connecting up a combi someone else started

[CXR100]

how do I price this up? flue comes out stone wall , right to the side of front door, around same level as top of lintel , so I need to fit a plume kit, never done one before , its a 42cdi , gas pipe is outside of property , need to run that for about 4m to the boiler . about 15 rads all piped up , nearly the worst piece of plumbing ive seen!! all skirting and everything finished, some pipes chased in behind them , heating is empty and untested!!!!!!! need to fit a condensate waste lime thing outside as plumber forgot to fit one, all area is slabbed up already! fit 2 new filters on incoming main, boiler all piped up except for gas & condensate, he wants a price for doing the gas , flue and condensate and commissioning & certificate, he understands I cant price on flushing & testing rads ect, ! how much??? I charge £20ph, these are the common rates down here for gas lads, so no comments with people saying 2k min ect! I really want this job as its for quite a decent building company , and his plumber has really pi**ed him off this time, so could be a lot more work for me! haha

 

[ShaunCorbs]

gas your looking at 2-3 hours + test
flue depends as you have to to take the old one out about 1.5-2 hours
condensate could be anywhere from 3 hours to a day depending on whats the ground like
commissioning & certificate i allow half a day

 

[newcastle phill]

I think shauns estimates are sound.
Id Price it in on that basis as these are a pain

 

[GrahamM]

As per shaun above would be realistic time to not leave yourself short. Not possible to just fit a condi pump instead?
What about the plumbing? If that bad could give you a big headache. Prob better pressure testing first.

 

[plumben]

If it was me i'd be straight and tell him that as someone else has installed it you don't know what's been done and what hasn't and it will all need testing and checking,

Tell him you think it will take between X any Y in time and you charge 20ph but it'll all be working and correct once finished

 

[Scott_D]

Can you get the builder to dig the soakaway?
Might need extra expansion for that many rads.
Flue terminal guard?
Lime scale fighter and shock arrest or needed?

 

[village idiot]

For a 42Cdi, I doubt there will be any need for an extra EV.
I will price job for minimum of £200 (and inform him that once appliance is commissioned any faults that present themselves would have to be rectified at an extra cost), only because you say there is a possibility of future work.
Personally, to attend and continue with a job started by someone else I charge £200 just to have a look at what they have done. Any defects are rectified at extra costs.

 

[hammers4spanner]

Bill him day rate plus £150 on finish for commission for example.

 

[CXR100]

I have never fitted a plume kit before, any idea how much they are? I need this, terminal guard, condensate trap thing & limestones, filling loop (such a good plumber he was he forgot to stick one in!!! lucky I spotted that fault!! as I don't normally have to look for it!!! I was hoping I could do the gas work , commission & get all materials and bill him £500ish then 20ph for any leaks - defects that the other plumber has left!

 

[CXR100]

forgot to say , its a stone house, he has done the hole for the flue but has not fitted it yet! he has stuck the flue 90 on top of the boiler, and I think there is a 1m extension piece in the house!

 

[hammers4spanner]

The minute you commission a system its down to you , why would a builder pay you after for any defects after your commission??

I wouldn't if i was the builder.

 

[ShaunCorbs]

The minute you commission a system its down to you , why would a builder pay you after for any defects after your commission??

I wouldn't if i was the builder.

thats why you type out a brief and make him sign it

 

[hammers4spanner]

As if they will sign , lost count of amount of jobs i have worked on where the plumbs has been stung even tho paperwork has been signed.

Depends how desperate cxr is for work £20 ph for gas work in your area tho ,which is where?

 

[ShaunCorbs]

As if they will sign , lost count of amount of jobs i have worked on where the plumbs has been stung even tho paperwork has been signed.

Depends how desperate cxr is for work £20 ph for gas work in your area tho ,which is where?

tbh mate im on about the same round here down south(london way) you can get more but theres loads of gas fitters round here and there not all good ones but at the end of it all people look at price and not quality

 

[hammers4spanner]

Would leave the trade if i was on that not worth it

 

[ShaunCorbs]

Would leave the trade if i was on that not worth it

sometimes its not sorry to go off topic op but i know of about 9-10 gas fitters within 10 mins of me, some big some small and then add all of them coming in from out the area you get the picture

so what you on hammers p/h?

 

[hammers4spanner]

I am on make it up as i go along rate or whatever i can get away with.

When i was contracting to builders 30 ph plumbing but it would fill my week up , now 40 or 50 per first hour then 30 there after .

Go on lame plumbs website have a look at his !!!

As he says less is more and we work in a low wage area

 

[ShaunCorbs]

I am on make it up as i go along rate or whatever i can get away with.

When i was contracting to builders 30 ph plumbing but it would fill my week up , now 40 or 50 per first hour then 30 there after .

Go on lame plumbs website have a look at his !!!

As he says less is more and we work in a low wage area

yea cant remember but sure its round about 30-35 p/h thats to joe public tho not builders

 

[hammers4spanner]

Most your work vi builders and developers

 

[ShaunCorbs]

Most your work vi builders and developers

and county council and then the comes out havent got much money this month to do x and x

 

[hammers4spanner]

Been their done that was forever skint chasing money !!!

work for myself now got it wrong initially but last few weeks nigh on got every jog i have quoted for and get paid !!!!

 

[GrahamM]

I have never fitted a plume kit before, any idea how much they are? I need this, terminal guard, condensate trap thing & limestones, filling loop (such a good plumber he was he forgot to stick one in!!! lucky I spotted that fault!! as I don't normally have to look for it!!! I was hoping I could do the gas work , commission & get all materials and bill him £500ish then 20ph for any leaks - defects that the other plumber has left!

