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plumber woes

hvtrimguy | Posted in Business on September 14, 2007 05:55am

I recently hired a new plumber (haven’t had a lot of luck finding a good one). This company does hvac and plumbing. First day I had the plumber move pipes in the basement for me so I could frame in a new stairwell. He came looked at it , made a material list and came back. power went out and he worked by flashlight. took him 5 hours with a helper for all that. I figured with the power outage I’d give him a nother chance since my opinion is it was a 2 – 3 hour job. Second time he roughed in from the basement upo through the floor and the cabinet in the new kitchen, installed the faucet/sprayer in the granite top, installed the drain baskets and traps, installed and hooked up the dishwasher (bosch), re – connected the gas range to existing pipe. Took him and a helper all day. and he still had to come back in the morning for a couple hours to finish. I feel like I’m getting milked. I’m about to dispute this with the owner of the company but would like your opinions on how much time you would estimate. Maybe I’m just low on my estimate.

The plumber himself was neat, wanted to do things the right way, was nice to be on a job with, stayed busy the whole time (2 smoke breaks and 15 min. lunch). So Is he just slow? or am I expecting too much.

“it aint the work I mind,
It’s the feeling of falling further behind.”

Bozini Latini

www.ingrainedwoodworking.com

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Replies

  1. davidmeiland | Sep 14, 2007 06:02am | #1

    It's hard to say from your description. If you've done much plumbing you should have a good feel for how long things take. If you've hired a lot of plumbers then the same should apply. Is this a job where you bid the work but are hiring the trades T&M?

    1. hvtrimguy | Sep 14, 2007 06:15am | #2

      small jobs I bid and hire trades t and m. most of the time I'm on or over. Bigger jobs I get numbers from the subs. I think the job should have taken as long as it did if he had no helper, but he had a helper and things didn't go any faster. I like helpers myself but I have to justify them when I bill
      "it aint the work I mind,
      It's the feeling of falling further behind."Bozini Latinihttp://www.ingrainedwoodworking.com

      1. Clear_River_Construction | Sep 14, 2007 06:21am | #3

        perhaps you would be happier if you just did this work yourselftry it next time, and keep a record of how long it took you, so you can beat yourself upi'll bet people are standing in line to do your " three hour job's "

        Edited 9/13/2007 11:31 pm ET by Clear_River_Construction

      2. eleft | Sep 15, 2007 04:29am | #10

        Patience, grasshopper.

        1. hvtrimguy | Sep 17, 2007 04:29am | #15

          thank you"it aint the work I mind,
          It's the feeling of falling further behind."Bozini Latinihttp://www.ingrainedwoodworking.com

  2. User avater
    SamT | Sep 14, 2007 06:59am | #4

    So Is he just slow? or am I expecting too much.

    Impossible to say.

    Count the couplings and elbows. Count the Tee's. Count threaded connections.

    I would say an upper limit would be 10 mins for C's & E's, 15 for Tee's, and 3 for threads.

    SamT

    1. davidmeiland | Sep 14, 2007 07:46am | #5

      Sam, do those numbers apply while standing upright in clean, well-lit space working at chest level with no obstructions and the truck is 20 feet away... or do they apply while hanging upside down in a spider-filled crawl space that's 18" high and there are five dead cats within arm's length and the truck is 200 feet away and all of the pipes are dripping and the insulation is sagging in your face?

      1. User avater
        SamT | Sep 14, 2007 02:06pm | #6

        The first. There are no numbers for the latter LOLSamT

  3. Schelling | Sep 14, 2007 02:33pm | #7

    These are plumber woes? Plumber woes are when the guys don't show either for the job or to fix a problem. Or when you do the job yourself.

    "haven't had a lot of luck finding a good one"

    You want someone who is good and cheap.  You will need a lot of luck finding that person. A good plumber is well worth the price. You should know this and the customer will pay in any event.

  4. DonNH | Sep 14, 2007 08:12pm | #8

    If you think you have a reasonable relationship with the owner of the company, I'd say have a chat with him.  Start off with the positives - that the attitude & work ethic was good, etc.

    But, you're a little unsure of whether his speed is adequate, and you'd like his thoughts.

    Might be that the guy is being extra careful, trying to make sure he does a good job for you, and will move a little faster once he's figured out his relationship with you.

     

    Don

    1. hvtrimguy | Sep 17, 2007 04:16am | #13

      you are thinking along the same lines I have been. I was going to have a chat with him because I have two larger jobs coming up. I guess my only real fear is that he gave me a number and when he actually does the work he is going to tag me with a ton of extras. I could be wrong but like I said in the past I've been billed hard by other plumbers in the past. This guy is charging me $95 / hours for his lead guy and $65 hr for his helper. I'm doing well when I'm making $50.00 for my own labor. I just think for rates like that, the guys should be cruising through the work like it's as nautural as tying shoes. this guy was looking for tools on the truck, missing stuff he needed even though he made a list from a previous visit, etc."it aint the work I mind,
      It's the feeling of falling further behind."Bozini Latinihttp://www.ingrainedwoodworking.com

  5. peteshlagor | Sep 14, 2007 10:10pm | #9

    Does everything work?

    If so, I believe you're luckier than a pig in sh!d.  You got the work done.  The alternative was getting a guy who would bid the job for twice as much and take half as long.

    The guy has kids that need shoes, too.

     

    1. dug | Sep 15, 2007 05:18am | #11

        The alternative was getting a guy who would bid the job for twice as much and take half as long.

          Thats exactly what I was thinking.  We as carpenter/ builders will never get comfortable with the hr. rates that plumbers can charge but...

        A good bath remodel job will provide me/us with 2 to 4 weeks of work. My plumber is also an electrician and the same bath remodel will provide him with maybe 1 day for him and a helper.

        Point is, they have to "hunt" work more than we do.

         Good ones are usually worth what they charge.....but I'm still just a little jealous.

         I do prefer the smell of sawdust at the end of the day though :)

         dug

      1. roger g | Sep 15, 2007 04:52pm | #12

        "A good bath remodel job will provide me/us with 2 to 4 weeks of work. My plumber is also an electrician and the same bath remodel will provide him with maybe 1 day for him and a helper.

          Point is, they have to "hunt" work more than we do."

         

        So very true. That's the reason a lot of renovators like me/you try to do as many things as possible. Maybe not quite as good as people who do the same thing day in and day out but pretty darn good. Not only are we generally cheaper than the "professionals" but we don't have to wait for these guys to  maybe show up. Extremely important when a family is waiting to use the only bathroom.

         

        roger

    2. hvtrimguy | Sep 17, 2007 04:18am | #14

      I think the guy who did the actual work was paid a minimal rate because he's telling me about all the side jobs he does to get by. It's the owner of the company that I think is cashing in."it aint the work I mind,
      It's the feeling of falling further behind."Bozini Latinihttp://www.ingrainedwoodworking.com

      1. peteshlagor | Sep 17, 2007 04:58am | #16

        Bingo!

         

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