Wild plumbing estimate.

[J F]

If the plumber wants to stay in business he is going to have to get down to the $500-600 range for a job this easy, and even then, I would be tempted to do it myself.

This (and the rest of the thread) would be interesting to post on forum for plumbers, for the business owner's viewpoint.

 

[MasseyWV]

The more I charge, the more work I seem to get. I know it's not how it works, and there has to be a point of being too expensive, but I'm not there yet.

It seems counter-intuitive, but I've encountered the same phenomena when selling vehicles or equipment. If the price is too low people often don't show as much interest, but when the price is raised interest sometimes picks up considerably. Personally, I've always believed that it has something to do with the "pay more, get more" mentality.

 

[N80]

This (and the rest of the thread) would be interesting to post on forum for plumbers, for the business owner's viewpoint.

I agree. But a couple of plumbers have responded. And I want to state again that as cheap as I am, I'm not complaining about plumber's fees in general. They have a skill that is in demand...and often in immediate demand (when you gotta have one you gotta have one)...and its a skill that most others do not possess. They have overhead like everyone else. And they have to make a living just like everybody else. And I think they often get the same rap as doctors, lawyers and auto mechanics. Most people do not understand the nature of the problem that they have or the solution to it and so they complain about the cost. Unfortunately, doctors and lawyers and plumbers and auto mechanics often have a reputation for overcharging and sometimes that reputation is valid.....and so many honest ones suffer that reputation unfairly.

Part of the problem is also that amongst auto mechanics and plumbers (probably doctors and lawyers too) the estimates vary so widely that it generates suspicion. Why did one plumber give my neighbor an estimate of over $4000 while the next estimate was $2500? Hard to say.

And as mentioned above, sometimes you wonder why the low bid is so much lower. Is the low bidder sloppy or less skilled? Hard to know.

Being a tight wad I find the correlation between price and quality to be of ultimate interest. I will pay top dollar for something that I know to be better than the rest. But there is a lot of stuff out there that is priced high just to make you think it is high quality. And I would rather get caught paying a small amount for something that is less than average in quality than paying a large amount for something that is of average quality. At least in the first case I got what I paid for. To me there is NOTHING worse than paying top dollar for average goods, there is GREAT satisfaction in paying top dollar for top goods but NOTHING is better than getting above average goods for below average prices!

 

[J F]

Good post, George. :thumbsup:

 

[MarkV]

Have I missed it or is this the only quote you have gotten? I saw mention of the "other neighbors" getting quotes but not you. I would shop around. Maybe the guy is covered up with work, doesn't like you or there is something he sees that you don't on this project. Never hurts to get more opinions.

MarkV

 

[kenmac]

Have I missed it or is this the only quote you have gotten? I saw mention of the "other neighbors" getting quotes but not you. I would shop around. Maybe the guy is covered up with work, doesn't like you or there is something he sees that you don't on this project. Never hurts to get more opinions.

MarkV

He knows he's a DOC. and has all that $$$

 

[N80]

He knows he's a DOC. and has all that $$$

I got all that $$$ because I pinch it!

No, I have not gotten other estimates and I have not called the plumber that I have used in the past. So yes, before I do anything I will get other estimates. If I get an estimate less than $1000 and I'll probably bite. Otherwise, the doc is going to pick up his shovel!

 

[kenmac]

I got all that $$$ because I pinch it!

No, I have not gotten other estimates and I have not called the plumber that I have used in the past. So yes, before I do anything I will get other estimates. If I get an estimate less than $1000 and I'll probably bite. Otherwise, the doc is going to pick up his shovel!

I think your handy enough to do it yourself. It amazes me the things ( seems like easy stuff ) people pay me to do, because they don't have the confinence to do it. . That's how I stay in business & pay the bills

 

[N80]

I think your handy enough to do it yourself.

I like the idea of being a DIY kind of guy and I admire folks who are..........but for folks like me who will attempt things that maybe their friends wouldn't attempt.....there are always those moments of unexpected disasters that take a simple job and turn it into a nightmare. I can't think of many specific examples (my wife calls that selective memory because there have been plenty) but its things like stripped threads, broken bolts, not having the right tool or that unexpected thing you find (hit) in a wall or underground that turns a 2 hour job into an all day job. Or a $100 project into a $500 project. The fear of those sorts of SNAFUs usually make me prefer to call the plumber, mechanic or whatever. A job well done, by a pro, for a reasonable price is often as satisfying as a job I do myself.

Its a fine line between a frugal DIY hero and an expensive, bumbling putz. In my 50 years I'd say I'm batting about 500.:laughing:

 

[J F]

Its a fine line between a frugal DIY hero and an expensive, bumbling putz. In my 50 years I'd say I'm batting about 500.:laughing:

That's a pretty nice line to straddle my friend. We're all lucky if we can do so.

