Was asking around to get some quotes for a simple 20 minute job for just labor and got back some quotes around $200

When did plumbers charge more per hour than lawyers?

I have no idea what you need done. But I have used Cobra Plumbing in Alexandria for years. He's dependable does quality work and charges a fair price. I have referred him to several clients and other agents and never received a complaint.

Plumbing pricing are simple.

Your quote brak down like dis:

$5 to turn the nut, $195 for knowing what nut to turn.

So if you know wat to do then you save a lot of money, otherwise go learn plumbing. Welcome to service pricing cheakyskate.

You are epic fail at home ownership, plz rent then call landlord to fix.

Remember that the job may only take 20 minutes, but it may take an hour and a half out of the plumber's day after factoring in travel time. Your lawyer doesn't have to leave his office so with him you don't pay travel time. Plus remember the plumber has to cover the gas, the van and the cost of all those tools.

fo-realz-dude Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Plumbing pricing are simple.
>
> Your quote brak down like dis:
>
> $5 to turn the nut, $195 for knowing what nut to
> turn.
>
> So if you know wat to do then you save a lot of
> money, otherwise go learn plumbing. Welcome to
> service pricing cheakyskate.
>
> You are epic fail at home ownership, plz rent then
> call landlord to fix.

+1. It costs money to hire a licensed professional to do it right the first time. I had a leak in my disposal, and the plumber that showed up knew the disposal model, issues it had had, exactly what needed to be fixed, etc. The part was maybe $2, and it cost $200 to get it fixed. It was done right and I was a happy customer.

Grow up - this is what things cost. Or do a half-assed job yourself and hope you don't flood your house. Plumbing and electric - much better to hire a pro.

What they all said. $200 to have someone come out and fix a problem isn't bad at all. Plumbers look at a problem and then pull out a book to see what they should charge to fix it and go by that.

If you truly think the job is simple, try to do it yourself if it isn't worth $200. But that $200 can turn into $2000 if you do something wrong and worsen your problem.

As a money management tip, along with regular savings try to set aside some amount, maybe as little as $50 a month to pay for (or at least pay toward) these issues that come up. Throw it in an envelope or something, out of the way so you don't see it or spend it.

A monkey could fix most home plumbing problems or for that matter run new lines. Go to the library, get a how to book on it and never have to put up with people acting like they are doing you a favor then raping your wallet before they leave.

My plumber charges me $50 to ring my doorbell unless its an emergnecy then it costs me $100 to have him ring my doorbell. This is frequently the largest item on the bill.

$200 to fix a garbage disposal? Sounds like your plumber has convinced you that he knows magic.

Very true, oftentimes there are vids up on YouTube showing you exactly what to do. I do stuff now I would have paid someone to do ten years ago because I had no idea how to do it. But the wisdom comes in knowing when to stop when you don't know what you are doing.

You don't need a licensed plumber for a lot of little fixes...

Are you just fucking around and calling the first big ad you see in the Yellow Pages or the ding dong with the best local SEO optimization?

So here's my own plumbing story.

When renovating a bathroom, I accidentally cut through a water line with a reciprocating saw. It cost about $40 to repair...

$30 for the pipe torch, propane tank, solder, and flux - it was an all-in-one kit
$7 for a pipe cutter that would work behind drywall
$3 for the copper fitting

Got back to the house, cut the pipe, soldered the patch in place. It took about an hour, most of that being the shopping part.

"$200 for 20 minutes of work?! I'm a lawyer and I don't charge that much"

"Yeah, I didn't charge that much when I was a lawyer either" said the plumber.

I basically had this same experience with Booze Plumbing (who incidentally is one of the smaller "better priced" local plumbers). 15 minutes and $240 later they threw in a new fixture. I was even okay paying this for their "expertise", but what got me is they put it in cockeyed, so when I eventually replaced the tile I had to resweat and straighten the original job to make it all right. If they had spent say 30 minutes to measure and install it straight they still would have made a killing. Do the research and do the job right yourself.

I'm a middle-aged female and I've started doing some of my own plumbing repairs. Started after Croppe-Metcalf said it would cost $500 to put in a new sink disposal. I understand that time is money, but that is ridiculous.

$200-20 minutes=hooker or Northern Virginia Roto Rooter, take your pick. Both suck.

Able Plumbing. Ask for Rob. I don't work for them, but use them when I have plumbing issues. Fair price and good service.

But yes...if it is a simple fix, do it yourself first...I only hire them for major jobs/issues.

