I recently had a small job done by a plumber, and I'm
wondering if I got a bargain, paid a typical price for this
task, or was overcharged. This is in the greater Los
Angeles area. I'd appreciate some feedback on the
reasonableness of what I was charged. Here are the details.

I had a 30-year old wobbly toilet. Plumber came out to
inspect the job. He said he would remove the toilet, remove
the old flange, install a new flange, and then reinstall the
toilet. Said it would take a couple of hours, and the price
would be $250. I agreed to that. He returned the next day
and did what he said. It took him 1 hour and 45 minutes, 30
minutes of which were a trip by him to a nearby Home Depot
to purchase the correct size/style/type flange - different
than the small selection he already had on his truck.
Toilet is now firm, and I'm satisfied with it.

Comments?

Thanks.

--
----------
CWLee
Former slayer of dragons; practice now limited to sacred
cows. Believing we should hire for quality, not quotas, and
promote for performance, not preferences.

"CWLee" wrote I had a 30-year old wobbly
toilet. Plumber came out to
inspect the job. He said he would remove the toilet, remove the old
flange, install a new flange, and then reinstall the toilet. Said it
would take a couple of hours, and the price would be $250. I agreed to
that. Comments?

Not a bargain, not a royal screwing though. You usually pay $100 jut to
have them walk through the door and about $80 to $120 an hour for labor.
Unless it was done recently, I'd have him rebuild the toilet while there.
Only a few bucks more at that point.

In article , "CWLee" wrote:
[...]
Comments?

The relevant sentences in your post are these:
"... the price would be $250."
"I agreed to that."
"Toilet is now firm, and I'm satisfied with it."

The guy quoted you a price, you agreed to it, he did the job, you're satisfied
with the results -- what's the problem?

On Jun 24, 1:46*am, "CWLee" wrote:
I recently had a small job done by a plumber, and I'm
wondering if I got a bargain, paid a typical price for this
task, or was overcharged. *This is in the greater Los
Angeles area. *I'd appreciate some feedback on the
reasonableness of what I was charged. *Here are the details.

I had a 30-year old wobbly toilet. *Plumber came out to
inspect the job. *He said he would remove the toilet, remove
the old flange, install a new flange, and then reinstall the
toilet. *Said it would take a couple of hours, and the price
would be $250. *I agreed to that. *He returned the next day
and did what he said. *It took him 1 hour and 45 minutes, 30
minutes of which were a trip by him to a nearby Home Depot
to purchase the correct size/style/type flange - different
than the small selection he already had on his truck.
Toilet is now firm, and I'm satisfied with it.

Comments?

Probably about what my plumber would charge.
You have to consider their traveling time and initial call to evaluate
problem and give estimate.
Cost and maintenance of truck, insurance and other expenses of plumber
must be considered.
Couple of years ago, county strapped for money, imposed new $400
license fee on all contractors above what state already requires.
All these things add up.

You want to get cheap plumbing done, get some guy working under the
table and pay cash.

In article ,
(Doug Miller) wrote:

In article , "CWLee"
wrote:
[...]
Comments?

The relevant sentences in your post are these:
"... the price would be $250."
"I agreed to that."
"Toilet is now firm, and I'm satisfied with it."

The guy quoted you a price, you agreed to it, he did the job, you're
satisfied
with the results -- what's the problem?

OP never mentioned a problem, and isn't complaining.

CWLee wrote:
I recently had a small job done by a plumber, and I'm
wondering if I got a bargain, paid a typical price for this
task, or was overcharged. This is in the greater Los
Angeles area. I'd appreciate some feedback on the
reasonableness of what I was charged. Here are the details.

I had a 30-year old wobbly toilet. Plumber came out to
inspect the job. He said he would remove the toilet, remove
the old flange, install a new flange, and then reinstall the
toilet. Said it would take a couple of hours, and the price
would be $250. I agreed to that. He returned the next day
and did what he said. It took him 1 hour and 45 minutes, 30
minutes of which were a trip by him to a nearby Home Depot
to purchase the correct size/style/type flange - different
than the small selection he already had on his truck.
Toilet is now firm, and I'm satisfied with it.

Comments?

Thanks.

Yes, it was a reasonable price. The fact that he came out the first day and
gave you a price and then had to come out a second time to do the job makes
it even more reasonable. For the plumber, that's two travel times to the
same job, and any time he spends travelling to jobs and going to jobs to
give prices is time that he is not on another job making money.

On 2010-06-24, CWLee wrote:

than the small selection he already had on his truck.
Toilet is now firm, and I'm satisfied with it.

Our mobile home park suffered frozen sewer lines due to a record cold
Winter. The guy charged $400 hr to sit on his butt slowly feeding a
3/4" hose down the lines. You got off cheap.

nb

On 6/24/10 9:23 AM, notbob wrote:
On 2010-06-24, wrote:

than the small selection he already had on his truck.
Toilet is now firm, and I'm satisfied with it.

Our mobile home park suffered frozen sewer lines due to a record cold
Winter. The guy charged $400 hr to sit on his butt slowly feeding a
3/4" hose down the lines. You got off cheap.

nb

Not to feel so bad-- you were paying for his experience and expertise in
knowing that the hose was the was to fix it, what size hose to use, how
fast to feed it, and the temp of the water, etc., etc....

