Current plumber rates

Happy_Harry

It has been a while since I had to use a plumber, and an acquaintance had recently started on his own, so I thought I will give him a go, as I like the guy and am willing to support his entrepreneurship

He (they , they are working in a pair..) came today , looked at what needed doing and quoted me for the work to be carried out.

I was quite surprised about the quote, especially since they are a start up and quoted "mates" rates. Last time I used a plumber day rate was about €120 plus VAT and petrol. I realise that was in the recession and things will have changed.

The work quoted for:

Servicing water softener installation in shed
Servicing the mains pump to the house (low low pressure)
Balancing the rads in the house as there is too much fluctuation in temperature ( about 20 rads in the house)
Changing a tap
He would "throw in" an additional softener yoke for at the back of the washing machine.

Quote 400-450 (excl the carbon for the softener).
I remember last time my softener and pump got serviced, it cost me around €250, incl carbon, new UV bulb and VAT. And these guys would have had a far longer drive to my place. That was about 18 months ago.

To me, and I am by no means a plumber, this job would take about 6 man hours, 3 for the softener and pump. Half an hour for changing tap, half an hour to place the softener yoke on the washing machine and 2 hours for balancing the rads..

So are we talking now about € 70/hr for plumbing labor ( at "mates rates") ? Not Dublin btw..

If that is the case, fair enough, but I don't want to be taken for a mug so looking for guidance here.

TPM

http://www.onlinetradesmen.ie/Blog/Plumber-Prices-and-Costs-2016.aspx?ArticleID=64&tabid=531

its very hard to comment on a quote when you havent seen the actual job. there are so many factors that would affect the price, your quote could be way over, very cheep or bang on.

with the water softener the size of the unit, the length of time the unit takes to run its backwash, regen cycle, any service parts required. it will need salt, maybe media topup, replacement

again the mains pump what type it is and any parts required, common parts required parts replaced during servicing often go over €100

balancing can be a nightmare of a job sometimes requiring more than one visit.

does changing the tap include supplying it, is it a mixer tap, hot and cold

do you need an additional softener for the washing machine

uv bulb could be up to €80 plus another €50 for quartz sleeve



on the amount of work, i would think there is more than a days work in that for 1 man

and just you paid a lot less to get the softener and pump serviced in the past doesnt mean it was actually done properly

Sleeper12

Happy_Harry wrote:

I was quite surprised about the quote, especially since they are a start up and quoted "mates" rates. Last time I used a plumber day rate was about €120 plus VAT and petrol. I realise that was in the recession and things will have changed.

Lol. A call out is around €70 alone. Daily rates are up to individual plumbers but I'm saying 300 to 500 euro is a good guide. If he is just starting up he has a lot of expenses.

enricoh

Had a top lad in here, e150 a day. Drogheda area, changing a room to a bathroom, putting in hot water tank etc. I'm sure he stuck a score on the price of fittings for his diesel also and fair enough.
Up to 500 a day? - if u can get suckers to pay that, milk them dry!
Get a second quote op, see if mates rates were taking the proverbial

Sleeper12

I'm talking about a proper business. Vat,insurance etc. Proper vat receipt. You can't compare a guy possibly on the dole doing a cash job. You can't call the black market rates proper plumbing rates

Edit: I'm doing figures in my head here. Ignoring all my business expenses insurance,accounting, advertising, van etc. Taking all these out of the equation, for me to get 150 in my pocket I would have to charge around 340 inc vat.
I did mention up to 500 per day earlier but that is the higher end of things

Happy_Harry

TPM wrote: »

http://www.onlinetradesmen.ie/Blog/Plumber-Prices-and-Costs-2016.aspx?ArticleID=64&tabid=531

Thanks for that, it is very useful..

with the water softener the size of the unit, the length of time the unit takes to run its backwash, regen cycle, any service parts required. it will need salt, maybe media topup, replacement

Does changing the tap include supplying it, is it a mixer tap, hot and cold

again the mains pump what type it is and any parts required, common parts required parts replaced during servicing often go over €100

uv bulb could be up to €80 plus another €50 for quartz sleeve

The quote did not include any parts or carbon. Thankfully UV bulb is still working and the tap I have (mixer).

do you need an additional softener for the washing machine

Not that I am aware of, it was a suggestion from them, I guess it could do no harm, some extra protection, I have very hard water.

