Daily rate for a plumber?

Aidan_M_M

I know it's hard to say excactly , but I need a tidy plumber for 2-3 days, fitting a water softener, replacing a leaky 300 litre water cylinder, and some smaller work at taps etc. just wondering roughly what is a fair daily rate? He won't have to supply parts. I'm not looking for the cheapest tradesman , just a good honest guy at a reasonable cost.

Dtp1979

Aidan_M_M wrote: »

I know it's hard to say excactly , but I need a tidy plumber for 2-3 days, fitting a water softener, replacing a leaky 300 litre water cylinder, and some smaller work at taps etc. just wondering roughly what is a fair daily rate? He won't have to supply parts. I'm not looking for the cheapest tradesman , just a good honest guy at a reasonable cost.

300 upwards I'd say

anthonyos

300 would be a fair price

Aidan_M_M

Feck, better start saving!

Xantia

Aidan_M_M wrote: »

I know it's hard to say excactly , but I need a tidy plumber for 2-3 days, fitting a water softener, replacing a leaky 300 litre water cylinder, and some smaller work at taps etc. just wondering roughly what is a fair daily rate? He won't have to supply parts. I'm not looking for the cheapest tradesman , just a good honest guy at a reasonable cost.

Why dont you have a go yourself?
Its easier now with the qualplex fittings

Egass13

Xantia wrote: »

Why dont you have a go yourself?
Its easier now with the qualplex fittings

I don't know where to begin with that

Egass13

Xantia wrote: »

Why dont you have a go yourself?
Its easier now with the qualplex fittings

I don't know where to begin with that

jimf

Xantia wrote: »

Why dont you have a go yourself?
Its easier now with the qualplex fittings

if he feels he needs a plumber and doesn't have the confidence or knowledge easier fittings still wont insure its job done correctly

Dtp1979

Egass13 wrote: »

I don't know where to begin with that

I do, but I won't, cause I'll get banned

Xantia

Egass13 wrote: »

I don't know where to begin with that

Can you explain please what you mean by
'I don't know where to begin with that'

Does that mean you would not be able to do the job yourself?

My suggestion is a valid one, I know the OP is a competent person as I have seen him posting on other groups.

We are not dealing with a new install here just replacing like for like

It's not as if there is electricity or gas involved.

Dtp1979

Xantia wrote: »

Can you explain please what you mean by
'I don't know where to begin with that'

Does that mean you would not be able to do the job yourself?

My suggestion is a valid one, I know the OP is a competent person as I have seen him posting on other groups.

We are not dealing with a new install here just replacing like for like

It's not as if there is electricity or gas involved.

For a start, qualpex and push fittings cannot be used at a cylinder. A new cylinder rarely fits back the same as the old so pipe bending will probably be needed. Re-wiring the immersion is electric. Commissioning the water Softner isn't always straight forward job either

Nedser101

Xantia wrote: »

Can you explain please what you mean by
'I don't know where to begin with that'

Does that mean you would not be able to do the job yourself?

My suggestion is a valid one, I know the OP is a competent person as I have seen him posting on other groups.

We are not dealing with a new install here just replacing like for like

It's not as if there is electricity or gas involved.

This is funny!

Xantia

Yes obviously, normally the 1st meter is copper for heat transfer.
Having replaced cylinders then it is like for like, you look at the old and replace it with new.
No one suggested that it all had to be qualplex, I am sure that the OP can use a spanner as well.
Any diy shop will have a spring to bend.

Dtp1979

Xantia wrote: »

Yes obviously, normally the 1st meter is copper for heat transfer.
Having replaced cylinders then it is like for like, you look at the old and replace it with new.
No one suggested that it all had to be qualplex, I am sure that the OP can use a spanner as well.
Any diy shop will have a spring to bend.

Yep. Nothing tastier than spring bent copper

Xantia

Or a 'bent copper' with a spring

iwillhtfu

Dtp1979 wrote: »

300 upwards I'd say

How Much!!! :eek: You'll get plenty cheaper than that op. Shop around I had a plumber in doing similar work @ €150/day

Egass13

iwillhtfu wrote: »

How Much!!! :eek: You'll get plenty cheaper than that op. Shop around I had a plumber in doing similar work @ €150/day

Cheaper is not always better at the end of the day . @150/day you can be guaranteed that's cash so not going through the books and most probably no insurance in place for when the qualpex bursts off the cylinder

pajero12

Egass13 wrote: »

Cheaper is not always better at the end of the day . @150/day you can be guaranteed that's cash so not going through the books and most probably no insurance in place for when the qualpex bursts off the cylinder

How often have you seen that happen?

Egass13

pajero12 wrote: »

How often have you seen that happen?

