cost of Plumbers

shane55

My sister had a plumber in a few days ago to connect up a sink. He went up to the attic to cut off the water supply to the Cylinder when he noticed the water tank was badly corroded. He called it an emergency job and quoted €500 labour plus €100 parts to replace it. The tank was corroded and needed replacement but surely this price was OTT. any opinions invited especially from plumbers.

jetsonx

Not that bad.

You must remember you are paying for his skills and experience. You are also paying for his advertising costs, his insurance costs, his van, his fuel costs, his book keeper costs, his tooling costs, his stock of replacement costs and a whole array of other overheads that any business will incur. A business does not run on fresh air.

Ask any established business person about the costs of running a business and you will find the price your sister paid was not that bad. (Having said that, if there was not such a shortage of plumbers in Ireland - you probably would have got the job done for €400)

dudara

It may have been a wee bit on the steep side, but you cannot expect a skilled tradesman to work for peanuts.

DonJose

Tell your sister shes lucky she didn't get a bath fitted. Thats doctors wages they are quoting, how many hours did the job last?

Musha

that's the going rate, €72 of that goes toward VAT


Capt of a Steamboat was having problems with his ship, he employed engineer after engineer to fix it at €500 per time but they could not get the ship to go.. eventually he was told of an old Seadog who could fix anything so he called him in, the old seadog walked around the ship for an hour looking and listening eventually he took out a small lump hammer and made three small bangs on a pipe and the engine roared in to life.. he handed the Captain the bill for €10,000 the captain exploded and asked why the bill was so big so the Seadog expained

Lump Hammer €1
Knowing where to Bang €9,999

TheDriver

Don't forget to remember that tax must be paid on his wages as well as his costs. So take 72 euro an hour, he pays his prsi and 42% tax etc, giving him roughly 40 euro an hour. Then take his business costs of a van, phone, diesel, expertise, time wasted getting to you and back etc etc. Bit steep alright but thats how the money is made.

MrPudding

TheDriver wrote: »

Don't forget to remember that tax must be paid on his wages as well as his costs. So take 72 euro an hour, he pays his prsi and 42% tax etc, giving him roughly 40 euro an hour. Then take his business costs of a van, phone, diesel, expertise, time wasted getting to you and back etc etc. Bit steep alright but thats how the money is made.

First of all, I would be surprised if he was paying 42% on the full amount. furthermore, I would be even more surprised if, after paying 42% he then paid his business expenses out of the remainder.

Most likely his business expenses, van, phone etc, will be paid out of the company's gross earnings, so he will not pay tax on that stuff. After that is paid I am sure he will be imaginative in how he pays himself, making sure he pays as little tax as possible.

A self employed person getting €70 per hour will probably end up paying less tax than a PAYE worker earning half that.

MrP

shane55

DonJose wrote: »

Tell your sister shes lucky she didn't get a bath fitted. Thats doctors wages they are quoting, how many hours did the job last?

Id estimate about 4 hrs. He said the water tank cost €100, dont think they cost that much do they? He also spent about 2 hrs connecting up the kitchen sink, we had to get him back as there was a drip under the sink from the pipe going to the hot tap. He then came back and we incorrectly told him the drip was from the cold tap so he adjusted that fitting under the sink and went away leaving the hot tap fitting still dripping! a slow drip but a drip is a drip. I then went up to check the fittings in the attic and there is a slow drip from one of the fittings on the mains supply to the water tank when the tank is filling.

DonJose

shane55 wrote: »

Id estimate about 4 hrs. He said the water tank cost €100, dont think they cost that much do they? He also spent about 2 hrs connecting up the kitchen sink, we had to get him back as there was a drip under the sink from the pipe going to the hot tap. He then came back and we incorrectly told him the drip was from the cold tap so he adjusted that fitting under the sink and went away leaving the hot tap fitting still dripping! a slow drip but a drip is a drip. I then went up to check the fittings in the attic and there is a slow drip from one of the fittings on the mains supply to the water tank when the tank is filling.

Skilled tradesman my a$$!!! Next time look for a Polish plumber.

Zaph

A mate's water tank burst last week. Apart from whatever water damage was done, it cost him €1,300 to get a new one plus all the associated plumbing. I'd say your sister got off lightly.

Musha

There are no Polish Plumbers they do not plumb the same method as Irish and UK Plumbing They have district Hot/cold Water and they don't have Hot or Cold water Storage in their homes
ur stuck with the Irish ones, Plumbing is a skilled job and should be given the respect it requires There are good and bad ones same as every industry but people allways want it done cheap
Pay Peanuts Get Monkeys

DonJose

Musha wrote: »

There are good and bad ones same as every industry but people allways want it done cheap
Pay Peanuts Get Monkeys

The OP's sister paid a lot and got a monkey. Guess you're a plumber.