"CWLee" wrote in message
...

I recently had a small job done by a plumber, and I'm wondering if I got a
bargain, paid a typical price for this task, or was overcharged. This is
in the greater Los Angeles area. I'd appreciate some feedback on the
reasonableness of what I was charged. Here are the details.

I had a 30-year old wobbly toilet. Plumber came out to inspect the job.
He said he would remove the toilet, remove the old flange, install a new
flange, and then reinstall the toilet. Said it would take a couple of
hours, and the price would be $250. I agreed to that. He returned the
next day and did what he said. It took him 1 hour and 45 minutes, 30
minutes of which were a trip by him to a nearby Home Depot to purchase the
correct size/style/type flange - different than the small selection he
already had on his truck. Toilet is now firm, and I'm satisfied with it.

Comments?

Thanks.

Put into perspective, I recently had a plumber come out to re-seat a faucet
that I could't get to stop leaking after installing it, a wall hung faucet,
should have been really easy, but I digress. He was here for no more than 10
minutes max, including time spent talking about the weather, charged $60.00,
so I don't think your plumber was outrageous, but mine was IMO.

Cheri

On 2010-06-24, Shaun wrote:

Not to feel so bad-- you were paying for his experience and expertise in
knowing that the hose was the was to fix it, what size hose to use, how
fast to feed it, and the temp of the water, etc., etc....

The sewer lines that were jetted cost the park a total of $38K over a
3 month period. The high pressure machine used on the job, designed
specifically to jet frozen sewers and one of the best on the market,
cost only $8K w/ 250' hose.

Our park board is populated by morons elected by other morons.

nb

CWLee wrote:

I recently had a small job done by a plumber, and I'm wondering if I got
a bargain, paid a typical price for this task, or was overcharged. This
is in the greater Los Angeles area. I'd appreciate some feedback on the
reasonableness of what I was charged. Here are the details.

I had a 30-year old wobbly toilet. Plumber came out to inspect the job.
He said he would remove the toilet, remove the old flange, install a new
flange, and then reinstall the toilet. Said it would take a couple of
hours, and the price would be $250. I agreed to that. He returned the
next day and did what he said. It took him 1 hour and 45 minutes, 30
minutes of which were a trip by him to a nearby Home Depot to purchase
the correct size/style/type flange - different than the small selection
he already had on his truck. Toilet is now firm, and I'm satisfied with it.

Comments?

Thanks.

Hi,
That job is in the territory of DIY.
I'd do it myself. Time is money.
I don't think he charged too much.

wrote in message
...
On Thu, 24 Jun 2010 06:52:19 -0700, "Cheri"
wrote:

"CWLee" wrote in message
...

I recently had a small job done by a plumber, and I'm wondering if I got
a
bargain, paid a typical price for this task, or was overcharged. This
is
in the greater Los Angeles area. I'd appreciate some feedback on the
reasonableness of what I was charged. Here are the details.

I had a 30-year old wobbly toilet. Plumber came out to inspect the job.
He said he would remove the toilet, remove the old flange, install a new
flange, and then reinstall the toilet. Said it would take a couple of
hours, and the price would be $250. I agreed to that. He returned the
next day and did what he said. It took him 1 hour and 45 minutes, 30
minutes of which were a trip by him to a nearby Home Depot to purchase
the
correct size/style/type flange - different than the small selection he
already had on his truck. Toilet is now firm, and I'm satisfied with it.

Comments?

Thanks.

Put into perspective, I recently had a plumber come out to re-seat a
faucet
that I could't get to stop leaking after installing it, a wall hung
faucet,
should have been really easy, but I digress. He was here for no more than
10
minutes max, including time spent talking about the weather, charged
$60.00,
so I don't think your plumber was outrageous, but mine was IMO.

Cheri

It was a difficult enough job that YOU couldn't do it yourself. The
guy drove to your house, and fixed what you couldn't. $60 was a gift.

No, it wasn't a gift...not at all, it was outrageous, but I didn't mind
paying it. Most plumbers have a standard fee for coming, his was 60.00. I
gave him a 20.00 tip (making the total 80.00) because his wife said he was
sleeping when I called, and he was still here within 1/2 hour. I'm sure he
went back home to bed.

Cheri

wrote in message
...

It was a difficult enough job that YOU couldn't do it yourself. The
guy drove to your house, and fixed what you couldn't. $60 was a gift.


But...I will be able to do it next time, since I had forgotten that you had
to tighten down individual sides one at a time and equally, to prevent one
side from leaking, but I won't forget it again. However, at my age, I'm sure
the new faucet will outlive me, since the last one I installed there was
almost 20 years ago.:-)

Cheri

On 6/24/2010 10:14 AM, notbob wrote:
On 2010-06-24, wrote:

Not to feel so bad-- you were paying for his experience and expertise in
knowing that the hose was the was to fix it, what size hose to use, how
fast to feed it, and the temp of the water, etc., etc....

The sewer lines that were jetted cost the park a total of $38K over a
3 month period. The high pressure machine used on the job, designed
specifically to jet frozen sewers and one of the best on the market,
cost only $8K w/ 250' hose.

Our park board is populated by morons elected by other morons.

nb

Your park board is probably hiring buddies or relatives. Not unknown
for maintenance associations to do so.

