A plumber removed an existing faucet in the bathtub and replaced it with
another provided by the customer. The charge was $285, he was there 2
hours. Does this sound like a reasonable price?
Thanks for any input. I'm asking for a friend who doesn't have access to
the internet.

Was he quoted 285 before hand, if so then yes.

Pat in Atlanta wrote:
A plumber removed an existing faucet in the bathtub and replaced it with
another provided by the customer. The charge was $285, he was there 2
hours. Does this sound like a reasonable price?
Thanks for any input. I'm asking for a friend who doesn't have access to
the internet.

I'm not sure about you're area, but here near NYC plumbers charge
~$90/hour and count time to the nearest 1/4 hour. So from that alone,
I'd say the guy _might_ be a little high, but he's in the ballpark.
But there's more involved than just time.

When you say faucet, you mean the shower body, right? That's the part
that fits in the wall and has the control knob sticking out. I
wouldn't know what else was involved without seeing the old situation
and the new shower body that was provided.

R

"Pat in Atlanta" wrote in message
. ..
A plumber removed an existing faucet in the bathtub and replaced it with
another provided by the customer. The charge was $285, he was there 2
hours. Does this sound like a reasonable price?
Thanks for any input. I'm asking for a friend who doesn't have access to
the internet.



What corners did he cut on the job? Sounds pretty low to me.

She's an old lady who lives in a small town and didn't ask ahead of time
what he would charge. She also gave him a hot lunch. I think she's feeling
used and abused.

"m Ransley" wrote in message
...
Was he quoted 285 before hand, if so then yes.

"Pat in Atlanta" wrote in message
. ..
A plumber removed an existing faucet in the bathtub and replaced it with
another provided by the customer. The charge was $285, he was there 2
hours. Does this sound like a reasonable price?
Thanks for any input. I'm asking for a friend who doesn't have access to
the internet.

It sounds like a fair price to me, If it's a legitimate business ,
insurance, overhead taxes it all that adds up. The days of a guy coming out
for $50 are long gone. But what do I know I'm just a plumber

A plumber removed an existing faucet in the bathtub and replaced it with
another provided by the customer. The charge was $285, he was there 2
hours. Does this sound like a reasonable price?

I don't know, could your friend do it cheaper than the plumber?

Thanks. I suggested to her that she get prices from two other plumbers in
the area.

"m Ransley" wrote in message
...
Always get a price first, then you can get bids if it sounds to high,
which it might have been. My neighboor was charged 900 for a new kitchen
plastic sink and I got Sears to cut 400 off the price. My parents had
their "trusted " plumber tell them for 80$ they needed a new toilet but
I went over and put in a new flapper,[ like the ass didnt have one on
his truck]. Crooks, are everywhere, get bids on any work. Call them,
and others ,pretend to be asking for work and see what they say about
pricing, if its alot lower, stop pay and repay a fair amount. But check
all the plumbing, im no pro and it would take me a day, so figure that
to.

Dang! I'm astounded that plumbers get $90/hour anywhere. I'm so glad
I'm handy.

I wonder if he charged the old lady for the time he was eating her
food.

Mike

wrote:
Dang! I'm astounded that plumbers get $90/hour anywhere. I'm so glad
I'm handy.

Homes around here start at ~$600K. Maybe, just maybe, there's a
connection.

I wonder if he charged the old lady for the time he was eating her
food.

Surprisingly, that is actually a good question.

R

RicodJour wrote:
wrote:

Dang! I'm astounded that plumbers get $90/hour anywhere. I'm so glad
I'm handy.


Homes around here start at ~$600K. Maybe, just maybe, there's a
connection.


I wonder if he charged the old lady for the time he was eating her
food.


Surprisingly, that is actually a good question.

R

I would say that if plumbers are getting 90 bucks an hour, there will
soon be many more plumbers in the area.

I imagine that they have one of those flat rate pricing policies, which
I don't completely understand, but usually I think it means that had it
taken him 6 hrs because of unforseen issues, it would still have been 285.


My suggestion would be to have her place a very polite call to the owner
of the company to see if perhaps there was an 'error'. You never know.

Always quote first, even if you like the company.

