The million dollar question? (Most profitable work)

[Jim Goodenough]

Morning all,

Here goes, the million dollar question....?

What is the most profitable work in this business (I'm not GS, so gas work is out)? My experience is largely domestic.

Any suggestions / advice welcome

 

[hammers4spanner]

Drippy taps imho in out and quick money , if I could get 6 of those a day it's ££££s

 

[Welder]

When I started doing 'little' service works in 1999 I turned over just shy of £100k in my first year.

We have a model. We reckon, travel management permitting, on min 10 tap jobs a day with the kit. So tween 6-800 a day if you did that amount.

 

[Harvest Fields]

I like taps that drip and new cartridges (Plumbing)

Boiler servicing (gas)

I have to write gas as it is my bread and butter.

 

[Best]

Has to be gas work.
New bathroom installs also good money, - that is why every other trade and non trade are doing them.
I rarely make decent money fixing dripping taps and it would usually be my worst paying job.

 

[hammers4spanner]

Worst paying jobs is anything were someone has asked for a plumber on face book.

 

[Harvest Fields]

Worst paying jobs is anything were someone has asked for a plumber on face book.

Don’t have that issue. Not on facebook

 

[WaterTight]

Dripping taps are fine when everything goes by the book which is probably no more than 70% of the time. Valve won't come out on one side, try so hard tap comes loose needs tightening, bolts rusty, too much crap in cupboard, tap is cheap and nasty so seating so bad new washer no good, get the ceramic discs out only to find they aren't standard or the old handles don't fit on the new valves and the customer doesn't want new handles and blah de blah.

Changing the tap is a better job imo because there is more room to make more money on the parts, it barely takes any longer and it will work first time every time.

 

[Old Account]

Has to be gas work.
New bathroom installs also good money, - that is why every other trade and non trade are doing them.
I rarely make decent money fixing dripping taps and it would usually be my worst paying job.

I have to disagree, I do not think that bathrooms make any money whatsoever. No one will actually pay what you want to earn in a week or two. Wouldn’t you make more money when doing 3/4 boilers in two weeks?

 

[WaterTight]

I've thought it through. The most profitable jobs are the ones where you charge the most money.

 

[hammers4spanner]

Bathrooms can be a good earner however many many builders and jobbers jump in on them.
That knocks the rate down imho.

 

[townfanjon]

Bathrooms by a mile . ( professional )

 

[Phil]

Bathrooms by a mile . ( professional )

I thought you'd stopped doing bathrooms John?
I do one after the other all year, mostly from existing customers local to me or their friends, then an evening/on my way home job.

 

[Old Account]

Bathrooms by a mile . ( professional )

Really ? What are you guys charging and are you going to do the whole lot alone? What is covered in the price you give to the customers? Which materials

 

[tomplumb83]

Definitely not tap repairs!

 

[townfanjon]

I thought you'd stopped doing bathrooms John?
I do one after the other all year, mostly from existing customers local to me or their friends, then an evening/on my way home job.

Yep dont do them anymore , but with the time they take ( done properly) they pay the best IMO .

 

[townfanjon]

Really ? What are you guys charging and are you going to do the whole lot alone? What is covered in the price you give to the customers? Which materials

Some people look at bathrooms like kitchens and will pay thousands for a pro job . Not everyone can do them to the required standard though.

 

[Old Account]

Yep dont do them anymore , but with the time they take ( done properly) they pay the best IMO .

Don’t get that to be fair. How much money are you guys charging for a standard bathroom refurbishment and are you doing them alone? Don’t think it’s worth spending 10-12 days for a bathroom refurbishment

 

[townfanjon]

Don’t get that to be fair. How much money are you guys charging for a standard bathroom refurbishment and are you doing them alone? Don’t think it’s worth spending 10-12 days for a bathroom refurbishment

10 days ish x 8 hours x hourly rate , sounds ok to me mate .

 

[Old Account]

10 days ish x 8 hours x hourly rate , sounds ok to me mate .

Right. Still don’t think it’s worth the money. Tiling is a hard and not great job to be honest. It also has to be all spot on otherwise you end up having trouble

 

[king of pipes]

Bathrooms and wetrooms in the summer boiler and system upgrades in the winter .

 

[townfanjon]

Right. Still don’t think it’s worth the money. Tiling is a hard and not great job to be honest. It also has to be all spot on otherwise you end up having trouble

Lol , I am not saying its easy , its bloody hard , I have been doing it for years , its a profitable job . Do you truthfully get say , 40 chargeable hours money a week . Because I never do . You do on a bathroom, you cant keep sneaking off doing other jobs , you are there all day everyday.

 

[hammers4spanner]

I charge grand a week to do a bathroom , sub out the tiling tho .

 

[Scott_D]

I charge grand a week to do a bathroom , sub out the tiling tho .

And the tiler charges you a grand for 2 days work

 

[Welder]

I just wrote about the issues, misconceptions & plain incorrect assumptions raised here.
Then I deleted it cos I plainly have no idea