Ah right so because it Dsnt happen everyday then it can't happen at all . Logical . I've seen it 3 timed in 14 yrs , although what relevance that has is beyond me. Everything has a spec for a reason , company's spend a lot of time and money to come up with that spec, they don't do it for the good of their health my friend

corkgsxr

Xantia wrote: »

Yes obviously, normally the 1st meter is copper for heat transfer.
Having replaced cylinders then it is like for like, you look at the old and replace it with new.
No one suggested that it all had to be qualplex, I am sure that the OP can use a spanner as well.
Any diy shop will have a spring to bend.

3/4 over the knee? That'll make a man of ya.:pac:

Dtp1979 wrote: »

Yep. Nothing tastier than spring bent copper

I used to be able to do mightly work In 1/2" with a spring. Theres skill I ln it. Saying that I havent spring bent in about 6 years

shane 007

Egass13 wrote: »

Cheaper is not always better at the end of the day . @150/day you can be guaranteed that's cash so not going through the books and most probably no insurance in place for when the qualpex bursts off the cylinder

I was talking to a pal of mine today. He does nothing but non-domestic works & he charges minimum €700 + vat per day.

I am so under-valued!

shane 007

corkgsxr wrote: »

I used to be able to do mightly work In 1/2" with a spring. Theres skill I ln it. Saying that I havent spring bent in about 6 years

I remember I was in Heatmerchants a couple of years ago when let's just say a foreign gentleman was buying a spring. He then asked how does he get it back out when it's down the middle of a 6m length of copper! WTF!!!

Egass13

shane 007 wrote: »

I was talking to a pal of mine today. He does nothing but non-domestic works & he charges minimum €700 + vat per day.

I am so under-valued!

Nice work if you can get it ! , I was only telling dec a few weeks ago a girl rang me looking for a brand new gas install , boiler, clocks , rads , the works. Said she will supply the gear and pay me 80 a day as that is what her painter boyfriend charges , needless to say she's most likely still sitting in the cold.

shane 007

Egass13 wrote: »

Nice work if you can get it ! , I was only telling dec a few weeks ago a girl rang me looking for a brand new gas install , boiler, clocks , rads , the works. Said she will supply the gear and pay me 80 a day as that is what her painter boyfriend charges , needless to say she's most likely still sitting in the cold.

Tell her to get her BF to paint the old boiler. It will look nice & new.

My mate is booked solid every single day.

Egass13

shane 007 wrote: »

Tell her to get her BF to paint the old boiler. It will look nice & new.

My mate is booked solid every single day.

Sometimes I wouldn't mind going back to the industrial/commercial , it's all I did for 9 years , I'm more at home with a lump of 6" and a grinder than with sanitary ware !

shane 007

Egass13 wrote: »

Sometimes I wouldn't mind going back to the industrial/commercial , it's all I did for 9 years , I'm more at home with a lump of 6" and a grinder than with sanitary ware !

It's more non-domestic gas he does. Air handling units & the like.

DGOBS

If a plumber works for a day rate of €150, there is not way he can make money, I estimate with all overheads (won't realist them here as too many similar threads already do) it costs about €115 per day to get in my van all inclusive (I did that figure a good few years back, most likely costs me more now!) so by those figures, thats €35 quid minus the revenues share, so thats a good €20 in my back pocket for 8 hours.

Xantia

corkgsxr wrote: »

3/4 over the knee? That'll make a man of ya.:pac:



I used to be able to do mightly work In 1/2" with a spring. Theres skill I ln it. Saying that I havent spring bent in about 6 years

Yeah, not easy, go for the elbows instead

esox28

iwillhtfu wrote: »

How Much!!! :eek: You'll get plenty cheaper than that op. Shop around I had a plumber in doing similar work @ €150/day

Did he happen to have a couple of hours off on Tuesday or Thursday mornings?

iwillhtfu

Egass13 wrote: »

Cheaper is not always better at the end of the day . @150/day you can be guaranteed that's cash so not going through the books and most probably no insurance in place for when the qualpex bursts off the cylinder

Yes and some people aren't so good at guessing. Vat receipt and all included thanks very much.

More expensive is just that.

A high price doesn't guarantee quality either. I've seen a so called RGI charging an arm and a leg for work carried out that was desperate and resulted in another plumber having to be called out.

iwillhtfu

DGOBS wrote: »

If a plumber works for a day rate of €150, there is not way he can make money, I estimate with all overheads (won't realist them here as too many similar threads already do) it costs about €115 per day to get in my van all inclusive (I did that figure a good few years back, most likely costs me more now!) so by those figures, thats €35 quid minus the revenues share, so thats a good €20 in my back pocket for 8 hours.