Pat in Atlanta wrote:
She's an old lady who lives in a small town and didn't ask ahead of
time what he would charge. She also gave him a hot lunch. I think
she's feeling used and abused.

"m Ransley" wrote in message
...
Was he quoted 285 before hand, if so then yes.

Send the plumber a bill for the lunch. $150 sounds about right. Plus 15%
gratuity, of course.

And yes, he should have asked before he sat down at the table.

Perhaps if the plumber is called first, he/they might give a ballpark
figure as to what the costs "might" be. Otherwise, once they come out,
(just like a refrigerator repair man) he's going charge you a service
fee regardless if he doesn't even touch a thing.

Correct, those days are long gone, where a plumber charges $20 to put in
a faucet.

A few weeks ago, my father who lives in Chicago, had to call a plumber
to fix 3 leaking faucets. Two small gaskets, and one replacement
cartridge later, the bill was $221.00. $21 in parts, and $200 in Labor
for 2 hours labor.

The price the original poster mentioned doesn't sound too out of line,
but agreed, he probably charged her the time while he ate her lunch.
Maybe she should've handed him a bill for lunch, $30! :-) Mark

yourname wrote:

I would say that if plumbers are getting 90 bucks an hour, there will
soon be many more plumbers in the area.

Actually, they're having trouble getting qualified help, and there are
a fair number of established companies already. Most of the kids
growing up around here dream of working in the financial markets and
having people hand them large bags of cash without having to do much in
the way of earning it.

I imagine that they have one of those flat rate pricing policies, which
I don't completely understand, but usually I think it means that had it
taken him 6 hrs because of unforseen issues, it would still have been 285.

I know of no plumbing company that would do that. You'd alienate
people when it didn't take "enough" time, and you'd end up doing the
other jobs for free. Not a good business model.

R

Right, send him a bill for the lunch just deduct 100$

I had a plumber come for a bid to replace some pipe on a main in the
basement, he came out in his Eddie Bauer "Bid clothes", he opened his 3"
"Bible" bid book to find the price and found it " Replacing incomming
supplys" and said "see here we will do it for 275" I said see here , you
are going to look at a dam book to quote me 1 hrs work, Get Lost. He
said " but it in the book its fair" I said BS, yur gone. I got it done
by another plumber for 80. Just like auto repair "bid books" plumber
have that crap to. They are for the idiots that never did the job but
need to price " fairly" yea fair is the key word, fair to them, not the
consumer.

Around in the NY area, you have lots of guys who dont even
call you back. They only want big jobs, the small **** adds
up but their too thick to realize that.

As for NYC plumbers getting 90/Hr. Wouldnt surpise me,
the union guys rip off the contractors left and right.
Its ok though, after union dues etc, its significatly lower.

Its a nasty cycle... Plumbers charge the contractors, contractors
charge the owners, owners pass off their expensive home costs back
to whatever the hell they do.

"As for NYC plumbers getting 90/Hr. Wouldnt surpise me,
the union guys rip off the contractors left and right.
Its ok though, after union dues etc, its significatly lower. "

When you take your car for service, how much an hour do they charge
you? Here in NJ it's around $85 at dealers and even at many good
independent shops. They aren't union are they? And they don't come
to you. Seems to me $90 an hour for a plumber in NYC isn't a rip off
for a small repair job of a couple hours. You seem to forget that the
plumber has to pay for a truck, insurance, gas, parking, parking
tickets, tools, plus if he has even minimal health benefits to cover,
that is a big hit.

wrote in message
....
Dang! I'm astounded that plumbers get $90/hour anywhere. I'm so glad
I'm handy.

I wonder if he charged the old lady for the time he was eating her
food.

Just a couple of weeks ago, a couple of the guys down at the supply house
were saying they've increased their rate to $100 and hour and still have
more work than they can handle. I don't know about lunch, but they do
charge travel time.

"RicodJour" wrote in message

I know of no plumbing company that would do that. You'd alienate
people when it didn't take "enough" time, and you'd end up doing the
other jobs for free. Not a good business model.

R

I've seen them on TV. IIRC, Mr. Plumber is one that does it. Personally, I
wouldn't trust them.