"Doug Miller" wrote :

The guy quoted you a price, you agreed to it, he did the
job, you're satisfied
with the results -- what's the problem?

I'm the OP, and I never said there was a problem. I have no
complaint about the workmanship or the price. My post was
intended to solicit feedback about the reasonableness of the
price I paid. So far, I interpret the responses to be that
what I paid was about right.

On Jun 24, 10:14*am, notbob wrote:
On 2010-06-24, Shaun wrote:

Not to feel so bad-- you were paying for his experience and expertise in
knowing that the hose was the was to fix it, what size hose to use, how
fast to feed it, and the temp of the water, etc., etc....

The sewer lines that were jetted cost the park a total of $38K over a
3 month period. *The high pressure machine used on the job, designed
specifically to jet frozen sewers and one of the best on the market,
cost only $8K w/ 250' hose.

Our park board is populated by morons elected by other morons.

nb


It sounds more like your "trailer park" suffered from a design flaw
in its "sewers"... If the ground had frozen that hard many of your
"homes" would have suffered from some sort of unexpected
"movement"...

Oh, and when someone is jetting out lines like that, they usually
charge by the linear foot of pipe they flush out, not by the job...

On Jun 24, 11:58*am, "Cheri" wrote:
wrote in message

...



On Thu, 24 Jun 2010 06:52:19 -0700, "Cheri"
wrote:

"CWLee" wrote in message
...

I recently had a small job done by a plumber, and I'm wondering if I got
a
bargain, paid a typical price for this task, or was overcharged. *This
is
in the greater Los Angeles area. *I'd appreciate some feedback on the
reasonableness of what I was charged. *Here are the details.

I had a 30-year old wobbly toilet. *Plumber came out to inspect the job.
He said he would remove the toilet, remove the old flange, install a new
flange, and then reinstall the toilet. *Said it would take a couple of
hours, and the price would be $250. *I agreed to that. *He returned the
next day and did what he said. *It took him 1 hour and 45 minutes, 30
minutes of which were a trip by him to a nearby Home Depot to purchase
the
correct size/style/type flange - different than the small selection he
already had on his truck. Toilet is now firm, and I'm satisfied with it.

Comments?

Thanks.

Put into perspective, I recently had a plumber come out to re-seat a
faucet
that I could't get to stop leaking after installing it, a wall hung
faucet,
should have been really easy, but I digress. He was here for no more than
10
minutes max, including time spent talking about the weather, charged
$60.00,
so I don't think your plumber was outrageous, but mine was IMO.

Cheri

It was a difficult enough job that YOU couldn't do it yourself. The
guy drove to your house, and fixed what you couldn't. $60 was a gift.

No, it wasn't a gift...not at all, it was outrageous, but I didn't mind
paying it. Most plumbers have a standard fee for coming, his was 60.00. I
gave him a 20.00 tip (making the total 80.00) because his wife said he was
sleeping when I called, and he was still here within 1/2 hour. I'm sure he
went back home to bed.

Cheri


Right, that is called a "service charge" which is what it costs to get
the
trade professional out to your house with all their tools, equipment,
supply of spare parts and the knowledge they possess...

It sounds like you either didn't know how to do the repair you were
attempting or didn't have the right tool or a large enough tool to
unstick something that was stuck...

As far as inflating the cost of your service, with a "tip" such
gratuities are not required nor expected in the trades, the
guy fixed your sink for $60 in less than 10 minutes, which
was a skilled labor task, you don't need to "tip" him for that,
as he is NOT a "service" employee being paid less than
minimum wage to wait on your table at a restaurant -- you
TIP those workers, not the ones who earn exponentially
more...

On Jun 24, 12:41*pm, "CWLee" wrote:
"Doug Miller" wrote :

The guy quoted you a price, you agreed to it, he did the
job, you're satisfied
with the results -- what's the problem?

I'm the OP, and I never said there was a problem. *I have no
complaint about the workmanship or the price. *My post was
intended to solicit feedback about the reasonableness of the
price I paid. *So far, I interpret the responses to be that
what I paid was about right.


Even if you had paid more, what do you expect a bunch of
people on usenet to be able to tell you about it ?

We have no pictures to see what the actual scope of the
work was, nor how difficult it was for the plumber to
obtain the parts he needed other than your very vague
descriptions...

This "buyer's remorse" stuff is really childish... You
hired out work you either couldn't do on your own or
didn't WANT to do... The project was accomplished
and you were happy with the work, it is not like you
are going to have an identical project to do anytime
soon so its not something you can compare prices
on...

In article , "CWLee" wrote:


"Doug Miller" wrote :

The guy quoted you a price, you agreed to it, he did the
job, you're satisfied
with the results -- what's the problem?

I'm the OP, and I never said there was a problem. I have no
complaint about the workmanship or the price. My post was
intended to solicit feedback about the reasonableness of the
price I paid. So far, I interpret the responses to be that
what I paid was about right.

My point was that since he did the work at the agreed-upon price, and you're
satisfied with the results, you really don't have any reason to question
whether the charge was reasonable or not -- you already agreed that it was.

wrote in message
news
On Thu, 24 Jun 2010 08:58:05 -0700, "Cheri"
wrote:

wrote in message
. ..
On Thu, 24 Jun 2010 06:52:19 -0700, "Cheri"
wrote:

"CWLee" wrote in message
...