Perhaps you should get yourself a cheaper van to run or a pushbike you'll make a fortune

In all seriousness that was the price we agreed upon and I needed it above board for insurance reasons.

I'm a tradesman myself and have a fair idea of costs and what is an honest days pay.

DGOBS

When you factor in holiday pay, insurance, tools, training, certification, small pension, etc etc, it mounts up really quickly
Very easy to be a busy fool (not calling you one), but it is, had long chats with my accountant (another yearly fee!) about it,
and you couldn't make money on that rate in this business unless there is something rotten in Denmark!

Xantia

DGOBS wrote: »

When you factor in holiday pay, insurance, tools, training, certification, small pension, etc etc, it mounts up really quickly
Very easy to be a busy fool (not calling you one), but it is, had long chats with my accountant (another yearly fee!) about it,
and you couldn't make money on that rate in this business unless there is something rotten in Denmark!

I have to agree, also at least with a genuine tradesman you can get them to call back if a problem happens.

Theres a right cowboy job here

iwillhtfu

I guess some folks make hay while the sun us shining and scrape the bottom of the barrel when it's not. We could all regale one another with the fortunes we all used to earn it's dog eat dog out there now. There's many a fool out there earning a lot of money and in equal amounts many a fool thinking of the good auld days.

Anyway we digress, OP shop around prices will vary dramatically. Yes some will be cash deals some will be above board and some will be laughable. Qualifications guarantee you nothing I generally get work off word of mouth. Get a couple of quotes and you'll get an idea of the average.

fozz10

anthonyos wrote: »

300 would be a fair price

this is not 2004!!! Im 13 years working as a tradesman and if someone tried to charge me that i know what i would tell them. I know plenty of registered good plumbers who charge in and around 150/160 a day. actually i dont even know a plumber that would have the neck to try charge that. but hey if you can find someone to pay that good luck to you. maybe thats what they charge in dublin or somewhere? cause i know a lot of tradesmen from 5years in it up to 40 years in it and they would never dream of trying to charge someone that

DGOBS

I know a lot of tradesmen too, but in good faith, I don't know a good plumber that charges that rate.

At a day rate of let's say €150, x5 days €750 pw.
Van fuel...€75 - 150 PW..depending on travel done (if your in Dublin that would usually be less)
lets say €650 on average to pay all overheads, van, van tax, van insurance,van testing, van servicing,PL insurance, RGI registration, Oftec registration, tools, calibration of equipment, daily consumables, accountants, bank charges, you don't get paid for sick leave, holiday pay, any pension, how would that add up?

then from your final figure hand over approx 40% - 50% to the revenue

You'd be lucky to have €200 PW in your hand, and that's not a time warp, it costs more to be in business now than 2004

An account said to me years back, what ever is your take home pay (in your head) double that figure at least to earn it.

Dtp1979

fozz10 wrote: »

this is not 2004!!! Im 13 years working as a tradesman and if someone tried to charge me that i know what i would tell them. I know plenty of registered good plumbers who charge in and around 150/160 a day. actually i dont even know a plumber that would have the neck to try charge that. but hey if you can find someone to pay that good luck to you. maybe thats what they charge in dublin or somewhere? cause i know a lot of tradesmen from 5years in it up to 40 years in it and they would never dream of trying to charge someone that

That's called a busy fool

Phill Ewinn

€300 a day?


For a plumber?

Nah.....

shane 007

fozz10 wrote: »

this is not 2004!!! Im 13 years working as a tradesman and if someone tried to charge me that i know what i would tell them. I know plenty of registered good plumbers who charge in and around 150/160 a day. actually i dont even know a plumber that would have the neck to try charge that. but hey if you can find someone to pay that good luck to you. maybe thats what they charge in dublin or somewhere? cause i know a lot of tradesmen from 5years in it up to 40 years in it and they would never dream of trying to charge someone that

You are of course entitled to your opinion but it is not that difficult to break it down.
You say €150 is what should be charged.
Ok, so let's see what that person earns per day. Diesel I would say to run a van each day costs about €25 per day on local work, a lot more for further work. €18 goes on VAT. €3 on USC. Van insurance €5. Van maintenance €10. Accountant €20. PL insurance & employers €20.
So already we are down to €49. Now have I forgotten anything. Oh yeah, medical, stationary, holiday pay, sick pay, pension & don't forgot our ginger leader's cut.
And I have probably forgotten a lot off that list.

(Thanks DGOBS, I forgot RGII & OFTEC fees.... Add another €500 per year)

Then you have to look at the job, price it, go & get materials.

