-06-2014 9:22pm

quietsailor wrote: »

You all do realise by setting rates like these your pushing people towards diy?

Customers don't care how many apprentices you have - if it's a one man job but you bring 3 (plumber + 2 apprentices) then it should still be costed at one man.

Your talking about the cost of driving to buy the taps - will you give a discount if the customer has the tap onsite because logically that's what you should do if you charge for collecting the tap.

I'm seeing more and more of my friends, people I would consider non- diyers, doing jobs like changing taps because of high plumber prices. Your making your market pool smaller with high prices

No point havin a massive pool of customers if you are charging peanuts and struggling to cover costs. I'd actually say that people not wanting to pay the rates which are fair , is what causes the increase in DIY , black market practices and worst of all substandard work . I charge €80 to service a gas boiler, I would rather say no to a job than be haggles down to €40 because that's what the local taxi driver is charging on one of those discount sites .

SawTroll · 07-06-2014 4:07am

I am on minimum wage, what i earn in a week is what you earn in a day on average to this thread. Yes i know ye have expenses, insurance, diesel, registration fees and other expensives, it just comes as such a shock to pay a tradesman for ones days work and i give the whole week earning it.

shane 007 · 07-06-2014 8:21am

SawTroll wrote: »

I am on minimum wage, what i earn in a week is what you earn in a day on average to this thread. Yes i know ye have expenses, insurance, diesel, registration fees and other expensives, it just comes as such a shock to pay a tradesman for ones days work and i give the whole week earning it.

One could only compare like for like, depending on your job, your qualifications, experience & the training you have grafted for.
Are you shocked to hand over €50 to your GP for 5 mins of his time or €200 to shake a consultant's hand?

What most people miss is that self employed people have enormous on-going costs. For example, I pay my accountant €2,000 per year, my vans costs on average €10,000 per year, insurance another €1,150, phones €1,500, just to name a few.
So you tell me how does all those expenses get paid for if I don't charge for them?
Perhaps if I was signing the dole for €400 plus my medical bills paid for, school allowances, etc then I could charge cash nixer prices.
What people fail to realise is that a trades person's day rate is not going into his pocket.

Sleeper12 · 07-06-2014 8:43am

A self employed tradesman doesn't get paid for holidays, bank holiday, Christmas etc. I usually take about 14 off per year. I work weekends & I have hours of paperwork for vat etc.
Today is sSaturday. I'm in my jeep now leaving for my first job. I'm on North side of Dublin now. Have to go to skerries, balbriggan, Naas & then home.

Don't get me wrong. I love what I do & at the end of the week I have been pretty well paid but I'm working closer to 60 per week, drive 500 miles per week

.jacksparrow. · 07-06-2014 8:58am

shane 007 wrote: »

One could only compare like for like, depending on your job, your qualifications, experience & the training you have grafted for.
Are you shocked to hand over €50 to your GP for 5 mins of his time or €200 to shake a consultant's hand?

What most people miss is that self employed people have enormous on-going costs. For example, I pay my accountant €2,000 per year, my vans costs on average €10,000 per year, insurance another €1,150, phones €1,500, just to name a few.
So you tell me how does all those expenses get paid if I don't can't charge for them?
Perhaps if I was signing the dole for €400 plus my medical bills paid for, school allowances, etc then I could charge cash nixer prices.
What people fail to realise is that a trades person's day rate is not going into his pocket.

Don't forget tools, diesel, public liability insurance, then of course the Paye, prsi, usc, all of this whilst trying to earn a living at the end of the week.

People who get a guaranteed wage and get to clock off at 5 on a Friday with no headaches of paperwork or worrying where your next job or pay cheque might come from don't really know lucky they are.

But this is the job we chose so one can't complain too much.

Egass13 · 07-06-2014 9:06am

It also annoys me when I hear a customer say , ah he was a nice man , came in and fixed the boiler in 5 minutes and only charged €20.
I don't care if I'm there 5/10/15 minutes , the first hour is charged . I don't charge just for my time , I charge for my knowledge. I'd rather pay somebody who knows what they're doing €80 for fixing my problem , properly in 10 minutes . Than pay a chancer guessing his way through the issue over the course of a few hours .

iwillhtfu · 07-06-2014 9:22am

Sleeper12 wrote: »

Today is sSaturday. I'm in my jeep now leaving for my first job. I'm on North side of Dublin now. Have to go to skerries, balbriggan, Naas & then home.

Don't get me wrong. I love what I do & at the end of the week I have been pretty well paid but I'm working closer to 60 per week, drive 500 miles per week

Clearly your choice to work so many hours/week though in fairness.

Self employed people do get holidays both bank and annual. You should be allowing for this in your quotes. Yes you don't get them in the same way a PAYE worker gets his holiday pay but if you're not getting them you've yourself to blame.

As for running costs of vans phones. How do you think a PAYE worker covers his costs and doesn't get to write the vat off on diesel and other expenses either.

I just had a quick read but it seems there's more than one person on here running their company badly.

As for the op. It seems like a fair price tbh. A tradesman would charge per hour or part thereof.

shane 007 · 07-06-2014 9:58am

iwillhtfu wrote: »

As for running costs of vans phones. How do you think a PAYE worker covers his costs and doesn't get to write the vat off on diesel and other expenses either.

I just had a quick read but it seems there's more than one person on here running their company badly.

As for the op. It seems like a fair price tbh. A tradesman would charge per hour or part thereof.

I cannot claim usage costs for my own personal use so my costs are exactly the same for you. I pay vat on fuel, etc but do not claim a percentage of it back. Believe me I've tried but I was told the taxman will always assume you will use a proportion of your van & fuel for personal use, whether I do or not.

What do you think your employer charges their client for the collective work of their employees? I think you will find your charged daily rate is a lot higher than you are getting, plus a profit is added as they are not an employer for nothing.
If it's that easy why are you not doing it?

Plumber hourly rate

Comments