Plumbing maintenance work only

[armyash]

Who here makes a living carrying out maintenance work only?

i know when money has to be made most of us would be prepared to do pretty much anything but who gets by replacing siphons, stopcocks etc?

hard to do I imagine but I know some guys who hate any type of install work.

 

[lame plumber]

not enough call for plumbing installs and maintenance down here to earn a living

 

[woodsy]

Agree that I dont think most people can survive on maintenance for the domestic customer only as generally a lot of my maintenance is either for the older end or after have a go heroes, but good for filling part of the odd day in. Maintenance for most other commercial housing etc generally on fixed price ( generally poor as well )

 

[armyash]

So for those guys who don't do any gas work, do you have to rely on bathroom and kitchen fitting? Or where do you earn your money?

 

[Chalked]

Hate maintainance.
Installs only for me

 

[armyash]

Hate maintainance.
Installs only for me

What do you do? Bathrooms?

 

[Dotty]

Maintenance only for me but then my works all commercial.

 

[dave1]

I do a lot of domestic maintenance.

 

[hammers4spanner]

i do quite a bit of the small silly stuff no one else wants , 50 quid a time , easy money usually

 

[JCplumb]

I can tick by nicely on maintenance but it's hard to get enough of them in a week to make decent money.
If I can get a decent bathroom in every 2-3 weeks I'm happy doing half days on maintenance the rest of the time.
Don't know what the going rate is round the country but here it's about £60 to change a syphon or fill valve, so you could make a grand a week (before business/running costs) doing 4 syphons a day. The trick is finding a way to get 4 syphon jobs a day for 5 days a week, I still haven't perfected that trick...

 

[thereisawizza]

I think even "easy" maintenance would get boring after a while! A good mixture is what you need

 

[hammers4spanner]

I think even "easy" maintenance would get boring after a while! A good mixture is what you need

I would disagree as leave house late and home early

 

[Millsy 82]

If I could get 5 boiler services or breakdowns a day I would be happy. Easy money and only half a day.

 

[hammers4spanner]

You can't do 5 boiler services in half a day lol

 

[thereisawizza]

Are we talking services or BG services?

 

[PlumbersMate]

When I first set up on my own few years ago I managed to live off maintenance only. Only things I installed were taps/showers etc wasn't making a killing but for someone just starting out £500 roughly per week was ok

 

[markfxy]

Mostly new builds and the occasional bathroom for me I like maintenance work it's just the customers I don't like:83:

 

[Millsy 82]

You can't do 5 boiler services in half a day lol

Yeah you can easily.

It's installing a boiler in a day that I can't do lol.

 

[ShaunCorbs]

Yeah you can easily.

It's installing a boiler in a day that I can't do lol.

what full burner out and clean, new inhb and all the normal stuff

 

[Millsy 82]

Inhb?

If the burner needs to come out not a problem, 3/4 hr most boilers. So as long as not too much driving I between easy.

 

[ShaunCorbs]

Inhb?

If the burner needs to come out not a problem, 3/4 hr most boilers. So as long as not too much driving I between easy.

inhibitor

and hows 3/4 hours on one boiler do 5 in half a day ?

 

[Millsy 82]

Well done by 1 which to me is half a day.

 

[ShaunCorbs]

Well done by 1 which to me is half a day.

? my math maybe wrong but 4x5 = 20hours

 

[Millsy 82]

Three quarters of an hour lol. If I could charge enough to justify spending 4 hours servicing a boiler I'd be happy.

 

[rpm]

You can't do 5 boiler services in half a day lol

I was doing a sani service the other month and the BG lad serviced the boiler in 35 minutes of which 5 minutes of that was paperwork and I swear he used no more than 4 different tools.

 

[Best]

Maintenance work can actually be quite skilful. It is much harder to undo someone else's work and repair it usually.
I find people who have had a nightmare of a plumbing job often regard me as a professional (however right or wrong that is! :smile when they get me as the final person to try and work miracles. It is very nice sometimes to enlighten people for the first time to properly explain all the faults and how it should be done.

 

[armyash]

Some interesting replies.

I have been in my current job 12months doing 95% maintenance and I have learnt so much. More in the last 12 months than the previous 3 years combined.

 

[Best]

You do learn so much from doing maintenance work I think. It shows you how others do work (good or bad) and what materials. It also teaches you the lifespan of materials and which to avoid.
Although variable, it can however be a lazy type of work. Going to fix a push button toilet just isn't going to raise a sweat

 

[REDSAW]

not enough call for plumbing installs and maintenance down here to earn a living

yer, its just a pop down to the nearest arkwrights for a new galv pail n tin bath.lol

95% of my work is maintenance and inspection reports for claims through a couple of national and local co/s (not cp12's) but some servicing. but you take what you can get while the sun shines.

 

[armyash]

You do learn so much from doing maintenance work I think. It shows you how others do work (good or bad) and what materials. It also teaches you the lifespan of materials and which to avoid.
Although variable, it can however be a lazy type of work. Going to fix a push button toilet just isn't going to raise a sweat

You're right, some weeks I'm exhausted because of the driving and long hours. Not the actual work I do.

 

[REDSAW]

You do learn so much from doing maintenance work I think. It shows you how others do work (good or bad) and what materials. It also teaches you the lifespan of materials and which to avoid.
Although variable, it can however be a lazy type of work. Going to fix a push button toilet just isn't going to raise a sweat

last job today on way home, replace fill spout (the plastic bit the water pours out off) on a torbec silent fill. 10mins £40 sorted.lol

 

[PlumbersMate]

Some interesting replies.

I have been in my current job 12months doing 95% maintenance and I have learnt so much. More in the last 12 months than the previous 3 years combined.

Still with Dyno ash?

 

[armyash]

Still with Dyno ash?

Yes mate.

So far, so good.

 

[Neil K]

You're right, some weeks I'm exhausted because of the driving and long hours. Not the actual work I do.

I'll second that!

 

[bright spark]

Maintenance is great for me.
It's just getting enough of it to keep ye going.
Mainly service work