main drain is blocked

[FINER9998]

And I thought the electricians were touchy!!!

[franklie]

Originally Posted by Norcal1

If you worked in my area, you would be the second cheapest plumber at $75/hr. Only I charge less and that will be changing next year.

$75/hr X 2080 hr/yr = $156000/yr (based on a 40 hour work-week)

the $75/hr rate takes into consideration all taxes, medical & dental insurance, retirement, and the vacation Rick will be taking with his wife. does it take into consideration his overhead expenses such as billing, lighting, etc?

2 weeks vacation/ year + 2 weeks sick leave/ holidays leaves him with
$75/hr X 1920 hr/yr = $144000 gross

divide $144000 by 2 to get an approximate annual salary = $72000
(the other half of the $144000 is used to pay for all his overhead expenses like I mentioned above)

When you're good you don't have to chase down work; the work comes to you by referral. I have a feeling that Rick does just fine at $75/hr and gives good value to his customers.

[PLUMBER RICK]

Originally Posted by franklie

$75/hr X 2080 hr/yr = $156000/yr (based on a 40 hour work-week)

the $75/hr rate takes into consideration all taxes, medical & dental insurance, retirement, and the vacation Rick will be taking with his wife. does it take into consideration his overhead expenses such as billing, lighting, etc?

2 weeks vacation/ year + 2 weeks sick leave/ holidays leaves him with
$75/hr X 1920 hr/yr = $144000 gross

divide $144000 by 2 to get an approximate annual salary = $72000
(the other half of the $144000 is used to pay for all his overhead expenses like I mentioned above)

When you're good you don't have to chase down work; the work comes to you by referral. I have a feeling that Rick does just fine at $75/hr and gives good value to his customers.

franklie, just as i was teeing off on the first hole of a rainy golf day this morning, my accountant called. he will have my #'s for me to pick up in the morning. we'll see how close you are

if only my net would equal my golf score x 1000, i would be happy.

norcal, thank's for the compliments. just think you and i together are still cheaper than ecs.

i agree with the fact that a real estate sales person is over paid. i've always thought this myself. especially since they always want something from me for free. all they do is list or sell a property. not that difficult since around here when a sign goes up and there is an open house, there will be a dozen offers the same day and sell for 15% more than asking price. they could sell sand to someone in the desert

all in all i guess compared to what i was earning in a union shop, this isn't too far off. i still have buddies that are 25+ years in the union, that can run circles around anyone in new construction earning alot less. sure their day ends at 3:00 and the phone doesn't wake them up. my day starts at 7 and i go to sleep about midnight. (see some of my late night post). they chose to stay in the union, i chose to work for myself. we're all happy and not complaining. i just think that too many flat rate co's are out to get rich quick at the cost of the unsuspecting customer. i see it on a daily basis. i hear about it everytime i go to a new referral. i see their estimates that are out of this world and are a complete scam. the real problem is the consumer needs to make a stand and go after the crooks. there is always a few bad apples in the crate. now i see more bad apples than good. this wasn't the way it was in 1981.

rick.

[Norcal1]

Originally Posted by franklie

$75/hr X 2080 hr/yr = $156000/yr (based on a 40 hour work-week)

What we don't know in the above equation is whether it takes 60 hours of time to get 40 hours of work.

What I mean is, some plumbers charge for travel time, some don't. Those that don't charge for their travel time would have to work longer than 8 hours to receive 8 hours of billable time.

Personally, I generally won't schedule more than an 8 hour work day, which means I usually only receive about 6 billable hours in a "day", because I don't charge for travel time and I drive to several jobs in a day. This is fine by me because I still make a fine living and I have no desire to work like a dog, I'm middle aged now and want to "enjoy" life while I still have my health.

By the way, FYI, my Real Estate Agent pulled down over 600K last year and worked far less than I did, without all the hazards to health and without the back aches.

[oldslowchevy]

well here is the deal i live in small home with only one bath so when the drain got blocked i freaked.but what you didn't know what i had already had the toilet pulled and a new wax ring and bolts waiting to be installed.i didn't care about the mess as the home is under renovations so the home is in disaray anyways.do i expect some one to do the job for free ........ummmm would be nice but i know better than thatbut i would pay 100-150 most defantly i would have 200 yes in a pinch but would not have been overly happy with it.but 300 or more no thanks.i did go to the depot and rented the bigest unit they had along with the the largest cuter(3 1/2 inch i belive it was called a spade)as well as an extra cable but i was unaware that the bottles of drain cleaner was as harmful as it opps my bad but in the same token i was getting pretty despret as well.but instead of jumping all over my butt and everyone elses for that matter please learn the facts frist.also don't think that every one who posts on here is such a dumb home owner i have giving more advise on here then needed it for myself so when i do need it i dont expect to be refered to as just an home owner i have been in all phases of carpantry for the last 13 years and just started with a plumbing company with in the last month so i can learn this trade as well.

[oldslowchevy]

my last post was for ECS and any one else who thinks like him

[Jaylyn]

Hi Rick, thanks for being an awesome plumber. I live in Michigan and bought my house in summer 2003. I've had my main drain back up on me. I can't remember when it started but I had it happen maybe about once a year until last December 2008. I had it cleaned and just barely over 30 days later it backed up again. No problems until 4th of July of 2009. Now its early November and I'm backed up again. This time I had them run a camera. It was not recorded for me but I did view the line as he went through and pointed out where I had shifts, where I had roots coming in and where the pipe had deteriorated badly. He was almost $100 cheaper than the lowest price I was quoted out of 4 calls. Now his recommendation is to replace my main drain which his price was $2750. Is this fair? I live in the city and do not have a large property. I would think I'm probably 100' out from the city sewer on a guess.
Also, please excuse my ignorance, but how does this line get replaced, does he excavate to under my property? What should I expect property/landscaping wise? Many thanks!

[jhplumbing]

jaylyn...............Im a plumber in MICHIGAN you can message me and talk more about it if you would like

[breid1903]

it's not the going rate. it's the going broke rate. can't speak for esc but i don't want to work 19 hr days. i live in rural indiana and i get $180.00 @ hr. i kind of think that some people are just jealous. a friend of mine is a carpenter. he helped me on a swimming pool 15 years or so ago. i asked him what he charged and he said $25.00. i told him he couldn't do that, he had to charge $50.00. that they would fire me and hire him. he asked how do you do that and i said you have tell them what it costs, with a straight face. just tell them. some will not hire you. some will not anyway. who cares? he was at lumber co one time and another carpenter said my customers wont pay that. rusty said well mine will............ dan holohan said once never assume that the customer doesn't have any more money than you do. he's right. world is full of school teachers with better educations than most of us. they make a whole lot less money than me. we are worth what the market will bear. i need a raise. never assume the customer doesn't have any more money than you!!!! frankly if you can't afford me, great. breid.............

[toolaholic]

Originally Posted by oldslowchevy

rick i have no idea what was at the end of the cable and cutter due to the fact that it went in to the sewer and washed it away befor i could get there to see what was. but on a lighter note i will up grade to a 4" main when i remodel this coming winter and i would be glad to have you out here then(no joke) but i will have to find out what permits will have to be pulled down here in florida they seem to be much pickyer then they were in maryland

FLORIDA ? Your info says Tenn. WHOOO I've seen that mug on Americas Most wanted !!
Like they say in old Mexico A.M.F.