I recently had a small job done by a plumber, and I'm wondering if I
got
a
bargain, paid a typical price for this task, or was overcharged. This
is
in the greater Los Angeles area. I'd appreciate some feedback on the
reasonableness of what I was charged. Here are the details.

I had a 30-year old wobbly toilet. Plumber came out to inspect the
job.
He said he would remove the toilet, remove the old flange, install a
new
flange, and then reinstall the toilet. Said it would take a couple of
hours, and the price would be $250. I agreed to that. He returned
the
next day and did what he said. It took him 1 hour and 45 minutes, 30
minutes of which were a trip by him to a nearby Home Depot to purchase
the
correct size/style/type flange - different than the small selection he
already had on his truck. Toilet is now firm, and I'm satisfied with
it.

Comments?

Thanks.

Put into perspective, I recently had a plumber come out to re-seat a
faucet
that I could't get to stop leaking after installing it, a wall hung
faucet,
should have been really easy, but I digress. He was here for no more
than
10
minutes max, including time spent talking about the weather, charged
$60.00,
so I don't think your plumber was outrageous, but mine was IMO.

Cheri

It was a difficult enough job that YOU couldn't do it yourself. The
guy drove to your house, and fixed what you couldn't. $60 was a gift.

No, it wasn't a gift...not at all, it was outrageous, but I didn't mind
paying it. Most plumbers have a standard fee for coming, his was 60.00. I
gave him a 20.00 tip (making the total 80.00) because his wife said he was
sleeping when I called, and he was still here within 1/2 hour. I'm sure he
went back home to bed.

Cheri



Wait! You mean it wasn't even normal business hours? That was far
beyond a gift. You still owe him. Seriously.


It was 10:30 in the morning. His nephew was on vacation, so the calls went
to him. He had a heart attack not so long ago, so he probably needs a lot of
sleep.

Cheri

"Evan" wrote in message
...
On Jun 24, 11:58 am, "Cheri" wrote:
wrote in message

...



On Thu, 24 Jun 2010 06:52:19 -0700, "Cheri"
wrote:

"CWLee" wrote in message
...

I recently had a small job done by a plumber, and I'm wondering if I
got
a
bargain, paid a typical price for this task, or was overcharged. This
is
in the greater Los Angeles area. I'd appreciate some feedback on the
reasonableness of what I was charged. Here are the details.

I had a 30-year old wobbly toilet. Plumber came out to inspect the
job.
He said he would remove the toilet, remove the old flange, install a
new
flange, and then reinstall the toilet. Said it would take a couple of
hours, and the price would be $250. I agreed to that. He returned the
next day and did what he said. It took him 1 hour and 45 minutes, 30
minutes of which were a trip by him to a nearby Home Depot to purchase
the
correct size/style/type flange - different than the small selection he
already had on his truck. Toilet is now firm, and I'm satisfied with
it.

Comments?

Thanks.

Put into perspective, I recently had a plumber come out to re-seat a
faucet
that I could't get to stop leaking after installing it, a wall hung
faucet,
should have been really easy, but I digress. He was here for no more
than
10
minutes max, including time spent talking about the weather, charged
$60.00,
so I don't think your plumber was outrageous, but mine was IMO.

Cheri

It was a difficult enough job that YOU couldn't do it yourself. The
guy drove to your house, and fixed what you couldn't. $60 was a gift.

No, it wasn't a gift...not at all, it was outrageous, but I didn't mind
paying it. Most plumbers have a standard fee for coming, his was 60.00. I
gave him a 20.00 tip (making the total 80.00) because his wife said he was
sleeping when I called, and he was still here within 1/2 hour. I'm sure he
went back home to bed.

Cheri


Right, that is called a "service charge" which is what it costs to get
the
trade professional out to your house with all their tools, equipment,
supply of spare parts and the knowledge they possess...

It sounds like you either didn't know how to do the repair you were
attempting or didn't have the right tool or a large enough tool to
unstick something that was stuck...

As far as inflating the cost of your service, with a "tip" such
gratuities are not required nor expected in the trades, the
guy fixed your sink for $60 in less than 10 minutes, which
was a skilled labor task, you don't need to "tip" him for that,
as he is NOT a "service" employee being paid less than
minimum wage to wait on your table at a restaurant -- you
TIP those workers, not the ones who earn exponentially
more...

========

Maybe *you* don't want to tip people that are called out to your home, but I
always do. That's probably why he got out of bed and came over to fix my
problem since he's been here before.


Cheri

"Doug Miller" wrote:

... you really don't have any reason to question
whether the charge was reasonable or not -- you already
agreed that it was.

I agreed that it was reasonable for ME, at that time, that
place, those circumstances. What I was seeking from others
here was THEIR opinion as to the reasonableness of the price
in the situation described.

If several posters replied that it sounded more like a $100
job to them, I wouldn't use again or recommend to others
this particular plumber. If the consensus of replies was
that a more typical cost was ~$500, then I'd certainly use
this plumber again, and recommend him to my friends. As I
interpret the responses so far I don't think I got either a
bargain or a rip-off. I received confirmation that others
think the price was reasonable, thus reinforcing my own
original opinion.

"CWLee" wrote in message
m...


"Doug Miller" wrote:

... you really don't have any reason to question
whether the charge was reasonable or not -- you already agreed that it
was.

