Happy end of the holiday weekend to you all. Is any one on the board a plumber? We are calling in a plumber and neither Wes nor I have ever done this before. We know who we are calling, as Wes wants to give the job to a Mason in the area; but, we have no idea what current rates are. We know it will be hourly plus materials, but we have no clue what the going hourly rate is for a plumber. Any one a plumber? Any one know a plumber? Any one use one recently that would know what a good rate is?

It is a non-emergency job. Actually it is three jobs. Wes installed the hot water tank and didn't sweat the pipes correctly, so they are leaking salt. Job two is resealing the shower. Job three is putting in new shower fixtures - which is what has brought us to this need for a plumber. The bathroom remodel that is years in the making, was just about done. Wes bought the fixtures, took out the surrounding drywall and then whamo! It hit us again - the fact that our house was built in 1968 and nothing has been replaced so nothing from Home Depot fits without some serious reworking. Wes doesn't want to tackle the pipes and I am thankful that he knows his limits.

Any advice on plumbers and plumbing is greatly appreciated. And Becky, if you are reading this, we should have two fully functioning bathrooms when you come down next month.

Tribs, good luck with your projects.
I am sure you'll get varying labor rates from across the country. We have a plumber we've used for 15 years; he plumbed our entire house when we built.

They were here recently unclogging a sink and adjusting one of our toilet handles. Their rate was $65 an hour. My total bill was $105.00. Some may even have a minimum charge which is very common.

Glad your remodel job is nearing completion!

tribs, good luck. like kobi said, hourly rates vary across the country. IMHO the most difficult thing of your three will be sealing the shower. you just never know where water will seep through. when i put a new bathroom in our basement i had to solder at about 84 different points to get from the supply near the hw tank to the farthest point at the shower. all that soldering and i only had one leak out of all those soldered points.

your house isn't that old that home depot shouldn't have fixtures to fit. my parents house was built in 1954 and i've gotten home depot stuff to work there pretty easily. i think older bathtub fittings are 13" on center and newer ones are 10 1/2" on center but you should still be able to find the wider ones at home depot or lowes.

good luck

I figured it would vary, but we didn't even have a ball park figure. I was guessing around $60.00 per hour.

Pat, you should have been here when Wes installed the water heater. I bet you heard him all of the way at your house, you just didn't know it was him. The current issue is not the fittings themself, but the connecting pipes. They are two different sizes. I think they are 1/4 inch pipes and the fixtures need 1/2 inch pipes (or vice versa, I didn't store that conversation in my mind). Wes said he could attempt it, but it would be about 9 joints and given how well the hot water heater went, he didn't want to try it. He is a great drywaller and good carpenter and a passable electrician. Plumber...he is not.

(Message edited by jeanineclark on November 30, 2008)

I really admire a man that knows his limits You're definitely got a keeper!!!!

Save money and time. Get a plumber.

tribs said:

---

quote:

It hit us again - the fact that our house was built in 1968 and nothing has been replaced so nothing from Home Depot fits without some serious reworking.

---

LOL, glad we aren't the only ones with a house built in 68. After over 14 years of upgrading/remodeling, I don't think one project was ever as "easy" as it should have been...lol...it's like opening a can of worms once you start....

good luck with the projects

Michael just replaced our hot water heater...i hope he sweated the pipes....whatever that is! it is nice to not hear the thing go KUCLUNK KUCKLUNK every time it goes on...we kept saying "it's gonna blow one of these days"...I had forgotten how quiet a good water heater sounds...LOL!

Wow I thought it would have been much higher
avg. hourly rate - plumber

1968???? you people are living like the Jettsons!






Ours was built in 1927....

Timmmy
I think we're talking about 2 different things there. What Joe the plumber gets paid is not the same thing as the cost of a plumbing contractors price. There's obviously a whole bunch of other costs involved. Think about truck, inventory, office costs, insurance and doubtlessly many other things that make up the total cost.
Mick

Joe the Plumber.......AAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!

Where I live, most of the plumbers have gone to a flat rate per job. While I prefer by the hour, the plumbers do not.

Tribs - sorry... I do have a plumber in my cast of friends (one of my dive buddies, actually) However, I can't tell you what he charges for 2 reasons: #1 he does industrial plumbing not residential, and #2 he doesn't exactly charge me - we trade expertise (he has a puppy mill rescue puppy )

I'm looking forward to you having 2 functional bathrooms, mainly for you, but it will be convenient for me, too!

Tribs, our dishwasher is having a "malfunction" and it cost us 100 for the plumber just to walk through the door.
Water problems and leaks can cause major problems. Find a good plumber who has many years experience in your neighborhood. They will usually be the most reliable and best priced.

Beck-ee...I like the idea of a trade. Any one know a plumber who has a kid that needs tutoring in US government or History? LOL!

Yikes Meryl, that's a lot of cash.

So my husband called and made the appointment for the 11th. Only one problem, he didn't ask what the rate was. I'm guessing he won the lottery and just forgot to tell me. Ugh!

Tribs, what you really need is a plumber that needs drywalling help That way YOU don't have to do anything, LOL

Oh yea! Ok...looking for a plumber to trade labor with for drywall installation/taping.

$562.70

That is for the first trip. Hopefully the bill for the sink leak won't be near as much.