 

[Western]

It's nice sometimes to be sitting in a boat fishing or just doing something else, while in the back of your mind your thinking "This is great and my plumbing is getting fixed right now too"

 

[vtsnowedin]

I have a rule of plumbing.
"You can do it yourself,get it wrong, take it apart and do it again ,still wrong, take it apart and go get all new parts as you've cut the first set too short or otherwise fubared them, then do it right the third time using the lessons of attempt one and two, and still be cheaper then hiring a plumber"
Of course if you are a slow learner and fubar the threads at the beginning of the project or have to go for Fourths it would be cheaper and a lot less stressful to let the plumber have his way with your check book.

 

[300UGUY]

I like this: "let the plumber have his way with your check book"

 

[kenmac]

I like the idea of being a DIY kind of guy and I admire folks who are..........but for folks like me who will attempt things that maybe their friends wouldn't attempt.....there are always those moments of unexpected disasters that take a simple job and turn it into a nightmare. I can't think of many specific examples (my wife calls that selective memory because there have been plenty) but its things like stripped threads, broken bolts, not having the right tool or that unexpected thing you find (hit) in a wall or underground that turns a 2 hour job into an all day job. Or a $100 project into a $500 project. The fear of those sorts of SNAFUs usually make me prefer to call the plumber, mechanic or whatever. A job well done, by a pro, for a reasonable price is often as satisfying as a job I do myself.

Its a fine line between a frugal DIY hero and an expensive, bumbling putz. In my 50 years I'd say I'm batting about 500.:laughing:

Believe me. Plumbers get into stuff they haven't seen B-4 as well. We run into jobs that take us longer than we originally though it would.We just have to figure it out and, sometimes we just have to step back and gather our thoughts as to how we're going to make a unusual repair, install, etc,. When you dig something up that was put in the ground 40,50, etc, yrs ago, it's like opening a box of chocolats, You never know what your going to get

 

[CurlyDave]

This (and the rest of the thread) would be interesting to post on forum for plumbers, for the business owner's viewpoint.

I think the plumbers have to start getting in touch with their customers.

I may be a tougher customer than many, since I can do the work myself, and as I get older, if it needs more grunt than I can muster, I know how to hire day labor who can supply that effort at a reasonable price.

 

[turnkey4099]

I like the idea of being a DIY kind of guy and I admire folks who are..........but for folks like me who will attempt things that maybe their friends wouldn't attempt.....there are always those moments of unexpected disasters that take a simple job and turn it into a nightmare. I can't think of many specific examples (my wife calls that selective memory because there have been plenty) but its things like stripped threads, broken bolts, not having the right tool or that unexpected thing you find (hit) in a wall or underground that turns a 2 hour job into an all day job. Or a $100 project into a $500 project. The fear of those sorts of SNAFUs usually make me prefer to call the plumber, mechanic or whatever. A job well done, by a pro, for a reasonable price is often as satisfying as a job I do myself.

Its a fine line between a frugal DIY hero and an expensive, bumbling putz. In my 50 years I'd say I'm batting about 500.:laughing:

I've been a "DIYer" all my life but the past couple of years I find I am "checkbooking" things I "could" have done myself. I am a bit old to be crawling around on my knees or back under sinks and things. Current problem is my kitchen sink, My disabled wife started to fall last night, grabbed the faucet and somhow broke it loose underneath. Fortunately didn't cause a leak but it is now basicallyijust sitting there loose. Operational has to be held while operating. Task to day is to at least clean out all the junk under there and decide if I will crawl in and examine it. I suspect Iwill wimp out and call the plumber inthe morning.

Harry K

 

[buckeyefarmer]

My church has to put in a sewer line tap. The town code inspector is insisting we put in a temporary manhole to manhole pump bypass system on the sewer line while the plumber makes the tap just in case there's a problem. No one else in town has ever had to do this before, we are the first. Our plumbers estimate is $18,000 for the temp pumps, in addition to his work.

 

[kenmac]

My church has to put in a sewer line tap. The town code inspector is insisting we put in a temporary manhole to manhole pump bypass system on the sewer line while the plumber makes the tap just in case there's a problem. No one else in town has ever had to do this before, we are the first. Our plumbers estimate is $18,000 for the temp pumps, in addition to his work.

Codes and rules are always changingIe, what wou can do one month, you can't do the next.. Alot of places will let you run PVC for sewer lines. In my county, you have to use ductile iron for sewer.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

Codes and rules are always changingIe, what wou can do one month, you can't do the next.. Alot of places will let you run PVC for sewer lines. In my county, you have to use ductile iron for sewer.

It's not in their codes. He makes it up as he goes.

 

[kenmac]

It's not in their codes. He makes it up as he goes.

In the many yrs that I have delt with inspectors.They have that right. I had 1 plumber here, tell me an inspector made him re-do some plumbing work because, he didn't like the way it looked. Eventhough, it was up to code. Here we have the right to go over their head (appeal) to the chief inspector, but the original inspector will make you wish you hadn't for the rest of your life !