I agreed that it was reasonable for ME, at that time, that place, those
circumstances. What I was seeking from others here was THEIR opinion as
to the reasonableness of the price in the situation described.

If several posters replied that it sounded more like a $100 job to them, I
wouldn't use again or recommend to others this particular plumber. If the
consensus of replies was that a more typical cost was ~$500, then I'd
certainly use this plumber again, and recommend him to my friends. As I
interpret the responses so far I don't think I got either a bargain or a
rip-off. I received confirmation that others think the price was
reasonable, thus reinforcing my own original opinion.

I understand exactly why you were asking, I think it's a reasonable
question. Works for me.

Cheri

"Evan" wrote:

Even if you had paid more, what do you expect a bunch of
people on usenet to be able to tell you about it ?

Over the years I have learned much from various Usenet
posters, and have read a lot of crap as well.

We have no pictures to see what the actual scope of the
work was, nor how difficult it was for the plumber to
obtain the parts he needed other than your very vague
descriptions...

That level of detail is not necessary for the general
feedback I was seeking.

This "buyer's remorse" stuff is really childish. ...

No "buyer's remorse" here at all. That is your assumption,
and a faulty one.

You
hired out work you either couldn't do on your own or
didn't WANT to do... The project was accomplished
and you were happy with the work, ...

Correct.

... it is not like you
are going to have an identical project to do anytime
soon so its not something you can compare prices
on.

While it is true that I will probably not have an identical
project anytime soon, the feedback I was seeking will be
useful in terms of whether to recommend this particular
plumber to friends, or to use him again for other projects
at my home. Car mechanics, electricians, plumbers, and
other skilled workers are easy to find if one wants to use
the phone book or online directories - but my circle of
friends strongly prefer to use only such workers who are
personally recommended by someone who has used them, would
use them again, and who recommend them to their friends.

On Jun 23, 10:46*pm, "CWLee" wrote:
I recently had a small job done by a plumber, and I'm
wondering if I got a bargain, paid a typical price for this
task, or was overcharged. *This is in the greater Los
Angeles area. *I'd appreciate some feedback on the
reasonableness of what I was charged. *Here are the details.

I had a 30-year old wobbly toilet. *Plumber came out to
inspect the job. *He said he would remove the toilet, remove
the old flange, install a new flange, and then reinstall the
toilet. *Said it would take a couple of hours, and the price
would be $250. *I agreed to that. *He returned the next day
and did what he said. *It took him 1 hour and 45 minutes, 30
minutes of which were a trip by him to a nearby Home Depot
to purchase the correct size/style/type flange - different
than the small selection he already had on his truck.
Toilet is now firm, and I'm satisfied with it.

Comments?

Thanks.

--
----------
CWLee
Former slayer of dragons; practice now limited to sacred
cows. *Believing we should hire for quality, not quotas, and
promote for performance, not preferences.

If I were you, what I would be worrying about is not how much you paid
but if it happens again will he come back to fix it for free. In other
words, what kind of warranty did he give you. Why was the toilet
wobbling in the first place? Was the toilet bolted on to the floor or
the flange? If the toilet was bolted on to the flange is the flange in
turn bolted securely on to the floor and what part of the floor is it
bolted on to, is it just the underlayment or something more
substantial? Do you have enough of a background with this plumber to
know that he guarantees his work and takes pride in it? My advise to
people is not to worry about how much you’re paying but how much you
can trust the guy who is doing the work.

"Cheri" wrote in message
...
"CWLee" wrote in message
m...


"Doug Miller" wrote:

... you really don't have any reason to question
whether the charge was reasonable or not -- you already agreed that it
was.

I agreed that it was reasonable for ME, at that time, that place, those
circumstances. What I was seeking from others here was THEIR opinion as
to the reasonableness of the price in the situation described.

If several posters replied that it sounded more like a $100 job to them,
I
wouldn't use again or recommend to others this particular plumber. If
the
consensus of replies was that a more typical cost was ~$500, then I'd
certainly use this plumber again, and recommend him to my friends. As I
interpret the responses so far I don't think I got either a bargain or a
rip-off. I received confirmation that others think the price was
reasonable, thus reinforcing my own original opinion.

I understand exactly why you were asking, I think it's a reasonable
question. Works for me.

Cheri

Me three! I've often asked the same question and gotten sigh similar
results. The issue for me is that when a critical system is in failure
mode, you don't have the luxury or time to get a lot of competitive bids.
You bite the bullet and do it if the price doesn't strike you as highway
robbery. You still want to know afterwards whether it was high, low or spot
on. Considering everything that went wrong on me when my buddy and I tried
to install a new toilet, $250 sounds just about right, especially if the
right parts weren't on the truck. I am sure that you know that in that fee
are bits of licensing, insurance, tools, truck upkeep, etc.

Reminds me of the old engineering joke. A company exec sees an engineer fix
an expensive machine by just putting a bolt through a hole. He demands a
breakdown of the $1000 bill.

Bolt ----- $0.50
Knowing where to put bolt - $999.50

--
Bobby G.

"Robert Green" wrote in message
...
"Cheri" wrote in message
...
"CWLee" wrote in message
m...


"Doug Miller" wrote:

... you really don't have any reason to question
whether the charge was reasonable or not -- you already agreed that it
was.

