Pricing

[brum]

With my employers hat on, yes I do, certainly round my way. That figure may be affordable for larger companies but certainly not for smaller businesses. With 30% on top that is over £145 a day, assuming the guy never takes a day of sick. Add on roughly £50 per day in terms of running costs now. There is no way I am going to be out doing quotes into the late hours to earn £45 per day I am afraid. My rule is that the business needs to earn 2.5x what the employee does each day which makes £14 per hour unaffordable for my business model.

I do think that the wage argument is probably one for another thread though otherwise this is going to go off topic pretty quickly!

I didn't know it as I am new to the job centre plus website but we got 10 applications in the first day for plumbers. A lot of them were guys with 30 years + experience. There were some really good applications in there to be honest. We were advertising at £20,500 to £25,400 I think it was. £10-£12 per hour I believe. It seems that is the sweet spot around Lincoln. Now I am sure things are different in other counties but not here it seems.

Hi croft was not looking for a row nor neither trying to be cheeky but thought employee wage is cica 50% of day rate,If not it certainly used to be when I employed guys my reply was meant in good faith ..brum

 

[PlumbersMate]

Even in Pompey Jon, as you know there is a big difference between landport and Southsea, or buckland and milton. I could literally throw a stone from my house - north and I would hit grotty council flats, south and I might break the window of a £million pound mansion.

you mean your conservatory? 🙂

 

[Ray Stafford]

The problem with these reports is that the few represent the majority meaning a barrister cranks up ten labourers average.

Sorry Jim , but the figures are for
median, not mean. Specifically designed to avoid the problem you describe.

 

[cr0ft]

Hi croft was not looking for a row nor neither trying to be cheeky but thought employee wage is cica 50% of day rate,If not it certainly used to be when I employed guys my reply was meant in good faith ..brum

No offense taken! I often come across as appearing abrupt on here, it's not mean't - I'm just ex-military and call a spade a spade 🙂

 

[Ray Stafford]

No offense taken! I often come across as appearing abrupt on here, it's not mean't - I'm just ex-military and call a spade a spade 🙂

i believe that the correct term is an "earth inverting horticultural implement"?

 

[lame plumber]

I had a man/men to operate any spades required if I happened to pop ashore when I was in the RN, made light work of any digging required. 🙂 Nowadays, I use a ground worker, costs more damn it!!!!

 

[Nostrum]

I'm in Plymouth and certainly not the cheapest but we get work. The last full pack we did was nearly twice what some are advertising in the local paper, 6 rads, boiler in a 2 bed mid terrace. ( average house not posh)

I usually ask at some point why they chose us, most of the time it is down to the way we approached the quote and have been told:

On time for appointment and polite
Took time to talk through the job (usually about an hour)
Detailed and clear quote with schedule of works.
Explained why I recommended the products
Insanely good looking

O.K so I made the last one up but people will pay more than you think, you just have to find the right clientele and show them a reason for paying a bit more.

You don't take your car into a main dealer and expect back street garage prices and like wise you wouldn't pay the back street garage main dealer prices. It's up to you to decide if your a back street garage or a main dealer, both get enough work to stay in business.

British Gas are usually busy (even in Plymouth) they ain't cheap!

 

[tomplumb83]

Some interesting posts.
Im forever being told I'm too expensive yet often hear of others charging more and doing very well
I try to stick to a rule of charging £35ph. I don't charge vat and think that's cheap.
My local garage charges me nearly £60 inc vat and they don't have to travel to get to me - I take my van to them!

 

[Paulplumb]

Some interesting posts.
Im forever being told I'm too expensive yet often hear of others charging more and doing very well
I try to stick to a rule of charging £35ph. I don't charge vat and think that's cheap.
My local garage charges me nearly £60 inc vat and they don't have to travel to get to me - I take my van to them!

Good point about the mechanics. Robbing bar stewards 🙂

 

[theanalyst]

45 per hour plumbing 60 for gas no reduction for subsequent hours no day rate as such. but price jobs to make as much as possible.

£50 per hour for gas work during the day, no reductions unless it's an install and I do a job price which often works out a bit less... £40 for water plumbing during the day.
Minimum one hours labour, plus travel time if its a way out.

It works, people pay it and they get a good quality job.