Musha

Not a Plumber Hubby is we run the Company together
Expensive Business :mad: Just look at my supplier bills every month


99% of our business is on recommendations from previous clients

DonJose

Musha wrote: »

99% of our business is on recommendations from previous clients

Thats nice to hear. I don't think the plumber mentioned above will be getting many recommendations on the work they provided.

Musha

There is a thin line between charging a fair price and making some money for the company Overheads, Insurance and Tax are the killers plus it is not steady money as the bigger jobs can take up to a year depening on the build and when your are trying to schedule a weeks work people postone, put off and don't have the bathroom ware ready then you have the eejits that phone and expect you to arrive 5 mins after the call to fix broken toilet handle

Zzippy

DonJose wrote: »

The OP's sister paid a lot and got a monkey. Guess you're a plumber.

DonJose wrote: »

Thats nice to hear. I don't think the plumber mentioned above will be getting many recommendations on the work they provided.

Where does the OP say the plumber did a bad job? He replaced a water tank, OP never mentions anywhere that he did it badly, or that the work wasn't necessary. I'm not a plumber, or any kind of trademan, I can hardly hang a picture straight, but I have an idea how much plumbers charge and €500 wasn't excessive for that job.
I hope you don't need any emergency plumbing done soon, or you'll be in for a nice surprise

DonJose

Galwayguy99 wrote: »

Where does the OP say the plumber did a bad job?

Guess you didn't read the full thread. See below.

shane55 wrote: »

He also spent about 2 hrs connecting up the kitchen sink, we had to get him back as there was a drip under the sink from the pipe going to the hot tap. He then came back and we incorrectly told him the drip was from the cold tap so he adjusted that fitting under the sink and went away leaving the hot tap fitting still dripping! a slow drip but a drip is a drip. I then went up to check the fittings in the attic and there is a slow drip from one of the fittings on the mains supply to the water tank when the tank is filling.

Zzippy

Oops, missed that post!

shane55

I think €500 was way over the top for what he did and if this is the going rate thats way over the top as well. Plumbing may be a skilled job, but its not rocket science, is it? Just as well there are no polish plumbers, all the Irish ones would be out of work!

Guy:Incognito

shane55 wrote: »

Just as well there are no polish plumbers, all the Irish ones would be out of work!

If Iriah tradesmen were living 5 or 6 to a flat and shareign €1000 a month rent then thet'd be a lot cheaper too. Unfortunately they have lives and families to pay for.



I'm sure you could get a group of Irish tradesmen to do a job in New York a lot cheaper than a local.

dublinplumber

he could have done it maybe a hundred cheaper ,but if its a yellow pages crowd well then thats actually cheap!

sgt.bilko

Am i mistaken but afaik the water tank in the attic is 99/100 PVC so how can PVC corrode??

gerryo

sgt.bilko wrote: »

Am i mistaken but afaik the water tank in the attic is 99/100 PVC so how can PVC corrode??

Older houses had galvanised tanks, these can corrode, especially around the water outlets, where the different metals (eg brass couplers) can react with the water & the tank & start working like a small battery.

the_syco

shane55 wrote: »

He then came back and we incorrectly told him the drip was from the cold tap so he adjusted that fitting under the sink and went away leaving the hot tap fitting still dripping!

If I'm to understand you, you're saying that it's his fault for you telling him the wrong thing?

sobaga

Musha wrote: »

There are no Polish Plumbers they do not plumb the same method as Irish and UK Plumbing They have district Hot/cold Water and they don't have Hot or Cold water Storage in their homes
ur stuck with the Irish ones, Plumbing is a skilled job and should be given the respect it requires There are good and bad ones same as every industry but people allways want it done cheap
Pay Peanuts Get Monkeys

I would not agree. I have just had a Polish plumber to exchange an old tank, connect a new power shower and exchange the sink in the kitchen. All the job done quickly (fitting the sink - a few minutes, the new tank - about half an hour I think, same with the power shower), very professionally (no leaks, drips, etc.) and cost me certainly less than 500 euro including parts. And he did not tell me that he only works from 9 to 5, so I could see him after work. For comparison - an Irish skilled plumber who was connecting my washing machine - 15 minutes of work, 200 euros paid, I had to take half a day off from work because he is working 9-5 only, and waited for him forever - the man said he would be at my place between 11am and 4 pm, called me at 4.15 to tell me that he was runing late, arrived 4.45 - If I knew it, I would leave work at 4.30 and would not have to use my annual leave to have the stupid washing machine connected. So please don't tell me I should stick to Irish plumbers - not with their prices and timing!

dublinplumber

If your tank was fitted in half an hour it wasnt fitted and CHECKED properly as it would take half an hour to fill,also if it was a galvanised tank you got replaced ,the new (plastic one) needs a base or it will warp and fail.Is the overflow connected?