Cost of a Plumber

[liamm]

Hi,
Anyone know what the current rate per day is for a plumber? Doing an extension and want to add a new ensuite and some extra radiators so there is a bit of work involved?
Cheers

 

[allthedoyles]

In my opinion , it would not be great idea to employ a plumber on a daily basis . It could be costly , especially if the job lingers on.

Would it not be better , to get a quotation to include time and materials ( separately ) from at least 2 reliable plumbers .

 

[liamm]

Thanks allthedoyles,
I do intend getting a few quotes for the full job but still would love to know what is the going rate per day at the moment so as I will have an idea of what is a fair price.

 

[smalljobs]

more like €40 + vat per hr but if it takes a few days the day rate is normally cheaper around €300 + vat per day. polish plumber working for €15 per hr thats a joke hes on the dole has no insurance doesn't pay vat or tax and has no overheads. pay him €120 a day (thats €15 per hr) + he gets €199 on the dole and how much does he put back into the economy not much, most goes out of the country and back to poland. i dont think tradesmen get half as much money as they should. €40per hr id say is just covering the cost of the overheads no profit. every tradesman should be charging more for there skills.

 

[extopia]

Forgive me, but I fail to see the relevance here of the national origin of the plumber who is potentially on the dole. I'm sure that not all Polish plumbers quote the "I'm on the dole" rate, and I'm also sure that plenty of Irish plumbers who are on the dole would also be willing to quote a "nixer" rate.

 

[allthedoyles]

polish plumber working for €15 per hr thats a joke hes on the dole has no insurance doesn't pay vat or tax and has no overheads. pay him €120 a day (thats €15 per hr) + he gets €199 on the dole and how much does he put back into the economy not much, most goes out of the country and back to poland. i dont think tradesmen get half as much money as they should. €40per hr id say is just covering the cost of the overheads no profit. every tradesman should be charging more for there skills.

This is not about Polish or Irish or Dole etc.

We as consumers , have a right to expect value for money .

Regardless of the economy or recession , or whatever , we have to remain competitive , and that means ensuring our money goes further and lasts longer , and we should all expect good value for money always .

Everyone knows that the 'cheapest is not always the best' , and 'if it sounds too good to be true , then it probably is ', however if one qualified person charges € 50 per hour and another charges €20 per hour , and they both have the same qualification , something must be wrong

 

[extopia]

if one qualified person charges € 50 per hour and another charges €20 per hour , and they both have the same qualification , something must be wrong

Possibly. But greed should never be discounted.

 

[S.L.F]

15 an hr for a polish going up to 30 for a local

Not €30 more like €40 to €50 per hour plus for someone good.

Forgive me, but I fail to see the relevance here of the national origin of the plumber who is potentially on the dole. I'm sure that not all Polish plumbers quote the "I'm on the dole" rate, and I'm also sure that plenty of Irish plumbers who are on the dole would also be willing to quote a "nixer" rate.

Something should be taken into consideration here, my understanding on the issue (I'm open to correction on this of course) is that the Polish tradesmen while training are taught all trades, electrics carpentry, plumbing, plastering, block-laying, roofing and all the rest.

Basically a 1 year crash course doing all trades.

however if one qualified person charges € 50 per hour and another charges €20 per hour , and they both have the same qualification , something must be wrong

Ok 2 choices you have a man who has 20 years experience at all plumbing problems that you could possibly come across in a house, there is no problem he could not solve and charges €50 per hour but does things by job price not by the hour.

He is a plumber.

2nd choice you have a man just finished his time, has spent all his time putting in new pipes and systems into new build apartment blocks and offices, he charges €20 per hour.

He is a plumber.

Possibly. But greed should never be discounted.

Neither should experience

 

[liamm]

i dont think tradesmen get half as much money as they should. €40per hr id say is just covering the cost of the overheads no profit. every tradesman should be charging more for there skills.

If he charges €40 per hour for a handy 40 hour week thats €1,600 before tax. We're in a recession - he might have gotten that sort of money 3 years ago but not now. As there is a few weeks work involved I was hoping €200 - €250 per day should get a decent plumber, not a conman.

 

[gebbel]

I dont think tradesmen get half as much money as they should..

I had to laugh at that ridiculous comment. I can only surmise that you, or somebody belonging to you, are tradespeople. Wake up. People are now more than ever looking for value, as well as quality of work done. A plumber from Poland may be just as able to do the job as an Irish one.

 

[DavyJones]

I am a plumber and employ plumbers.€300 a day plus VAT is probably about right.

I pay some of my staff €700 a week, take home. Between PRSI, Tax , holiday pay,insurance etc they cost me about €1100 euro a week.
This works out about €220 a day before the business makes any profit.

People have no idea how much money small businesses have to generate just to survive, cheques to the revenue seem never ending. It is laughable to suggest tradespeople should work for €9 an hour or some other amounts that have been quoted here recently. After spending 4 years training would you work for that?

Go for a reputable company that will be around after the job is complete incase you need them to honour their one year warrenty.

 

[smalljobs]

well said davyjones
people have no idea of the expence it costs to run a business. you mention €300 a day and they think that goes into your pocket. your lucky
if you get half of that.

