Do you need a hand?

[secret squirrel]

I think the problem is with work is the sort of work people want to do and what pays.

If someone wants a whole house heating system renewed, boiler, rads, timers etc there is a lot more profit in this than say changing a set of kitchen taps. Obviously. So, when people say I had to wait 3 weeks to get a plumber, what sort of job is it?

I know a plumber who will not touch the small stuff, just doesn't need it or want it. Thankfully. He gives these customers my number, in return, I give him the boilers (not the two legged type!). It works well, if he gets a job that is a bit too much for one, I take a few days out my diary and work for him.

He can't employ me full time (certainly wouldn't want him to, I like working on my own), even doing the small stuff. Lets say a kitchen tap, relatively straight forward with flexi's (if you use them) lets call it £100 job, it all goes a bit wrong, drain tank, air locks blah blah. Maximum half a day, so, £100 is good (IMO).

The problem is Jase that he would have paid you £100 and may not have anything else for you to do. So, in real terms your earning more than the guy employing you.

I don't believe what customers tell me, I've phoned 6 plumbers no one's interested etc. more like the customer won't pay what is being asked!

Just a small point, not wanting to get into the boring old debate, fast trackers are rubbish, I'm a time served dinosaur etc etc.

Although the older fast tracker has a lot to offer the established plumber, over a 16 year old muppet on his phone all day, unwilling to help, unreliable etc, there is a hell of a lot to learn the tricks of the trade, how to hang a rad quickly and accurately (not the college way), I certainly didn't get paid well by my friend when I started, I do get paid more now though, although still not £100 but certainly the knowledge, experience is well worth it.

 

[Hybrid]

Jase you need to take a step back and decide whether this lark is for you because SE plumbing doesn't seem compatible with your personality.

You need to take the blinkers off and forget everything you've been told by the fast track training centre.Now you've seen why we get so wound up by the nonsense the media spews about plumber's earnings. It's created a myth that isn't harmless, people like yourself are spending a lot of money for a piece of paper that's worthless if it isn't backed up with a massive amount of hard work to get off the ground.

 

[SafeGasInstall]

i will take you on mate and I will pay you £100 a day ,just contact me next year ! I will help you and i will train you up

 

[Phil]

22 browsers now, you certainly know how to pull in the viewers jase, ever thought about working for the BBC? :bucktooth:

 

[Guest123]

I was surprised at this post. Jase didn't appear "Plumbers Mate" going by his posts. Hope it works out for you mate.

 

[desrob]

i will take you on mate and I will pay you £100 a day ,just contact me next year ! I will help you and i will train you up

your been serious despite the fact that he's not worth £100 a day,i think this has got some thing to do with a thread you posted a while back and got a bit of stick for....?

 

[GQuigley67]

for a business to make 50,000 a year is perfectly reasonable, but you will have overheads to pay to run that business, if you run a large business with alot of plumbers and alot of work and you are the director of that company, then yes 50,000 a year salary looks about realistic, but thats not going to be easy.

 

[Guest123]

50k turnover yes, but that's not profit. Tax, NI, Corporation Tax, running costs take a huge chunk out of that.

 

[SafeGasInstall]

no one knows how good he is ,if I can I will give him a chance and if he is worth £70 he will get £60 , just contact me of the beginning of next year like 20 of january

 

[desrob]

no one knows how good he is ,if I can I will give him a chance and if he is worth £70 he will get £60 , just contact me of the beginning of next year like 20 of january

he wants£100 though...

 

[Guest123]

no one knows how good he is ,if I can I will give him a chance and if he is worth £70 he will get £60 , just contact me of the beginning of next year like 20 of january

I'm not meaning to be rude mate, but why Jase? What about all the other dozens of hopefuls that come on this forum looking for work and most are offering to work for free? Eh?

 

[SafeGasInstall]

I'm not meaning to be rude mate, but why Jase? What about all the other dozens of hopefuls that come on this forum looking for work and most are offering to work for free? Eh?

cos he will be in west london area !

 

[SafeGasInstall]

he wants£100 though...

so .....

