Fair day rate for a plumber

heating-eng

ashcroft121 wrote: »

But you must need to buy tools like all other plumbers? Surely your van depreciates too? It needs servicing etc and you must be paying tax on everything you earn. I don't see how when you factor all these costs in you can be making much money on this but respect the fact that it's how you want to run your business.

£120 a day over 230 days is £27,600, assuming you manage to charge out every day. Either your costs are ridiculously low or you would be much better off working for someone else.

Anyway, best of luck with what you do but I couldn't and wouldn't go out working for that money.

I would have the van and insurance etc even if I didn't do any plumbing. As I have said I use it for my property business.
I only work days to suit me and I would not be able to work for anybody else.
Thanks for your reply

Wiggy74

Wish I'd read this forum first. I feel I've been properly stung. Charged £69 ph + VAT. Took over 2 hours to fit new tap (was a tricky one which was why I didn't attempt it myself.) Tap:£40 Fitting:£250. Ouch.

docmatt

Wiggy74 wrote: »

Wish I'd read this forum first. I feel I've been properly stung. Charged £69 ph + VAT. Took over 2 hours to fit new tap (was a tricky one which was why I didn't attempt it myself.) Tap:£40 Fitting:£250. Ouch.

Jesus. Thank God it wasn't 2 taps :eek:

disposable_username

You always get your chancers with an invoice book and the magic biro but get a few written prices first based on a visit and the price will come down. £45 an hour is the speculative price, usually for the clueless customer. £120 a day is about right. And we all have to maintain vehicles/pc/office (joke, what office?) but we can't add those costs to our salaries can we? The senior engineers at work don't earn anywhere near £45

The bottom line is that families need hot water/heating and life gets unpleasant very quickly without it, especially in winter. There's the pricey plumbers's leverage.

Remember Harry Enfield's 'Loadsamoney' character? Well if the plumbers look up from their wallets for a moment they just might notice that we are dropping into the mother of all recessions and that the wise will tailor their prices accordingly because the party is over and the lights are back on.

gas4you

Just what I need today, a right good laugh :T:rotfl:

leveller2911

ashcroft121 wrote: »

Saw this thread and realised it is a bit old. There seem to be a LOT of naive people on here (potential customers) grumbling. In particular, one that made me laugh was the guy who talked about not wanting to pay a plumber £40 per hour.

A short lesson in business follows: -

Now I pay for all the following (genuine) business expenses: -

1.) Van, including servicing, depreciation, hire purchase agreement, insurance and fuel for the year. Depreciation is the largest part by far of this equation. Total cost £8,300.

2.) A modest budget of £1,300 per year for tools/clothing/PPE.

3.) A salary of £25,000 per year. I hope you will agree this is a fairly average salary in the UK, pretty much spot on the average salary. For this I have to spend my evenings doing quote appointments which someone on a salaried job doesn't have to do. I also employ an apprentice who costs me £6,440 per year.


5.) All costs associated with running an office, including a realistic budget for replacing IT - £2,300 per year.

6.) A budget of £1,300 per year for advertising, if I don't do this I don't get jobs.

The total of all of these outgoings is £46,300 leaving a profit before tax (at 19%) of £9,050. This is used to grow my business.

These figures are based on a real plumbing business in its 3rd year. In year 1 I earnt nothing, in year 2 I would have been better working in a minimum wage job.





Your van figures are as expensive as you want them to be.

I can't see any need for a small business of 1 plumber needing to fork out nearly £8.5k a year on motoring. I run an 02 Movano apart from diesel (£1,500-00 yr)it costs me £210-00 tax, £275-00 insurance and average servicing (incl cambelt change) of £225-00 a year so maximum is about £2,500-00 a year. My van doesn't depreciate much at all now.All vans depreciate most during the first 3 years so why bother trading them in again, makes no sense to me apart from like I said Tax liability. If you kept the van you could easily charge customers a lower rate but choose not too do so ,the truth is people like a nice shiny new van and like other people seeing them in a new van..

You choose to pay £8,300 a year basically to offset your tax liability.Your choosing to increase the costs of going to work each day, its not a necessity like Public Liability etc.

My office is in my home I claim for electric of about £50-00 a year, Laptop every 4 yrs so about £100-00 yr, digital camera every 5-7 yrs (£25-00 yr), printer £20-00 yr, paper,stamps,ink etc £100-00 yr. So all in is no more than £350-00 max. Mobile phone £360-00 yr.