Having said that , the washing machine has been going strong for 11 years now without any additional softener

And just you paid a lot less to get the softener and pump serviced in the past doesnt mean it was actually done properly

True, neither does it mean these guys will. But the service(s) before were all done by the firm that installed the softener, so I would kind of presume they would do a good job at it.

I am not saying that these guys are trying to pull a fast one on me, I just wanted to get an indication of what the market rate currently is.

I will call them on Monday (they are due back on Tuesday, so not much time for a second quote), see if they can go down towards €300 , maybe forget about this softener yoke. If not, it will just have to wait until the new year and I will have time to get in some other quotes.

On another note- I was quite unpleasantly surprised that my radiators needed balancing as I had a new boiler installed last year. The price for installation also included balancing the rads and I am pretty sure it was done.. Is this a yearly recurring activity ? I certainly didn't touch the rads..

TPM

Happy_Harry wrote: »

Thankfully UV bulb is still working

UV bulbs have an effective life of about 1 year after that even though they still light their effectiveness declines drastically.

Happy_Harry wrote: »

Not that I am aware of, it was a suggestion from them, I guess it could do no harm, some extra protection, I have very hard water.

Having said that , the washing machine has been going strong for 11 years now without any additional softener

If it wasnt needed i wouldnt fit it. you have to take into account, servicing costs, its something else to leak or go wrong.
find out exactly what your current water softener is serving.
you keep mentioning carbon, are you sure its carbon as this is not typically for hardness.

Happy_Harry wrote: »

True, neither does it mean these guys will. But the service(s) before were all done by the firm that installed the softener, so I would kind of presume they would do a good job at it.

very true and yes you have to take people at their word, last year I was asked to have a look at a filter system that had just been serviced by a large firm (they serviced it every year) when i looked there were cobwebs on everything, UV, control valves, the 10" filter was brown. and they charged €1000 for the pleasure.

Happy_Harry wrote: »

On another note- I was quite unpleasantly surprised that my radiators needed balancing as I had a new boiler installed last year. The price for installation also included balancing the rads and I am pretty sure it was done.. Is this a yearly recurring activity ? I certainly didn't touch the rads..

once balanced they really shouldnt need to be touched again. If they were balanced last year and you have rads heating differently now you could have other problems, air in system, faulty zone control, pump issues etc. if the boiler hasnt been serviced in the last year, get it serviced but mention about the heating issues as well

Happy_Harry

TPM wrote: »

UV bulbs have an effective life of about 1 year after that even though they still light their effectiveness declines drastically.

Thanks, nobody ever told me that..

you keep mentioning carbon, are you sure its carbon as this is not typically for hardness.

There is one filter (big blue gas bottle-like cylinder) that gets filled with carbon during a service. My installation is not just a softener, it takes out sulphur and I guess other stuff as well.

once balanced they really shouldnt need to be touched again. If they were balanced last year and you have rads heating differently now you could have other problems, air in system, faulty zone control, pump issues etc. if the boiler hasnt been serviced in the last year, get it serviced but mention about the heating issues as well

You are right, I should get the installer back to do a service and fix the balancing issue. The whole system was checked, flushed, and coated before the new boiler was installed, so I would hope there is no more sinister reason for the unbalanced rads other than human error, and he should fix that...

TPM

Happy_Harry wrote: »

Happy_Harry wrote: »

There is one filter (big blue gas bottle-like cylinder) that gets filled with carbon during a service. My installation is not just a softener, it takes out sulphur and I guess other stuff as well.

that makes more sense but
Without a complete water test report someone CAN NOT replace the media correctly as they have no way of knowing what to put back in the filter.

Carbon is used for removing hydrogen sulphide alright(it also removes chlorine, organics, general taste and odour)
you should look into the feasibility of using manganese greensand like filox as an alternative to the carbon, it should only require regeneration with additive each year as opposed to a complete change if suitable for you.

I take it the softener is separate to the "carbon" filter

Happy_Harry

TPM wrote: »

Happy_Harry wrote: »

I take it the softener is separate to the "carbon" filter

Well, for the professional maybe yes, for me it seems everything is connected.. I have 2 of those blue cylinders, the other one is connected to the salt solution, but on the looks of it the water goes through various stages of purification before entering the house.