 

[Noxer]

Goodluck jase, Dont know if your worth doing £100 for what you listed there. maybe list some other stuff to sell yourself.
can you fit cylinders ect.

 

[desrob]

how much do you pay the plumbers mate you have on books now

 

[dontknowitall]

There you go Jase.

5 hours ... loads of flak ... and ... bingo!!!

An offer!!!!

Hope things work well for you both if you take each other up on this.

 

[jase158]

Goodluck jase, Dont know if your worth doing £100 for what you listed there. maybe list some other stuff to sell yourself.
can you fit cylinders ect.

In last year I have,

Several Power flushes and own my own Power Flush.
test pipework and own my own Air tester
Radiator moving
Tap replacing
2 x Cylinder replacements
1 x 10 litre water heater install 1 x replacement
5 dishwasher installs
Immersion Heaters (replacement)
3 and 2 Port Valves (replacement)
Shower replacement
Fitted a sani-flo
Fit Magna clean filters
and many many toilet valves.

It is not a case of don't know how to do the other jobs, but a case of can not do, I can not touch gas pipes as not gas registered, I can not touch water heaters (over 15 litres) as not got unvented, I can not touch electrics as not got level 3.
I have always worked in construction since 16 being a labourer helping out with many trades. I started plumbing 2 years ago and found myself at a brick wall because I could not get an apprenticeship, I was told that I only had 2 years to get NVQ 2 so I went to training centre and got my NVQ2, now I am looking at my every day situation and feel that I am not suited to self employment, I am fully willing to work hard for somebody else and let them reep the awards. Although I do ask in return for a fair amount for what i put in. At the moment I am not making enough money to support my family and do not feel comfortable selling my services for £60 p/h when I am not as good as other plumbers.
I feel like I am stealing other plumbers work because I am going at too low a price and not providing a quality service, with a little fine tuning I would be able to provide the quality service that many on here do, but this is not something that is learnt in books it is something that is learnt by on site and over time.

 

[spanners1967]

I work for 50 a day and regularly do ten hour days... it's only wthin the last 6 months that i have started to be left alone on certain jobs (we do domestic and as my boss is ex british gas he does have old school high standards) . I choose to work for a fairly low wage due to the steepness of the learning curve i receive with this guy... if i asked him for a 100 a day though he would give my apprenticeship to someone else.... i'm sure

 

[Ian1964]

@system3
Yes, OK, I appreciate the 900 or so labour I paid these 2 blokes to do 7 hours of easy plumbing doesnt go in their pockets. They had some expensive gadgets to do tightness test, and emissions tests. plus the odds and sods they fitted.
I was just staggerd that 1000 pounds of equipment cost "me" nearly the same amount again to get it installed!

 

[SafeGasInstall]

that is a good deal you had there Ian1964 ,why do not you train and become a PLUMBER ? easy money mate lol

 

[desrob]

7 bathroom installs last year wow, not bad for your first year..!!..quids in.. no wonder your talking 3 figures

 

[Guest123]

@system3
Yes, OK, I appreciate the 900 or so labour I paid these 2 blokes to do 7 hours of easy plumbing doesnt go in their pockets. They had some expensive gadgets to do tightness test, and emissions tests. plus the odds and sods they fitted.
I was just staggerd that 1000 pounds of equipment cost "me" nearly the same amount again to get it installed!

I was replying in general about 50k earnings and not about your post. I was making the point that there is a difference between profit/earnings and turnover which are entirely different especially where earnings are concerned. Earnings are not what you take home, the taxman unfortunately takes care of that!

 

[sparra1100]

have fun argueing with yourselves as too bored now, playing with words is a fun game but not really my cup of tea,

How many Plumbers does it take to say No.........

and finally this one says everything we need to no mate

 

[jase158]

Can I just clear up, my theory was that

1. this is based on me working full time so £100 per day does equal £26000
2. the amount you would charge would be £150-£200 per day so £13,000- £26,000.