Pay peanuts, get monkeys. Never a truer phrase spoken!

edit// I charge a callout of £50 for weekdays 6pm-12pm, £60 after that, and gas and plumbing rates rise by £10 an hour.
Weekends, callout also goes up to £60 daytime and £70 after 6pm.
Minimum 1 hour labour for everything.

I make clear to people my rates pre callout and refer them to my website which has all prices down to the penny. I make people aware of the charges before I go out to them...they always are happy that some poor sod will come at midnight ona saturday...

I get quite a large amount of callouts, and as many will know they are often a PITA. So you earn the money at those times of night very often!

In fact I often swear Im going to stop doing them after particularly bad ones (like Landlord property with scummy tennants in ****sville, with a burst lead pipe buried in the wall, 2 am, and the tennants demanding they have the water back on before I go.. lol) .. but I'm a tight wad so I keep doing them when I can't duck them

 

[tomplumb83]

Where abouts are you theanalyst - North, south, middle?

 

[Spiritof'76]

All this crazy talk of £200 a day...... I know decorators and general handymen that are charging this per day !
Not putting decorators down as it's a skilled job but they're not being raped for thousands on qualifications every 5 years and GSR every year plus their liability insurance must be lower when the worst you can do is spill paint down the stairs rather than blowing the place up with a gas explosion !!
All that said,sometimes £200 or less is all I can achieve in a day 🙁

 

[Paulplumb]

All this crazy talk of £200 a day...... I know decorators and general handymen that are charging this per day !
Not putting decorators down as it's a skilled job but they're not being raped for thousands on qualifications every 5 years and GSR every year plus their liability insurance must be lower when the worst you can do is spill paint down the stairs rather than blowing the place up with a gas explosion !!
All that said,sometimes £200 or less is all I can achieve in a day 🙁

You know what they say though. If you can pi55 you can paint :smile5:

 

[kay-jay]

You know what they say though. If you can pi55 you can paint :smile5:

You can even paint with a colostomy bag[emoji38]

 

[Irish]

You can even paint with a colostomy bag[emoji38]

Yeah but who wants brown walls?? It's not the 70s man!

 

[kay-jay]

Yeah but who wants brown walls?? It's not the 70s man!

im from bolton, we are still looking forward to the seventies!

 

[Ted808]

I can live quite comfortably on 500 a week although I prefer 1200 a week .

The govt will be keeping me in old age regardless

Don't count on it hammers4spanner.... the person who decided to raise the retirement age, works in an office!

 

[brum]

Listen to this then boys old bathroom out strip tiles and paper repipe bathroom fit corner bath tray and enclosure wc plus a semi ped basin on solid wall inc raggle wall wall tiles 19 m2 floor tiles 17 m2 this includes hallway floor also inc ply to floor plus replace a radiator for towel rail everything in bathroom is in a different location.Client supplying ware and taps plus rad only.Client also to supply ply,addy grout.
Put in a price of 1815.00 based on schedule of rates I use which I think are very cheap but will be app
7-8 days work.iend She turns out to be QS for local builder drives a Lexus sportscar her boyfriend is a maintenance man who could do job himself but hes not here she thinks tiling should be 20 per m2
she wants me to split quote the only thing I want to split is her...Not in that way but run..brum

 

[helpsy]

You know what they say though. If you can pi55 you can paint :smile5:

Obviously the bloke who painted my place needs an op in the end of his cock to help relieve the pressure!

 

[Masood]

Listen to this then boys old bathroom out strip tiles and paper repipe bathroom fit corner bath tray and enclosure wc plus a semi ped basin on solid wall inc raggle wall wall tiles 19 m2 floor tiles 17 m2 this includes hallway floor also inc ply to floor plus replace a radiator for towel rail everything in bathroom is in a different location.Client supplying ware and taps plus rad only.Client also to supply ply,addy grout.
Put in a price of 1815.00 based on schedule of rates I use which I think are very cheap but will be app
7-8 days work.iend She turns out to be QS for local builder drives a Lexus sportscar her boyfriend is a maintenance man who could do job himself but hes not here she thinks tiling should be 20 per m2
she wants me to split quote the only thing I want to split is her...Not in that way but run..brum

That one's got trouble written all over it Brum! Being a QS she will of course know it all and be telling you how to do your job, and how you've done it all wrong. And he will feel belittled that you are doing the work at his burd's place so he'll be slagging your work off left right and centre to make himself feel more manly...