Hire a plumber that lives in the neighborhood so they can't pull the 2 hour driving time and gas bullshit. Not my fault you live in fucking manassas plumber asshole.

many projects are very simple. I replaced the starter capacitor on my washing machine about a year ago. Cost $20 to do it and took about 20 minutes of time. Appliance repair would have cost at least $250.

Now where people get into trouble with repairs is not having the proper tooling (or any tooling). A pair of flat-nose pliers does not substitute for a proper pipe wrench.

I had an issue with my washer which required a very small shaft screw driver (the one with the very fat handle for better grip). I had a small driver but it had a thin handle and you could not get much torque with that. Finally had to use a socket driver with the proper attachment.

Many folks don't even own a socket driver and set....



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/12/2012 02:05PM by Viscount Monteforte d_Alsace.

Me Too Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I'm a middle-aged female and I've started doing
> some of my own plumbing repairs. Started after
> Croppe-Metcalf said it would cost $500 to put in a
> new sink disposal. I understand that time is
> money, but that is ridiculous.


There's your problem - Cropp Metcalf.

Any of the "big boys" are going to rape you. Everyone's best bet is to find a lone ranger type of plumber, electrician, or experienced handyman. They have low overhead and charge less.

__________________________________
That's not a ladybug, that's a cannapiller.

Warhawk Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Me Too Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > I'm a middle-aged female and I've started doing
> > some of my own plumbing repairs. Started after
> > Croppe-Metcalf said it would cost $500 to put in
> a
> > new sink disposal. I understand that time is
> > money, but that is ridiculous.
>
>
> There's your problem - Cropp Metcalf.
>
> Any of the "big boys" are going to rape you.
> Everyone's best bet is to find a lone ranger type
> of plumber, electrician, or experienced handyman.
> They have low overhead and charge less.


EDIT: I had an attic vent fan installed in my house 4 years ago. It cost me $550. The fucking fan itself cost probably 150 bucks max. It too the guy 1 hour to install it, but he had to cut the roof, install it and seal it. Sure, the labor rate on an hourly basis seems outrageous, but you can't beat experience for something like that.

__________________________________
That's not a ladybug, that's a cannapiller.

Warhawk Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Warhawk Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Me Too Wrote:
> >
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> > -----
> > > I'm a middle-aged female and I've started
> doing
> > > some of my own plumbing repairs. Started
> after
> > > Croppe-Metcalf said it would cost $500 to put
> in
> > a
> > > new sink disposal. I understand that time is
> > > money, but that is ridiculous.
> >
> >
> > There's your problem - Cropp Metcalf.
> >
> > Any of the "big boys" are going to rape you.
> > Everyone's best bet is to find a lone ranger
> type
> > of plumber, electrician, or experienced
> handyman.
> > They have low overhead and charge less.
>
>
> EDIT: I had an attic vent fan installed in my
> house 4 years ago. It cost me $550. The fucking
> fan itself cost probably 150 bucks max. It too
> the guy 1 hour to install it, but he had to cut
> the roof, install it and seal it. Sure, the labor
> rate on an hourly basis seems outrageous, but you
> can't beat experience for something like that.

The worst thing in the world is to buy a house from some jackass that thought he knew every trade. That's the house where you'll find lamp cord in the wall, ungrounded electrical, and fucked up plumbing. It's the same house that has two or three layers of asphalt shingle because the owner would pay up to do it right.

God bless you if you can do a job just as well as a licensed, full time tradesmen - but there aren't nearly as many people out there who can versus those that just think they can.

Plumbers==Squeal boy SQUEAL!!!!
Attachments:

If you really want to get taken for a ride call one of the big plumbing compainies and have them come out to quote you a new water heater. I was quoted $2200 to install a basic run of the mill heater. Price included the water heater. But still that came out to about $1200 in labor for a 2-3 hour job. Ha!

Excellent vocabulary on repairing. If you are interested in this topic, we have a swimming pool and my sister often uses a website where you can see service like this hot water system repairs that says about repairing process and service of it. Therefore, if you have a similar problem, use it either. Good luck.

Timothy75Cramer Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Excellent vocabulary on repairing. If you are
> interested in this topic, we have a swimming pool
> and my sister often uses a website where you can
> see service like this href=https://majesticplumbingservices.com.au/hot-w
> ater-systems/>hot water system repairs that
> says about repairing process and service of it.
> Therefore, if you have a similar problem, use it
> either. Good luck.

Eat shit and die spammer