I don't know if you've seen my latest post but I called a plumber in Atlanta
and he quoted me $400 to install a new faucet which I have already
purchased. 400 bucks!!!
"m Ransley" wrote in message
...
I had a plumber come for a bid to replace some pipe on a main in the
basement, he came out in his Eddie Bauer "Bid clothes", he opened his 3"
"Bible" bid book to find the price and found it " Replacing incomming
supplys" and said "see here we will do it for 275" I said see here , you
are going to look at a dam book to quote me 1 hrs work, Get Lost. He
said " but it in the book its fair" I said BS, yur gone. I got it done
by another plumber for 80. Just like auto repair "bid books" plumber
have that crap to. They are for the idiots that never did the job but
need to price " fairly" yea fair is the key word, fair to them, not the
consumer.

I would say that if plumbers are getting 90 bucks an hour, there will
soon be many more plumbers in the area.


I don't think so. The plumbing guild system means that it takes
around 4 years to go from not being a plumber to being one.

Pat in Atlanta wrote:
I don't know if you've seen my latest post but I called a plumber in Atlanta
and he quoted me $400 to install a new faucet which I have already
purchased. 400 bucks!!!

Call another one.

R

Oscar_Lives wrote:
"Pat in Atlanta" wrote in message
. ..

A plumber removed an existing faucet in the bathtub and replaced it with
another provided by the customer. The charge was $285, he was there 2
hours. Does this sound like a reasonable price?
Thanks for any input. I'm asking for a friend who doesn't have access to
the internet.




What corners did he cut on the job? Sounds pretty low to me.



What world do you guys live in? Where I live no
one except executives earns $50/hr (that $100,000
per year and the average here is less than
$40,000), so any charge of over $100/hr is
ridiculous. Even the major auto shops don't
charge more than $100/hour. Probably will change
tho since Boise is highly rated as a place to live.

RicodJour wrote:
wrote:

Dang! I'm astounded that plumbers get $90/hour anywhere. I'm so glad
I'm handy.


Homes around here start at ~$600K. Maybe, just maybe, there's a
connection.


I wonder if he charged the old lady for the time he was eating her
food.


Surprisingly, that is actually a good question.

R

I guess if you can afford a $600K home, then $90
an hour isn't much to worry about.

George E. Cawthon wrote:

What world do you guys live in? Where I live no
one except executives earns $50/hr (that $100,000
per year and the average here is less than
$40,000), so any charge of over $100/hr is
ridiculous. Even the major auto shops don't
charge more than $100/hour. Probably will change
tho since Boise is highly rated as a place to live.

This area:
http://tinyurl.com/c65nv

That is from a five year old census and things have changed some.

R

wrote in message

When you take your car for service, how much an hour do they charge
you? Here in NJ it's around $85 at dealers and even at many good
independent shops. They aren't union are they? And they don't come
to you.

Local repair shop is $55. Local dealer is $65. This is small town in
northeast CT.

"RicodJour" wrote in message
oups.com...
Pat in Atlanta wrote:
A plumber removed an existing faucet in the bathtub and replaced it with
another provided by the customer. The charge was $285, he was there 2
hours. Does this sound like a reasonable price?
Thanks for any input. I'm asking for a friend who doesn't have access to
the internet.

I'm not sure about you're area, but here near NYC plumbers charge
~$90/hour and count time to the nearest 1/4 hour. So from that alone,
I'd say the guy _might_ be a little high, but he's in the ballpark.
But there's more involved than just time.

Our plumber gets $80/hour...Philly 'burbs.

Liz

OOOh so its justified then.... Hummm Dealership....
Pay for rent, utilities, service manager, managers above him, tools,
training
etc etc etc etc...

Union plumbers??? Hummm they get their benifits through the union.
Insurance??? They bring their own **** and materials are delivered.
No insurance there either.

Dont forget about the times that the materials arent on time and they
sit around making that money while nothing is going on....

As for the independent guys.... They do pay for a work truck and
tools...
But ****, so do I. I right repair computers for a living and have to
pay
Errors and Omissions insurance (as well as my car) but I dont try to
simply screw people.... Tools? Ha. Nothing like spending 500.00 on
a mid level cat 5 cable tester. I replace my tools (laptop) every 2
years.
That's another couple of grand.

