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Average hourly rate for plumber


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Plumbers are a trade who have always been the most expensive tradespeople in the building trade and never short of work.

 

It has become a lot simpler in recent years with plastic pipes and speedifit etc but it is also a technical job with responsibilities. They are expected to be always available at short notice for what is only a small but potentially a house destroying job.

 

I personally think they are milking it a bit but I have to also give it to them. They are not frightened of competition but rather the opposite. If one gets away with say £30 an hour the others follow suit. Not like the stupid wet trades I am in. Hard slog, can,t work in the rain or cold and your fellow competition is so desperate and jealous that they will gladly undercut you to get the work and the punters know it. Come 40 and your back has gone with the tons of bricks, blocks and concrete you have laid.

 

Plumbers want paying to diagnose the problem and quote and so they should. Me, I have to diagnose problems on the excuse of a quote and after telling the punter what the problem is (saving the next bloke to diagnose) I have to quote and then let the punter "think about it" while they get other wet trades with no business sense to compete.

 

But yes for this particular job £160 seems to much. They have got away it and you simply spread the word and do not employ them again.

 

My current plumber is off here (JB), £35 per hour (ouch), I begrudge paying it but on the other hand here is there when I want him, on time, very good at his job, polite. I never have to ring him back and he looks after me. My last plumber bodged his £25 per hour work and it costs me dearly so JB in comparison is cheap.

 

Find a decent plumber, look after him and he will look after you. Just need to find one first but there are plenty on here with good feedback.

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You haven't said if the plumbers quoted her a price first which she agreed to. Also £40 for parts infers more than a straight forward job. These jobs could have warranted two people, £160 wouldn't sound too expensive then. If she didn't ask about cost before she engaged the workmen I hope she has learned a lesson and will ask next time.

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I paid £60 an hour, agreed up front, for a local tradesman to attend to a central heating problem.

 

He came with his sidekick - a Turkish kid who was thick as a brick and didn't know one end of a screwdriver from the other - never mind knowing anything about central heating.

 

Anyhow, the guy himself was good as gold. He gave me some good advice and helped eliminate the problem. He made two visits, both times bringing his daft mate with him, but he only charged me for his time.

 

I was pleased with his service and he charged me just for 1.5 hours which is the time he spent here on the job. No call out or fuel or anything else.

 

Sounds to me like the OP was ripped off but hopefully he/she has learned from it.

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Yesterday my sister had a plumber do a small job in the kitchen. There was actually 2 plumbers - a man and his son in law. The cost of the materials was £40. The plumbers also changed a washer on the bathroom tap. They charged her £160. I think this was far too expensive. What do others think.

 

It took a little over an hour to fit a new stopcock and change a washer on a bathroom tap. She lives in Sheffield 10.

 

£40 for a stop **** and a washer seems a wee bit steep to me. I think £4 would be closer to the mark.

 

jb

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