 

[S.L.F]

If he charges €40 per hour for a handy 40 hour week thats €1,600 before tax. We're in a recession - he might have gotten that sort of money 3 years ago but not now. As there is a few weeks work involved I was hoping €200 - €250 per day should get a decent plumber, not a conman.

Just to clarify €40-€50 per hour is for quick jobs you know the fix my leaking tap or stuff like that.

If you are employing a plumber for a few weeks then €200-€250 should cover you just fine.

 

[PADDYBOY99]

15 an hr for a polish going up to 30 for a local

Regardless if they are Polish, Irish or from ther lost city of Atlantis, make sure they were around at the start of the boom and will be around for another while to stand over their work.
There are a lot of cases of people having problems now with work that was done and the "tradesman" are off the scene, nowhere to be found. Its proving very costly to repair.

 

[MrMan]

well said davyjones
people have no idea of the expence it costs to run a business. you mention €300 a day and they think that goes into your pocket. your lucky
if you get half of that.

Goin by Davy'spost the greatest expense in running the business is paying the inflated wages to the tradesmen. They have put in their 4 years training which they are also paid for unlike most other professions. If the take home for the employees was cut to 500/600 per week it would make a massive dent in the business outgoings, make the business more competitive and still provide good wages to the staff.

 

[Cayne]

Just to clarify €40-€50 per hour is for quick jobs you know the fix my leaking tap or stuff like that.

If you are employing a plumber for a few weeks then €200-€250 should cover you just fine.

You argued tooth and nail yesterday on another post saying that an electrician had every right to charge €140 or so to change 4 light bulbs and a socket, which took just over an hour and reckoned that was justified. Here you are saying that €40 to €50 an hour is sufficient for what you call quick jobs.

So which is it? Do you have a bias against plumbers? Does the plumber not have to travel?

I don't believe €140 is far too much

Let me ask you a simple question

Where did the bulbs and stuff come from?

They don't magically appear.

The sparks had to go and get them.

Did you include that in your thoughts or did you think he just happened to have them lying about?

Something amazes me with this site people just don't seem to think.

Lets try a different approach' the sparks calls once to the house spends 20 mins getting there 20 mins looking at what needs doing then next day goes to the electrical shop then calls to the lady to do the work.

Would this now be worth a hundred euro?

http://www.askaboutmoney.com/showthread.php?t=108759

 

[S.L.F]

I think in this case what could have happened is the sparks was asked to fix one thing then since he was there was asked to do other things too ie buy and install bulbs.

We don't know what type of bulb was used or how many, don't know how fast he was or what he had to do. It could be that the main work was fixing the faulty socket and he spent 5 mins instaling new bulbs, we just don't know.

I totally agree with you on the issue of doing things for yourself.

I have no doubt that there are "tradesmen" who will rip people off but they are few and far between, they usually get found out. this is one of the reasons I'm very keen on referrals and asking for a home address from tradesmen.

I don't believe €140 is far too much

Just to clarify €40-€50 per hour is for quick jobs you know the fix my leaking tap or stuff like that.

If you are employing a plumber for a few weeks then €200-€250 should cover you just fine.

Cayne if you were a self-employed tradesman you would know that a weeks work is better than a few half days so if you are going to spend several weeks in the same place well then that's better again...

You argued tooth and nail yesterday on another post saying that an electrician had every right to charge €140 or so to change 4 light bulbs and a socket, which took just over an hour and reckoned that was justified. Here you are saying that €40 to €50 an hour is sufficient for what you call quick jobs.

So which is it? Do you have a bias against plumbers? Does the plumber not have to travel?

If the sparks had charged €400 plus materials then that would be a different story.

The key word in my post was

far

The reality is none of us were there so we can't say for definite what was done, my experiences with all trades has been we don't generally rip people off,

I don't do it and none of the people I use do it but the man at the scene was asked to do a job he felt justified in charging €100 for his labour which I don't believe was way over the top.

Had it been a plumber or electrician or plasterer or whatever I'd say the same thing.

If the job had just been install 4 bulbs and replace a socket I think I'd have had it done in 20 mins but I believe the job entailed more than what was in the original post.

 

[Smashbox]

Question answered in private so message deleted.

 

[DavyJones]

Goin by Davy'spost the greatest expense in running the business is paying the inflated wages to the tradesmen. They have put in their 4 years training which they are also paid for unlike most other professions. If the take home for the employees was cut to 500/600 per week it would make a massive dent in the business outgoings, make the business more competitive and still provide good wages to the staff.

The greatest expense in any business is the wage bill. I don't think €700 is an over inflated wage for these tradespeople. the guy's in question have many many years experiance in industrial and commerical "gaint" systems. they work closely with mechanical consultants and have to understand very complicated mechanical drawings where any mistakes or misunderstandings would result very costly for the business. In my opinion, they are worth their weight in gold, an asset to me at the moment anyhow. As times change we will change with them.

 

[Digger]

The Op only wants a small domestic job done ,so I would think they don't give a damn how many years industrial experience they have got. I know plenty of people who have done 4 years training working for at 500 to 600 per week. I'm still scratching my head at some of the wages that were made by trades people during the good times and who still expect to get paid the same while the rest of the country have had to take pay freezes and a drops in salary in some cases.