I agreed that it was reasonable for ME, at that time, that place, those
circumstances. What I was seeking from others here was THEIR opinion
as
to the reasonableness of the price in the situation described.

If several posters replied that it sounded more like a $100 job to
them,
I
wouldn't use again or recommend to others this particular plumber. If
the
consensus of replies was that a more typical cost was ~$500, then I'd
certainly use this plumber again, and recommend him to my friends. As
I
interpret the responses so far I don't think I got either a bargain or
a
rip-off. I received confirmation that others think the price was
reasonable, thus reinforcing my own original opinion.

I understand exactly why you were asking, I think it's a reasonable
question. Works for me.

Cheri

Me three! I've often asked the same question and gotten sigh similar
results. The issue for me is that when a critical system is in failure
mode, you don't have the luxury or time to get a lot of competitive bids.
You bite the bullet and do it if the price doesn't strike you as highway
robbery. You still want to know afterwards whether it was high, low or
spot
on. Considering everything that went wrong on me when my buddy and I
tried
to install a new toilet, $250 sounds just about right, especially if the
right parts weren't on the truck. I am sure that you know that in that
fee
are bits of licensing, insurance, tools, truck upkeep, etc.

Reminds me of the old engineering joke. A company exec sees an engineer
fix
an expensive machine by just putting a bolt through a hole. He demands a
breakdown of the $1000 bill.

Bolt ----- $0.50
Knowing where to put bolt - $999.50

--
Bobby G.

Yes, this question and the answers will give me some idea if it happens to
me in the future, since in many areas I have no idea what the charge should
be. You always have a few know it alls with smart assed answers, but it's
worth it for the good answers you get.

Cheri

"Doug Miller" wrote:

... you really don't have any reason to question
whether the charge was reasonable or not -- you already
agreed that it was.

I agreed that it was reasonable for ME, at that time, that
place, those circumstances. What I was seeking from others
here was THEIR opinion as to the reasonableness of the price
in the situation described.

If several posters replied that it sounded more like a $100
job to them, I wouldn't use again or recommend to others
this particular plumber. If the consensus of replies was
that a more typical cost was ~$500, then I'd certainly use
this plumber again, and recommend him to my friends. As I
interpret the responses so far I don't think I got either a
bargain or a rip-off. I received confirmation that others
think the price was reasonable, thus reinforcing my own
original opinion.

"Molly Brown" wrote:

If I were you, what I would be worrying about is not how
much you paid
but if it happens again will he come back to fix it for
free. In other
words, what kind of warranty did he give you. ... My
advise to
people is not to worry about how much you’re paying but
how much you
can trust the guy who is doing the work.

Good advice.

My experience has been that if I find a car mechanic,
electrician, plumber, other skilled tradesman who has been
used repeatedly by my friends and colleagues, then I don't
have a problem with follow-up repairs.

Why was the toilet
wobbling in the first place?

The house was built 30 years ago, and the toilet had
required no work during that time. One of the two bolts on
the toilet which hold it down no longer was attached or firm
at the end below the floor. When the toilet was removed it
was clear that the original flange had just corroded away,
and the hole into which the bolt head fitted was enlarged -
so much so that the bolt head could not get a good grip.
The old flange was removed, which was the hardest part for
the plumber, per his comments. It was made of plastic and
I'm not sure how it had been fastened to the upright pipe,
which is also plastic. Eventually the old flange was
removed. Another plastic flange was then inserted over/into
(I couldn't see well enough to tell which) the upright pipe,
and glued to it. Then new bolts were inserted into the
metal ring that swiveled on the new flange. The toilet was
lowered onto the flange/floor, with the bolts sticking
through the holes on the base of the toilet. Nuts and
washer were applied, and after some shimming to make sure
there was no more wobbliness, and after ensuring that the
toilet was oriented parallel to the enclosing walls, the
nuts were tightened. Then the outside of the base of the
toilet was caulked. (At some point in the above process a
new wax ring was inserted - don't know its purpose but I
understand it is a standard procedure.)

Do you have enough of a background with this plumber to
know that he guarantees his work and takes pride in it?

I have no personal background with this plumber. He was
recommended by a friend as being competent and honest - the
two qualities I asked my friend about. So, I really know
nothing about any guarantees he might make, or how much
pride he takes in his work. He said if there was any
problem to give him a call. He was friendly, clean, and got
the job done. If the toilet still doesn't wobble by
Christmas I'll figure he did the job properly. If it starts
to wobble again I'll contact him to see his response.

"Cheri" wrote
He was here for no more than 10 minutes max, including time spent talking
about the weather, charged $60.00, so I don't think your plumber was
outrageous, but mine was IMO.

No, it was a very reasonable price. Check out what his cost is just to step
out the door in the morning. He needs a truck, about $15,000 in tools,
$5000 in supplies, liability insurance, taxes, billing fees, office
expenses, licensing fees, and more. See what you pay in FICA taxes? He
pays double that in SE taxes. He had to travel to your place and must be
pair for that also.

Tradesmen usually get from $60 to $150 an hour with a minimum of an hour
billing

"Ed Pawlowski" wrote in message
...

"Cheri" wrote
He was here for no more than 10 minutes max, including time spent
talking about the weather, charged $60.00, so I don't think your plumber
was outrageous, but mine was IMO.

