Plumbing cost !!!

[jtriron]

I am in Houston, in the slum end of the Heights -- Old house built in the 40's
Under the kitchen sink the old steel drain pipe going into the wall began leaking / needed to be replaced. called a plumbing service I found on the net with a good rep. They came out and looked at the problem, said no problem / they tore out the under cabinet wall and repaired the pipe. Told me to leave the wall open as to dry out the inner wall (so I had to replace the wall myself) All seems good till the bill is written --- seems that plumbers go for $95.00 per hour and helpers 10.00 per hour. Also was charged $64.00 for about $15.00 of PVC pipes.
Total bill about $300.00
OK I know service cost - but does anyone else seem this is just way over the top???

No leaks here
J

[S-Man]

I wouldn't say WAY over the top. Skilled/Licensed Plumbers are expensive. Not only that, they have to drive out there and provide the service, not to mention the overhead they have of running a business. I'm not plumber, but I don't think they gouged you or anything.

[Sonny]

I agree, it doesn't seem way over the top in price.

My in-laws have used the same plumber for 15 years. In my opinion, you're also paying for peace of mind knowing that you hired a reliable and trustworthy plumber. Our house was built in the 70s and has its fair share of plumbing problems. We do not hesitate to call him.

[Steelsun]

Licensed Plumbers & Electricians get better rates and have bigger markups than most professions.

Think of it this way, they say the same thing when a photog hands them a bill for a wedding.

[toverman]

A good plumber is worth the cost. A bad plumber would cost you double in frustration, damage and having to call a good plumber afterward.

[Jeff_Green]

My last company (service electrical) was $59 a HALF HOUR. Cost of the van, gas, maintenance, material, the electrician, all of that plus the company having to make money. It's not cheap!

[shamrock]

I had one out in December to fix the leak under my son's shower. They charged $90 and hour, plus $10 for the helper. And left the hole in the ceiling for me to figure out how to repair. So what you were charged sounds on-par with Austin rates.

[dmcantrell]

Always ask for an estimate before any repairs are begun to avoid sticker shock when the bill comes.

With that being said, I don't think the prices you've listed are out of the ordinary.

[dbphotos]

Seems in line to me. Learn to do it yourself and you only have to pay for a trip to HD or Lowes.

[DSL_PWR]

Could have done it yourself for a lot less.

[texkam]

Take out "plumbing" insert "photography", place on plumber's forum, make popcorn.

[ronocnikral]

learn to do it yourself and spend an entire weekend working on it. which i would do. besides, their rate seems reasonable considering they do everything sam mentioned in addition to some of the nastiest work. i changed the toilets in my house a month ago and it was gross...and we didn't even have anything wrong with them (besides being too short for our long stems).

[texkam]

Also was charged $64.00 for about $15.00 of PVC pipes.

How much do you charge for a $3.00 8x10?

Really tying to bite my tongue.

[Sonny]

Originally Posted by texkam

How much do you charge for a $3.00 8x10?

Really tying to bite my tongue.

No need to badger Jack. By all the replies here, I think he's got the idea. Let's play nice.

[bondarnes]

I checked your profile Jack and not much there. I was curious as to what you do to pay your bills and see if an analogy could be drawn.