Plumbing day rates Rates

Discussion in 'Plumbers' Talk' started by David Thorne, Oct 9, 2018.

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Plumbing Rates

  1. plumbing rates

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  2. plumbing rates

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  1. furious_customer

    furious_customer Screwfix Select

    Not really getting at anything, I am just surprised that the feeling seems to be that a plumbers annual salary should be 60k.
    It just sounds high to me, that's all and i am pretty sure I have met many who don't' bring in that kind of money.
    Maybe it's very different south of the border.
     
  2. Jord86

    Jord86 Screwfix Select

    Certainly less for plumbers directly employed on PAYE, but for self employed sole traders with a good customer base and site based subcontractors I would say it's around the region. At the moment there's a lot of work about for all the trades, a real shortage of skilled experienced blokes, supply and demand is high, you only have to look at bricklaying rates to see the industry struggling for men.
     
    furious_customer likes this.
  3. Heat

    Heat Screwfix Select

    To earn 30k a year for a self employed plumber would also require the business costs (van, tools etc) and money to cover losses to be added.
     
    just pumps likes this.
  4. Dave does Gas

    Dave does Gas Screwfix Select

    Im not a plumber, I rarely touch the plumbing side of our industry and concentrate on the gas side, boilers cookers and fires, plus heating systems, solar hot water etc. I won't take on a job for less that £250.00 per day or £65.00 per hour for small jobs. Give that we all have overheads, Gas Safe registration, ACS requalification every five years with elements, Van, fuel, stationary, clothing, tool upkeep accountant the list goes on. Being self employed means I pick and choose my jobs to a degree. Certainly choose my hours and how many days per week I work. Given that I see nowhere near 60K per annum.
     
    Heat and Jord86 like this.
  5. furious_customer

    furious_customer Screwfix Select

    Yeah, my assumption was that we were talking about how much a plumber (the person) should earn rather then how much a plumbing business needs to gross.
     
    Heat likes this.
  6. Heat

    Heat Screwfix Select

    You answered exactly the question I was asking.
    30k sounds to be a fair and achievable earnings. I just added the thought that to achieve that would need a lot extra to cover costs.
    I find that people generally do not want to pay a plumber much if for a weeks wage. For small jobs they will be more prepared to pay good hourly rate.
     
  7. 14th edition

    14th edition Well-Known Member

    I am a spark mainly but certainly the plumbers I know and those who concentrate more on the gas side charge absolute min of £25/hr up to £35/hr. Sparks about the same.
     
  8. Dave does Gas

    Dave does Gas Screwfix Select

    Its because were skilled, we have leared our trade and rightly deserve a decent wage to reflect the amount of study and practical skills we have had to learn.
    You try and get a lawer or a dentist to work for some of the pay some of these tight arsed customers want to pay us.
     
    Heat and Jord86 like this.
  9. HarDeBloodyHarHar

    HarDeBloodyHarHar Active Member


    Don't you have to have some sort of qualification in English to be able to become a gas engineer?
     
    Heat likes this.
  10. kiaora

    kiaora Guest

    I was going to say, a spell check, fault, is no issue if you’re Boiler is not working?
    And supply and demand is the order of the day....
    It takes 7 years to become a dentist or lawyer, same time as an experienced plumber and heating engineer,

    Customer is not just paying for time on site, it’s the years of training costs and fee’s the establishment theives, gas safe etc charges?


    But I won’t
    Regards
    Peter
     
    Hans_25, Jord86 and Heat like this.
  11. The Teach

    The Teach Screwfix Select

    David Thorne,how are the votes working out for your post ?
     
  12. dubsie

    dubsie Active Member

    Hourly is expensive, I charge £70.00 per hour if they want to work that way otherwise I price the job up based on the job and give an estimate....I rarely charge more than I estimate.
     
  13. just pumps

    just pumps Screwfix Select

    *
    Is that a shameless advert?
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Feb 21, 2020
    Heat likes this.
  14. The Teach

    The Teach Screwfix Select

    just an advert,for money extraction but i may be ibcorrect :confused:
     
  15. Heat

    Heat Screwfix Select

    New member so could be.
    Not the sort of first post one does
     
    Last edited: Feb 21, 2020
    just pumps likes this.
  16. just pumps

    just pumps Screwfix Select

    Ok, however it stinks as a first post so wouldn't be surprised if it was removed.
     
  17. The Teach

    The Teach Screwfix Select

  18. dubsie

    dubsie Active Member

    For me to make it pay I have to earn at least 320 pounds a day so I tend to charge my work based on how long I think it's going to take me.

    No job is the same but with experience I've got very good at determining how long it's going to take and what problems I'm likely to encounter.

    Most days I'll take between 600 and 900 pounds but that's working between 12 and 14 hours a day. But I do get days where I make very little, thankfully not very often.

    There are a lot of hidden costs that people don't think about, van, tools, insurance, registrations, advertisement, my paid holidays. All this costs money and there is no point me paying out if I can't take enough to cover my overheads. Plumbing materials cost a lot of money so a simple job like fitting a gas cooker can cost over 30 quid in materials....then you wonder why the plumber is charging you 100 quid.



    Most people take paid holidays for granted but for the self employed we lose income so that is distributed across our year.

    Vans are not cheap, I typically spend 30,000 every 4 years...that's got to be costed.

    This year I've slowed right down because I'm thinking of retirement, but I say to people don't come into the building trade thinking you'll make loads of money. You'll make a living but work bloody hard for it.
     
    Joe the Plumber likes this.
  19. TheMorg

    TheMorg Active Member

    Do you make £320/day or £900!!! Also if you're spending 30k every four years on a van do you just drive it off a pier after the 4 years. You could probably look at leasing...
     
  20. dubsie

    dubsie Active Member

    I take up to 900 a day, that's not profit. To make it pay with all my overheads if it falls below 320 a day then im working for peanuts.

    If I'm jobbing there is a min charge then it's time and parts. If I'm working on a planned job then I'm working from estimates. Estimates work on the basis that I find nothing extra, like a new liner for a gas fire installation....

    A good plumber who is gas Safe will earn between 40 and 60,000 pa outside London. That's not a lot considering the hours and hard work involved.

    I don't think that's a lot of money to be honest these days
     
    Last edited: Feb 22, 2020

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