To be spending £2,300-00 a year what are you spending it on?, if you buy a nice desk and chair every year its about £350-00:D:D


Just out of interest what are you spending the £9k profit on to "grow your business"?

Jeezus Ash its you and a boy not Carrilion PLC........

Philip64_2

Here are some quotes from plumbers in London SW18 (Wandsworth) form this week. To supply and fit a Megaflo unvented hot water cylinder (costing about a maximum of £1200), and remove the old cylinder: a total of £3800. (I did not accept this quote).

From another, slightly less greedy plumber. To supply a less expensive unvented hot water cylinder (cost around £750), remove the old one etc., seal the existing heating system and put in place expansion tank etc : £2123 + VAT. In both cases one (probably quite long) day's work is anticipated.

To supply and fit 8 sets of thermostatic valves to radiators; and to supply and fit one 600 x 600 K1 standard white panel radiator.... £625.25+ VAT. (About half a day's work). I think the valves cost about £20 each maximum; the radiator about £50. The rest is labour.

A complete rip-off? I'll say. But then I'm in the middle of a loft conversion; so people, I think, see dollar signs. In any case the charge for boiler/cylinder work seems to be about £1200 per day; the rate for changing radiator valves about £900.

If any qualified plumber out there wants the job early next week for significantly less than this, please do let me know...! (I'll check back...!)

heating-eng

Philip64 wrote: »

Here are some quotes from plumbers in London SW18 (Wandsworth) form this week. To supply and fit a Megaflo unvented hot water cylinder (costing about a maximum of £1200), and remove the old cylinder: a total of £3800. (I did not accept this quote).

From another, slightly less greedy plumber. To supply a less expensive unvented hot water cylinder (cost around £750), remove the old one etc., seal the existing heating system and put in place expansion tank etc : £2123 + VAT. In both cases one (probably quite long) day's work is anticipated.

To supply and fit 8 sets of thermostatic valves to radiators; and to supply and fit one 600 x 600 K1 standard white panel radiator.... £625.25+ VAT. (About half a day's work). I think the valves cost about £20 each maximum; the radiator about £50. The rest is labour.

A complete rip-off? I'll say. But then I'm in the middle of a loft conversion; so people, I think, see dollar signs. In any case the charge for boiler/cylinder work seems to be about £1200 per day; the rate for changing radiator valves about £900.

If any qualified plumber out there wants the job early next week for significantly less than this, please do let me know...! (I'll check back...!)

Been Fitting central heating all my working life, you don't seem to understand from your post what is involved And also what other items need to be paid for.
I could go into it but I really cannot be bothered.

Philip64_2

heating-eng wrote: »

Been Fitting central heating all my working life, you don't seem to understand from your post what is involved And also what other items need to be paid for.
I could go into it but I really cannot be bothered.

I'm eager to learn, but why don't I keep the issue simple by focusing on the third quote? To replace 8 radiator valves what would you expect to pay for parts, and to charge for labour? (The system will already be drained, but add that in if you like). Then add the cost of one replacement small radiator (which I was quite happy to scrap, but the plumber himself said would be quick and cheap to replace, since it only cost £50, he said).

The other jobs (for cylinder plus sealing of system) are more complex, of course. And there are expansion vessels to fit etc. But the prices for all these items are on the Internet, and they come to maybe a few hundred quid on top of the cylinder itself. Maybe there is also a little copper piping - and copper is expensive. But of that quote, how much is likely to be labour actually. I would really like to know.

heating-eng

Philip64 wrote: »

I'm eager to learn, but why don't I keep the issue simple by focusing on the third quote? To replace 8 radiator valves what would you expect to pay for parts, and to charge for labour? (The system will already be drained, but add that in if you like). Then add the cost of one replacement small radiator (which I was quite happy to scrap, but the plumber himself said would be quick and cheap to replace, since it only cost £50, he said).

The other jobs (for cylinder plus sealing of system) are more complex, of course. And there are expansion vessels to fit etc. But the prices for all these items are on the Internet, and they come to maybe a few hundred quid on top of the cylinder itself. Maybe there is also a little copper piping - and copper is expensive. But of that quote, how much is likely to be labour actually. I would really like to know.

Internet price are normally lower than a plumber pays from my experience.
Maybe you could buy all the items needed and fit them yourself.
Will save you a fortune.