I fitted a new boiler recently in Lucan. Water was cut off & customer rang me to say some of the rads stopped working. I drove from Kilkenny to Lucan only to find they have opened every valve in the hot press, including the balancing valve of the cylinder. Put it back & rads back to normal. Was I paid for it? Was I ....! But that's the service I choose to give.

So on the rock & roll, a family of four gets about €400 per week plus medical card plus state pension. That's €80 per day. Tops it up a few nixers of €150 per day!

MiniGolf

DGOBS wrote: »

I know a lot of tradesmen too, but in good faith, I don't know a good plumber that charges that rate.

At a day rate of let's say €150, x5 days €750 pw.
Van fuel...€75 - 150 PW..depending on travel done (if your in Dublin that would usually be less)
lets say €650 on average to pay all overheads, van, van tax, van insurance,van testing, van servicing,PL insurance, RGI registration, Oftec registration, tools, calibration of equipment, daily consumables, accountants, bank charges, you don't get paid for sick leave, holiday pay, any pension, how would that add up?

then from your final figure hand over approx 40% - 50% to the revenue

You'd be lucky to have €200 PW in your hand, and that's not a time warp, it costs more to be in business now than 2004

An account said to me years back, what ever is your take home pay (in your head) double that figure at least to earn it.

On the above, and as we are talking about 10 years ago...... I bought my van new in February 2005. At that time it cost me €65 to fill it with diesel. In March 2014 (i.e. Now!) it costs me €130 :eek:
The fuel tank hasn't gotten any bigger.
This is just one of the costings listed above, many more of them have gotten higher since then.

shane 007

Standard industry hourly rates are €35 per hour.

€35 x 8 hours = €280
€280 + vat @ 13.5% = €317.80

Dtp1979

shane 007 wrote: »

Standard industry hourly rates are €35 per hour.

€35 x 8 hours = €280
€280 + vat @ 13.5% = €317.80

Might as well round that up to 350:)

Phill Ewinn

shane 007 wrote: »

Standard industry hourly rates are €35 per hour.

€35 x 8 hours = €280
€280 + vat @ 13.5% = €317.80

More like it. Is the OP going to stand over him making sure he gets 8 hours of work though? If an industrial fitter does twice or three times that amount of work per day, how is the OP going to agree a price thats commiserate with the amount of work on offer?

shane 007

Phill Ewinn wrote: »

More like it. Is the OP going to stand over him making sure he gets 8 hours of work though? If an industrial fitter does twice or three times that amount of work per day, how is the OP going to agree a price thats commiserate with the amount of work on offer?

The OP standing over me while I am trying to work will get a sore foot! Why would an industrial fitter do 2 or 3 times more work? Superhumans?

A day also consists of getting materials, etc.
I have to laugh at how employed people think those hours shouldn't be charged for or if they 7 hours is done, well only 7 hours are charged for!

I'd like to see that happen in an employed office worker with salary, holiday pay, sick pay, medical, etc. What would they say if they were deducted for all those non-productive hours chatting or in the phone to the other half! Or they finish 30 minutes early & left short in their wage packet?

Xantia

scudo2

DGOBS wrote: »

If a plumber works for a day rate of €150, there is not way he can make money, I estimate with all overheads (won't realist them here as too many similar threads already do) it costs about €115 per day to get in my van all inclusive (I did that figure a good few years back, most likely costs me more now!) so by those figures, thats €35 quid minus the revenues share, so thats a good €20 in my back pocket for 8 hours.

€115 per day overheads. X 5 days a week. X 52 weeks = €29,900-00 + you think your overheads are higher now !!

Mine run at €16-17,000 per year.= €64pd
You eating out ?

Tombo2001

Egass13 wrote: »

Cheaper is not always better at the end of the day . @150/day you can be guaranteed that's cash so not going through the books and most probably no insurance in place for when the qualpex bursts off the cylinder

I've had a lot of work done on the house in the past year and in my experience there has been absolutely no correlation between how much a guy was charging and how happy we were with the work done.

Egass13

Tombo2001 wrote: »

I've had a lot of work done on the house in the past year and in my experience there has been absolutely no correlation between how much a guy was charging and how happy we were with the work done.

I never said there was , you will have scammers in all trades . But bottom line is you won't get the creme de le creme of plumbers on 150 a day ! There's a reason they have to charge that low . As detailed in several posts above ,it costs money to run an operation , those costs have to be recouped and a wage has to be earned . Tiz simple economics

shane 007

Also throw in a couple of employees! Then the fun begins....

Egass13

shane 007 wrote: »

Also throw in a couple of employees! Then the fun begins....

I have an employee, he's five , and I pay him in xbox games . Don't tell revenue...

scudo2

shane 007 wrote: »

Also throw in a couple of employees! Then the fun begins....

Been there........ !

Never again.