No, it was a very reasonable price. Check out what his cost is just to
step out the door in the morning. He needs a truck, about $15,000 in
tools, $5000 in supplies, liability insurance, taxes, billing fees, office
expenses, licensing fees, and more. See what you pay in FICA taxes? He
pays double that in SE taxes. He had to travel to your place and must be
pair for that also.

Tradesmen usually get from $60 to $150 an hour with a minimum of an hour
billing



My DH has been self employed for going on 15 years, so I know all about the
expenses, trucks, insurance, quarterly taxes, etc., so no need to explain
them to *me.* Sometimes, someone like the plumber that came here makes out
because it only took him 10 minutes, and sometimes it takes close to an hour
for the same rate, that's life. I recently had a large oil company (no not
BP) pay me $1000.00 for about ten hours total of record searching floppy
discs, printing the info, and sending it on to them. As I said, sometimes
it works out. :-)

Cheri

"CWLee" wrote in message
...

I recently had a small job done by a plumber, and I'm wondering if I got a
bargain, paid a typical price for this task, or was overcharged. This is
in the greater Los Angeles area. I'd appreciate some feedback on the
reasonableness of what I was charged. Here are the details.

I had a 30-year old wobbly toilet. Plumber came out to inspect the job.
He said he would remove the toilet, remove the old flange, install a new
flange, and then reinstall the toilet. Said it would take a couple of
hours, and the price would be $250. I agreed to that. He returned the
next day and did what he said. It took him 1 hour and 45 minutes, 30
minutes of which were a trip by him to a nearby Home Depot to purchase the
correct size/style/type flange - different than the small selection he
already had on his truck. Toilet is now firm, and I'm satisfied with it.

Comments?

Thanks.

--
----------
CWLee
Former slayer of dragons; practice now limited to sacred
cows. Believing we should hire for quality, not quotas, and
promote for performance, not preferences.

I would have done it for you $200. Cash.

An hour of actual work, and less than $10 in parts. Yes, he DID have to
disassemble, and run for parts. For that price, I would have put you in
totally new kit inside your toilet, as well as the new flange. I hope he
used new bolts.

You could have done the same repair for less than $10. You need to learn
DIY'ing. I do hope you watched him so you know how to do it yourself next
time.

Steve

visit my blog at http://cabgbypasssurgery.com watch for the book

A fool shows his annoyance at once, but a prudent man overlooks an insult.

"Frank" wrote in message
...
On Jun 24, 1:46 am, "CWLee" wrote:
I recently had a small job done by a plumber, and I'm
wondering if I got a bargain, paid a typical price for this
task, or was overcharged. This is in the greater Los
Angeles area. I'd appreciate some feedback on the
reasonableness of what I was charged. Here are the details.

I had a 30-year old wobbly toilet. Plumber came out to
inspect the job. He said he would remove the toilet, remove
the old flange, install a new flange, and then reinstall the
toilet. Said it would take a couple of hours, and the price
would be $250. I agreed to that. He returned the next day
and did what he said. It took him 1 hour and 45 minutes, 30
minutes of which were a trip by him to a nearby Home Depot
to purchase the correct size/style/type flange - different
than the small selection he already had on his truck.
Toilet is now firm, and I'm satisfied with it.

Comments?

Probably about what my plumber would charge.
You have to consider their traveling time and initial call to evaluate
problem and give estimate.
Cost and maintenance of truck, insurance and other expenses of plumber
must be considered.
Couple of years ago, county strapped for money, imposed new $400
license fee on all contractors above what state already requires.
All these things add up.

You want to get cheap plumbing done, get some guy working under the
table and pay cash.

reply:

OR, if you want to get a beeswax flange seal changed, and entirely change
the guts of your own toilet yourself, DO IT YOURSELF! We're not talking
plumbing here. We're talking about changing parts. There's no plumbing
involved in changing a flange gasket. And not much involved in changing a
flange. And absolutely none involved in rebuilding a toilet.

Steve

visit my blog at http://cabgbypasssurgery.com watch for the book

A fool shows his annoyance at once, but a prudent man overlooks an insult.

"Steve B" wrote

OR, ... DO IT YOURSELF! We're not talking plumbing here.
We're talking about changing parts. There's no plumbing
involved in changing a flange gasket. And not much
involved in changing a flange.

Suppose a year from now I needed to change the flange, how
would I remove the old one easily? Remember, it is made of
plastic and glued to the plastic upright pipe that comes up
from the sewer line, using the same kind of glue that lawn
sprinkler systems use to connect joints and pipes.

I hope I never have to do that, but it sounds like I'd need
some tool to fit inside the upright pipe and then cut the
pipe. Then, since the pipe would be ending a few inches
lower than before, I'd need a way to extend the pipe upwards
so the new flange could be installed at the same level as
before. (The upright plastic pipe comes up through a hole
in the concrete slab, and there is less than an inch of
clearance on each side of the pipe and the slab.)

Thanks for whatever ideas on doing this that you can share.

I hope I never have to do that, but it sounds like I'd need some tool to
fit inside the upright pipe and then cut the pipe.

