How much should I charge

[Aqua Mechanica]

Having spent my huge two year Plumbing career working on price for a firm, I don't know how to price my own job up.

My mate has asked me to price up a job for a friend of his. He wants me to fit a bath screen and a Bath Shower Mixer. How much should I charge him?

 

[johnmcginty]

Bath shower mixers are easy and the screen door will take you about two hours max in total if that I'd say if I wanted definately needed the job about £ 70 - 90

 

[Aqua Mechanica]

Cool, thanks, I did send an estimate off, mine was a bit steeper :-o

 

[johnmcginty]

Yeah thats fine price is always a very fluctuating thing , especially as I have not seen the job.

 

[emergencyman]

Q How much should I charge ?

A. As much as you can get

 

[johnmcginty]

I know this sounds bad but we are in dark times and that last statement is true , I often find myself charging more if they dont ask a price before I start........ or they live near a mcdonalds ! or am I dropping my prices for others just to get the job ...ah who knows.

 

[bobpape]

Most firms such as Pimlico Plumbers charge between £80 and £90 per
hour, Therefore I see no problem in charging £40-£50 if you are a one man band with no real overheads,

While I am here,
I have just priced to replace a 100m long underground water main with blue polly, from stopcock to stopcock, the job is in Seven Oaks,

Anyone care to suggest a price.

I will tell you my price after,

 

[Puddle]

Most firms such as Pimlico Plumbers charge between £80 and £90 per
hour, Therefore I see no problem in charging £40-£50 if you are a one man band with no real overheads,

While I am here,
I have just priced to replace a 100m long underground water main with blue polly, from stopcock to stopcock, the job is in Seven Oaks,

Anyone care to suggest a price.

I will tell you my price after,

Go on tell us, I know you what to
Have no idea what you priced job up for could be a duel carriageway in between stop cocks for all I know
Did you get job, with the price, thats the other thing?

Bath shower mixers are easy and the screen door will take you about two hours max in total if that I'd say if I wanted definately needed the job about £ 70 - 90

Taps maybe easy to fit but what about the one's coming off !

 

[johnmcginty]

Ok good point I did once spend about five hours getting off a bath tap using 1 can of wd40 and about three hacksaw blades ......point made

 

[bobpape]

Hello Puddle
I actually gave them two prices, I wrote
1/ Attempt to trace leak using a Leak Noise Correlator, This method does not always work, but the cost of hire of the instrument is fixed at £333.00 plus the cost of 2 men
allow one day to dig up and repair, Total £950.00

2/ Considering the main has been repaired in the past, the writer suggest complete
renual should be considered, this could be done using a mixture of moling and trenching at a cost of £2300.00

These are not the exact words used but any way I just got the go ahead for the
cheaper option,
Oh yes, It is a soft dig beside the drive of a house in Seven Oaks.

 

[Puddle]

Pleased you got work bob
Trust the person with 100m drive to got for the cheap option
As you say may not work or you may have more than one leak from old main,when you move it to repair could start another leak,I would at least get the hire money up front incase any problem afterwards if unable to repair
As although you have told them it may not work,customers can have a short memory
I would be temped to dig a small hole to uncover main,show them the state of it and then try again to get them to fully replace