Standard plume kit about £70 and plume terminal guard around £20.

 

[CXR100]

thanks graham , im only starting off , only evenings & weekends atm , im gsr in my own name and have my van and tools ect. I get a good wage during the week , so im happy with 20ph after work, I pick my jobs and leave the ones I don't want out atm , there are some guys around here getting around 25-30ph, but they are in their 50s , got a brilliant reputation , and years of experience over me, they will be in your house all day and get then job done, not coming back and forth in the evenings and weekends like I do! if I was charging the same amount as them it would be a no brainer , I would be sitting at home watching telly, and to me anybody saying they would rather sit at home than go and work for £20 ph needs to come back down to earth to meet everybody else again!! you have all been in my shoes im sure!!! there are people stacking shelves and cleaning public toilets for minimum wage . think id rather earn £20ph and have the freedom of working the hours I want and do a job I love and am passionate about!!

 

[village idiot]

Most your work vi builders and developers

If you are referring to my good self hammers, I do no more work for builders and never done any for developers. If a builder wants me to do any work (Have one booked for tomorrow and one in November), I ask them to pass my details to the customer, so I deal directly with the customer

 

[Millsy 82]

My brother is a spark (I know I shouldn't admit that) he works evenings and weekends and charges about £18.50 an hour. He's doing this as he wants to go self employed and at the moment he is getting loads of work because he is cheap compared to other local sparks, so he thinks he is doing it right. When I said to him about people mainly using him because he is cheap and not because of the work he is doing and that when he finally jumps in how many customers are going to stay with him when his price goes up to £25-£30 per hour so that he can make a living, I said some will a lot won't. So I told him to start charging more. He didn't listen to me but when a bloke he works with said exactly the same he started to take note and has started putting his prices up. And guess what he has started losing jobs because of it but he is earning more for working less and when he does take that jump he will be in a better position as people won't just use him because he is cheap.

I set up last year and I got my dad to find out what the going rates were around me and I put myself in the same as them. It's less than what I want to charge but I don't want customers who only want me because I'm cheap.

As for builders they are a law to themselves. They pay when they want/ if they want and they want you there at short notice or yesterday. Ask yourself why is the other plumber not there anymore?

 

[hammers4spanner]

If you are referring to my good self hammers, I do no more work for builders and never done any for developers. If a builder wants me to do any work (Have one booked for tomorrow and one in November), I ask them to pass my details to the customer, so I deal directly with the customer

Sorry bud was not referring to you not sure where the vi came from lol

 

[hammers4spanner]

My brother is a spark (I know I shouldn't admit that) he works evenings and weekends and charges about £18.50 an hour. He's doing this as he wants to go self employed and at the moment he is getting loads of work because he is cheap compared to other local sparks, so he thinks he is doing it right. When I said to him about people mainly using him because he is cheap and not because of the work he is doing and that when he finally jumps in how many customers are going to stay with him when his price goes up to £25-£30 per hour so that he can make a living, I said some will a lot won't. So I told him to start charging more. He didn't listen to me but when a bloke he works with said exactly the same he started to take note and has started putting his prices up. And guess what he has started losing jobs because of it but he is earning more for working less and when he does take that jump he will be in a better position as people won't just use him because he is cheap.

I set up last year and I got my dad to find out what the going rates were around me and I put myself in the same as them. It's less than what I want to charge but I don't want customers who only want me because I'm cheap.

As for builders they are a law to themselves. They pay when they want/ if they want and they want you there at short notice or yesterday. Ask yourself why is the other plumber not there anymore?

thats the problem if you start at 20 per hour then when you put prices up to a realistic level that original base will go elsewhere.

 

[firemant]

As I've said elsewhere, it is hard to get going. But £20 an hour is really not enough, when you are depending on it for your livelihood. Have you actually looked at your overheads? Work them out, then double the number. and you'll be somewhere close.
I don't live in a salubrious area, and there are plenty of £30 (or less) for a boiler or fire service guys around. I am over double that, but take my time, and get repeat business. I don't, though, work evenings or weekends. Have the confidence to make the proper charge - you will lose some jobs, but will be compensated by those you do get.

 

[village idiot]

I will put my hands up and admit that my prices ''may be high'. But as far as I am concerned, you get what you pay for. I may be wriong, but unfortunately, that is my belief.
I got a call yesterday saying: ''Pilot light won't stay on, please help, we are cold. Because it is a cutomer (merchant) I shop from, I attended. Well, boiler is over 35yrs old. Fault is a thermocouple, but I told her I will not be sorting it out.
WHY I hear you ask? Well, next to the faulty boiler was another newly fitted boiler (2wks old). I asked her why she didn't ask the person who fitted the new boiler to sort out the faulty boiler? Her answer? ''It took him over TWO wks to fit the boiloer and she doesn't want to go down that route again''. I left it at that but am convinced the bloke was charging peanuts, so had loads of work lined up. FFFTttt

 

[firemant]

Personally, VI, I much prefer TC changes to knocking my pan out fitting boilers and lugging rads around . So much so that I only quote for simple changeovers, and the odd rad swap. I make a decent living from repairs and servicing. But I don't charge peanuts.IMO.
I certainly would not have gone the effort of visiting, only to take a moody and £uck off with nowt!
But all to our own.