This was a theoretical amount, not an actual amount, there is nothing saying that you would need to employ me 5 days a week, but if you have this much work then this would be realistic for you.
Now my main point is that this extra money that you would be earning would be extra income to the amount that you were earning already.
Maybe I should of been more clearer but if I mentioned absolutely everything then most people would be bored by the 1000th line.
Yes i would be willing to do a trial period, but this would need to be set and at the end of it there would need to be some sort of agreement as to what they believe my services are worth.
I would like to get £100 per day but this is negotiable depending on my experience.

I do not live in a dream cloud and just to clarify a few things, firstly I checked on 5-6 training centres before settling for the one I went for, I checked how much plumbers were making before I went into Plumbing. I went to the training centre unannounced to ensure they were legitimate, I read forum posts on here about the training centre and I checked the training centre on the companies house website, so no not rushed into it at all.
Plumbers can earn £200 per day provided they are working 5 days a week, they can also earn more if they are lucky. There are expenses that come out of there income and there is tax to pay.

What I was offering was a second hand for people that are busy, I honestly believe that there are people who have been doing it for many years and they have built up there customer base and are busy all the time.
As a result I was offering to do some of the other jobs that they either haven't got time for or that they just don't like doing. meaning that instead of earning £200 per day they can earn £400 per day (theoretical amounts) so doubling there income. this would be minus £100 for wages and minus tax and minus all the other expenses.
The price is very variable as for certain things like if the employer wanted me to provide my own P/L insurance, distance to work every day, amount of experience I am getting and the amount of work i am getting.
if I am working 1 day a month then obviously I wouldnt want £50, minus P/l insurance, diesel, tools, I wouldn't be left with anything.

If I wrote on here that I wanted £50 a day then they would contact me saying that i would need my own p/l insurance, need to travel 100 miles a day i.e. £100 a day covers the worse case scenario so leaves me with some money in my pocket after paying diesel, insurances, tax, i.e.

I never expected this thread to get such a large response, I was simply asking if people had any work and im sorry if i offended anybody or upset people by asking for too much, but as I believed it Gas Engineers get £200 per day, wet plumber £100-£150 per day. I was asking for the bottom amount of this with my own tools, insurance, i.e.

 

[SimonJohns]

Plumbers can earn £200 per day provided they are working 5 days a week, they can also earn more if they are lucky.

Regardless of how much we WANT to work its what we CAN work, i could work 7 days doesnt mean ill charge £1400 to custards, it just aint that easy!!

the reason why people like yourself are paid so little is because its a balance, your boss keeps you in a job at £50 a day all year or he employs you for £100 a day for 1/3 of the year.

im not having a dig or being hard, its just ive had to work incredibly hard, meet people and get my face out there

even to the point that i had the bbc phone me up and ask me to go on thier programme! its all about networking, and if safegas has offered you a place then i would sure take it, and use it to its best. get talking down the suppliers, go out on the lash with plumbing boys etc. 1 pint will go a long way!

advice from someone who is stil very young and new in the game, so many not be 100% right and does take criticism from his elders, and would like to know if what i have said it right

 

[sparra1100]

Can I just clear up, my theory was that

1. this is based on me working full time so £100 per day does equal £26000
2. the amount you would charge would be £150-£200 per day so £13,000- £26,000.

This was a theoretical amount, not an actual amount, there is nothing saying that you would need to employ me 5 days a week, but if you have this much work then this would be realistic for you.
Now my main point is that this extra money that you would be earning would be extra income to the amount that you were earning already.
Maybe I should of been more clearer but if I mentioned absolutely everything then most people would be bored by the 1000th line.
Yes i would be willing to do a trial period, but this would need to be set and at the end of it there would need to be some sort of agreement as to what they believe my services are worth.
I would like to get £100 per day but this is negotiable depending on my experience.

I do not live in a dream cloud and just to clarify a few things, firstly I checked on 5-6 training centres before settling for the one I went for, I checked how much plumbers were making before I went into Plumbing. I went to the training centre unannounced to ensure they were legitimate, I read forum posts on here about the training centre and I checked the training centre on the companies house website, so no not rushed into it at all.
Plumbers can earn £200 per day provided they are working 5 days a week, they can also earn more if they are lucky. There are expenses that come out of there income and there is tax to pay.

