Why does a service plumbing company charge so much money? More times than not a plumbers invoice can make the plumber look like a shark. In fact, most plumbers are average Americans with average families who live in average neighborhoods. The average plumber treats their clients like they would like to be treated, fairly and honestly. Let’s take a look at what is not seen in an average invoice.
Material charges:
The plumbers invoice for parts is created by a national standard. This standard sets the pricing index to include: The customer is charged 40% to 80% markup over the wholesale cost of the part. This markup covers time to purchase materials, financing materials, warehousing quality materials so they are available to you 24/7. Sure, you can get parts from Home Depot and Lowes much cheaper than what the plumber charges. However, your time to go shopping, your vehicle maintenance cost per mile to go shopping, your fuel cost to go shopping, quality of materials and having the parts ready when the plumber arrives are all factors to be considered.
Labor charges:
A human to perform the work. Labor charges cover more than a guy driving to your house and using some tools he bought at the thrift store for 99 cents. That guy should be a journeyman plumber if he is by himself, or if there are 2 guys or more, one of them has to be a journeyman plumber. A journeyman plumber has to have a minimum of 5 years experience in the plumbing trade. (The more experience, the more bang you get for your buck.) It is a major investment for a plumbing company to train a plumber to get to the journeyman level. The return on this investment is covered partially in the labor charge.
Tools:
Tools are an unseen factor in the labor charge. A drill bit used to drill a small hole in a wall plate for a new water line costs about $40.00. One nail hidden in the subfloor can ruin that $40.00 bit or at the very least it will need to be sharpened. Hit 3 or 4 nails and it’s time to buy a new bit. It is not practical to purchase cheap power tools or hand tools to do plumbing work. If a tool breaks on the job, valuable time is lost and the inconvenience to the customer in not good. A cheap tool may not perform as well as a quality tool. This can be reflected in the quality of the work performed. These tools generally cost 2 to 3 times more than the average tool you see at the hardware store ore Home Depot.
Vehicle overhead:
This is a big factor today. Insurance and vehicle maintenance cost the plumber a minimum of $0.75 per mile. Depending on the size of the vehicle, it can be more. Normally mileage is included in the labor charge one way.
Call backs:
Your plumber may have to return to your home or business to repair or replace a part or appliance he installed. A call back could be due to defective materials or human error during the repair or installation. These things happen and have to be included into the labor charge.
Shop overhead:
Your plumber has to have a shop to store tools, equipment and parts inventory. Rent or mortgage payments, heating & air conditioning, lights, garbage, phone, water and sewer, insurance and office equipment and supplies that all cost money and are included in your labor charges.
Administration overhead:
Paper work and records are a must, not to mention accounts payable records to take care of. License Fees and Liability insurance is not cheap. Your plumber can flood your house or burn it down with a torch. This is a factor in your labor charge. Wow! What did I leave out? This is enough to justify a plumber’s invoice. If a plumber charges $75 to $100.00 per hour, you will be getting your money’s worth if you have a journeyman plumber on the job.
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