I consider myself a honest guy. I dont guage people based on how much
they
make. Too many of these trade guys do. After all their not your
buddy, try
to make as much as possible off of them. **** poor mentality....

wrote in message
As for the independent guys.... They do pay for a work truck and
tools...
But ****, so do I. I right repair computers for a living and have to
pay
Errors and Omissions insurance (as well as my car) but I dont try to
simply screw people.... Tools? Ha. Nothing like spending 500.00 on
a mid level cat 5 cable tester. I replace my tools (laptop) every 2
years.
That's another couple of grand.

I consider myself a honest guy. I dont guage people based on how much
they
make. Too many of these trade guys do.

What is your rate? Most are about $90 to $100 an hour that I've run across.

BTW, I seldom work outside, but my company charges $1000 a day plus expenses
when I do.

"George E. Cawthon" wrote in message
...
Oscar_Lives wrote:
"Pat in Atlanta" wrote in message
. ..

A plumber removed an existing faucet in the bathtub and replaced it with
another provided by the customer. The charge was $285, he was there 2
hours. Does this sound like a reasonable price?
Thanks for any input. I'm asking for a friend who doesn't have access to
the internet.




What corners did he cut on the job? Sounds pretty low to me.

What world do you guys live in? Where I live no one except executives
earns $50/hr (that $100,000 per year and the average here is less than
$40,000), so any charge of over $100/hr is ridiculous. Even the major
auto shops don't charge more than $100/hour. Probably will change tho
since Boise is highly rated as a place to live.

You think he pockets all that dough? You don't think he has overhead to
cover?

I guess your job has no benefits either...

On Tue, 13 Dec 2005 15:53:11 -0500, "Pat in Atlanta"
wrote:

I don't know if you've seen my latest post but I called a plumber in Atlanta
and he quoted me $400 to install a new faucet which I have already
purchased. 400 bucks!!!

Atlanta is very warm. There is a 300 dollar surcharge for that.

"m Ransley" wrote in message
...
I had a plumber come for a bid to replace some pipe on a main in the
basement, he came out in his Eddie Bauer "Bid clothes", he opened his 3"
"Bible" bid book to find the price and found it " Replacing incomming
supplys" and said "see here we will do it for 275" I said see here , you
are going to look at a dam book to quote me 1 hrs work, Get Lost. He
said " but it in the book its fair" I said BS, yur gone. I got it done
by another plumber for 80. Just like auto repair "bid books" plumber
have that crap to. They are for the idiots that never did the job but
need to price " fairly" yea fair is the key word, fair to them, not the
consumer.




Remove NOPSAM to email me. Please let
me know if you have posted also.

RicodJour wrote:
George E. Cawthon wrote:

What world do you guys live in? Where I live no
one except executives earns $50/hr (that $100,000
per year and the average here is less than
$40,000), so any charge of over $100/hr is
ridiculous. Even the major auto shops don't
charge more than $100/hour. Probably will change
tho since Boise is highly rated as a place to live.


This area:
http://tinyurl.com/c65nv

That is from a five year old census and things have changed some.

R

Incredible, but I can understand it in that area.
But areas like that are exceptional in the U.S.
The bottom of the chart is more typical of most
of the U.S. I didn't see a listing for a
community where I have a 3rd or 4th cousin but it
may be know by a different name that what the
address says.

Thanks. Those average incomes and per capita
incomes are foreign to my world.

You're complaining about a plumbing problem. Get a life.......asshole

I had a reputable plumbing firm here tell me last Januaryit would cost
me $950 to replace a 30 gal. hot water heater. Plus $60 for a permit,
and there would be a charge for hauling the old one away. While he went
to his truck to call into the office. I called my gas company. $535
for a 40 gal A.O Smith installed, no permit required, no charge for haul
away.

When the guy was coming up the driveway
he said no such thing as a 30 gal only 40 gal tanks. Now the price would
cost me $1100 + permit and haul away.

Cost me $49 for this info from him. The company is now on my no call
list.

Most plumbers here work under the company license. Not personally
licensed. What ever happened to apprentice, journeymen and then master
plumbers. My father was a plumber and had to go through all that and
worked for
a large plumbing corp. in NY.

Pat