Dremel or Rotozip type rotary tool with a 2" cutting disc on a mandrel (cut
inside out) on the ABS/PVC

Then, since the pipe would be ending a few inches lower than before, I'd
need a way to extend the pipe upwards

Such fittings are available at HD..ask the "old guy"/plumber there..the
"kids" dont know anything

On Wed, 23 Jun 2010 22:46:24 -0700, "CWLee"
wrote:


I recently had a small job done by a plumber, and I'm
wondering if I got a bargain, paid a typical price for this
task, or was overcharged. This is in the greater Los
Angeles area. I'd appreciate some feedback on the
reasonableness of what I was charged. Here are the details.

I had a 30-year old wobbly toilet. Plumber came out to
inspect the job. He said he would remove the toilet, remove
the old flange, install a new flange, and then reinstall the
toilet. Said it would take a couple of hours, and the price
would be $250. I agreed to that. He returned the next day
and did what he said. It took him 1 hour and 45 minutes, 30
minutes of which were a trip by him to a nearby Home Depot
to purchase the correct size/style/type flange - different
than the small selection he already had on his truck.
Toilet is now firm, and I'm satisfied with it.

Comments?

Thanks.

Not bad at all. I'm not sure why it took 1.75 hours though. An
experienced plumber should be able to do this in 15 minutes, but every
job has its complications. Did he caulk around the commode? You
could have done it yourself for less than $20, it's a fairly simple
task. There are small plastic wedges, made specifically for resting
a toilet on an uneven surface to prevent wobble.

"Phisherman" wrote:

Not bad at all. I'm not sure why it took 1.75 hours
though. An
experienced plumber should be able to do this in 15
minutes, but every
job has its complications.

Here is what he did, which I reported in an earlier post you
may have missed:

The house was built 30 years ago, and the toilet had
required no work during that time. One of the two bolts on
the toilet which hold it down no longer was attached or firm
at the end below the floor. When the toilet was removed it
was clear that the original flange had just corroded away,
and the hole into which the bolt head fitted was enlarged -
so much so that the bolt head could not get a good grip.
The old flange was removed, which was the hardest part for
the plumber, per his comments. It was made of plastic and
I'm not sure how it had been fastened to the upright pipe,
which is also plastic. Eventually the old flange was
removed. Another plastic flange was then inserted over/into
(I couldn't see well enough to tell which) the upright pipe,
and glued to it. Then new bolts were inserted into the
metal ring that swiveled on the new flange. The toilet was
lowered onto the flange/floor, with the bolts sticking
through the holes on the base of the toilet. Nuts and
washer were applied, and after some shimming to make sure
there was no more wobbliness, and after ensuring that the
toilet was oriented parallel to the enclosing walls, the
nuts were tightened. Then the outside of the base of the
toilet was caulked. (At some point in the above process a
new wax ring was inserted - don't know its purpose but I
understand it is a standard procedure.)

Did he caulk around the commode?

Yes.

You
could have done it yourself for less than $20, it's a
fairly simple
task.

It took him a good while to removed the old, corroded
flange, and I'm sure he did it faster than I could have
done. I wouldn't have even know where the flange stopped
and the upright pipe began, so I would be very unsure of
myself trying to remove the old flange.

There are small plastic wedges, made specifically for
resting
a toilet on an uneven surface to prevent wobble.

Near the end of the job he made a couple of wedges from some
scrap plastic to do just that.

Thanks.

"CWLee" wrote in message
m...


"Steve B" wrote

OR, ... DO IT YOURSELF! We're not talking plumbing here. We're talking
about changing parts. There's no plumbing involved in changing a flange
gasket. And not much involved in changing a flange.

Suppose a year from now I needed to change the flange, how would I remove
the old one easily? Remember, it is made of plastic and glued to the
plastic upright pipe that comes up from the sewer line, using the same
kind of glue that lawn sprinkler systems use to connect joints and pipes.

I hope I never have to do that, but it sounds like I'd need some tool to
fit inside the upright pipe and then cut the pipe. Then, since the pipe
would be ending a few inches lower than before, I'd need a way to extend
the pipe upwards so the new flange could be installed at the same level as
before. (The upright plastic pipe comes up through a hole in the concrete
slab, and there is less than an inch of clearance on each side of the pipe
and the slab.)

Thanks for whatever ideas on doing this that you can share.

Do exactly what you did here. Research it. Ask questions from people who
have done it before. I think I may have discharged without fully being
prepared. Did the man jackhammer out your flange, and put a new one, or
just exactly what did he do? Or did he just put new bolts and a new wax
ring on there, or did you even see what he did? Did you see if the flange
was in terribly corroded condition so that he could not just put new bolts
and a new wax ring? Yes, getting a flange out that has been there a while
can be a booger. But it's done every day all over the world.

Steve

visit my blog at http://cabgbypasssurgery.com watch for the book

A fool shows his annoyance at once, but a prudent man overlooks an insult.

CWLee posted for all of us...


"Doug Miller" wrote :

The guy quoted you a price, you agreed to it, he did the
job, you're satisfied
with the results -- what's the problem?

I'm the OP, and I never said there was a problem. I have no
complaint about the workmanship or the price. My post was
intended to solicit feedback about the reasonableness of the
price I paid. So far, I interpret the responses to be that
what I paid was about right.

Don't look back; it is over and done with. Time to move on.
Having second thoughts? Don't! You could always find someone to beat the
price with wildly varying results. You probably found a good guy.


--
Tekkie Don't bother to thank me, I do this as a public service.