What I was offering was a second hand for people that are busy, I honestly believe that there are people who have been doing it for many years and they have built up there customer base and are busy all the time.
As a result I was offering to do some of the other jobs that they either haven't got time for or that they just don't like doing. meaning that instead of earning £200 per day they can earn £400 per day (theoretical amounts) so doubling there income. this would be minus £100 for wages and minus tax and minus all the other expenses.
The price is very variable as for certain things like if the employer wanted me to provide my own P/L insurance, distance to work every day, amount of experience I am getting and the amount of work i am getting.
if I am working 1 day a month then obviously I wouldnt want £50, minus P/l insurance, diesel, tools, I wouldn't be left with anything.

If I wrote on here that I wanted £50 a day then they would contact me saying that i would need my own p/l insurance, need to travel 100 miles a day i.e. £100 a day covers the worse case scenario so leaves me with some money in my pocket after paying diesel, insurances, tax, i.e.

I never expected this thread to get such a large response, I was simply asking if people had any work and im sorry if i offended anybody or upset people by asking for too much, but as I believed it Gas Engineers get £200 per day, wet plumber £100-£150 per day. I was asking for the bottom amount of this with my own tools, insurance, i.e.

get were your coming from ,but doesnt quite work like that

 

[jase158]

Regardless of how much we WANT to work its what we CAN work, i could work 7 days doesnt mean ill charge £1400 to custards, it just aint that easy!!

What I mean is that for instance on 1 day you might get 5 small jobs where they only take 30 minutes each and you get £60 per visit, all done by lunch and you have earned £300, a boiler install might make £600 in one day.
But this is weighed up against when you are having a bad week and phone isn't ringing.
Pimlico Plumbers & BG charge more then £1oo for an hour but people still pay it. There are other companies that we have never heard of that are doing well too.
Just because a large proportion of us are feeling the pinch does not mean that every single plumber is struggling.
I was looking for somebody who has a lot of work and was possibly looking for an extra hand, or even somebody who employs several people and felt they needed another hand. however I think i was pitching to the wrong crowd

 

[SimonJohns]

not pitching to wrong crowd, just wrong pitch

you could of asked some of the long time posters if you could shadow them for a couple weeks
every now and then the odd "ooh let me do that, you have a cuppa/ smoke"
cuple of pints later and you may see yourself in a occasional job, but if not you have another contact, once they have seen you work they may also reccomend you

My biggest thing again NETWORKING

 

[GQuigley67]

you can get someone who would be able to do more than you for £100 a day though, £100 is too much

 

[jase158]

not pitching to wrong crowd, just wrong pitch

you could of asked some of the long time posters if you could shadow them for a couple weeks
every now and then the odd "ooh let me do that, you have a cuppa/ smoke"
cuple of pints later and you may see yourself in a occasional job, but if not you have another contact, once they have seen you work they may also reccomend you

My biggest thing again NETWORKING

Thank you, might try that with local plumbers

 

[SimonJohns]

Thank you, might try that with local plumbers

hope all goes well for you

 

[jase158]

you can get someone who would be able to do more than you for £100 a day though, £100 is too much

I was working with a chap for a few weeks before i got NVQ and I was getting £100 a day for labouring, the other guys had a few years experience behind them but no formal qualifications and they were earning £200 a day.

 

[tamz]

Jase your perception of how things work are a bit off.
Most guys on here are 1 man bands or maybe up to 5 guys.
A 1 man band will hopefully fill his week but most likely not. The bigger ones who employ people will still struggle to fill the week to keep everyone busy unless they have contract work which even that can drop like a stone with little to no notice.
For the 1 man band, if things start getting too busy, he may just work 7 days a week or pass a bit work to someone he trusts. The bigger ones will offer overtime to the lads for a short time or get an agency in (if they are brave) but if it is continual then start someone. Sometimes it is better to knock the extra work back.
At one time i had 9 men with me and made less money than i do now. Things are not always as they seem.

Your best bet would be agency work or looking for a job with a big company.

 

[SimonJohns]

I was working

says it all

 

[tamz]

would like to know if what i have said it right
go out on the lash with plumbing boys etc. 1 pint will go a long way!

Try 10 Simon :smile: