# how much did you make and how much did you charge when first in business



## kellybhutchings (Jul 29, 2008)

I started in 1998 and we charged 65 an hour and I made 6.50 an hour as an appentice. My boss told me when he started as a lisenced plumber in west texas (not sure of year) they charged 3 dollars an hour and were paid 1.50 but they provided their own tools and truck. He also built a 4 bed 2 bath house on an acre for 4500 dollars.


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## cajunplumberjoe (Mar 26, 2009)

in 2000, charged 65.00/hr--like to went broke.


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## TheMaster (Jun 12, 2009)

cajunplumberjoe said:


> in 2000, charged 65.00/hr--like to went broke.


 Me too 65 an hour back in 2000 and almost worked myself to death.....i thought I was super plumber who could work all day and all night......i made alot of money even at 65 an hr but almost killed myself doing it. i charge 90-95 now and I''m high for my area...someguys still charging 65 an hour. More power to them.....they can have the work. I'm over it........plumbing's not that fun anymore after 20 somthing years...if I'm not gettin paid......I park it on the couch with my laptop.


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## user823 (Feb 3, 2009)

I started when I got out of the service in 1986, the company I worked for charged 49 bucks an hour. I started my own a few years later and charged about the same. I was around when the first flat raters started (and the first pex users, different story) and thought they were nuts. But now I'm a flat rater and a pex user and don't do anything for less than 150 dollars labor. Funny how times change.


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## TheMaster (Jun 12, 2009)

ironranger said:


> I started when I got out of the service in 1986, the company I worked for charged 49 bucks an hour. I started my own a few years later and charged about the same. I was around when the first flat raters started (and the first pex users, different story) and thought they were nuts. But now I'm a flat rater and a pex user and don't do anything for less than 150 dollars labor. Funny how times change.


 Do you do service work??? What if a customer want sa p-trap under a lavatory replaced? 150 bucks? If so more power to ya but that would be a challenge down south


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## para1 (Jun 17, 2008)

*Master*

MASTER, what city do you live in? My brother was living in Spanish Fort. The reason I ask is, that it seems some areas of Alabama are booming.

Don't want to jack thread --you can PM me.


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## leak1 (Mar 25, 2009)

1986 went into business 35 per hr. and 60 for a sewer clean.


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## Bollinger plumber (Apr 3, 2009)

1976 $2.85 per hr and the company charged $40.00 for a service call. this was in washington d c and maryland suburbs area. quit after one year and got a big raise to $3.50 per hr doing new residential


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## Phat Cat (Apr 1, 2009)

1989 Baltimore, MD - rate was $45/hr. All draincleaning calls were referred to Whirl-A-Matic - if I remember correctly, they were $65.00.

Accounts receivable was tracked using index cards. All were filed alphabetically with those owing money in the front. Hated doing collection calls.

Same year was when we were introduced to the fax machine. Only a few supply houses had one. Mobile phones were permanently affixed to the vehicle. Only person who had one was a project manager / estimator. Service guys would call from customer's home.

Things have changed a lot.

SC - 2004 - going rate was $65-$75/hr. Today's rate is $80-$95.00. At the low end, you are getting one man shops and very little professionalism. At $90-$95. you are getting more for your money. Flat rate cos. seem to average $125/hr.


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## kellybhutchings (Jul 29, 2008)

we also did all water heater replacements for 375 in 1998


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## user823 (Feb 3, 2009)

kellybhutchings said:


> we also did all water heater replacements for 375 in 1998



Heck yea I remember those days but that was in the late 80's, water heater installs for 300 bucks! I won't do one for under 895 now and yes, I mostly do service work and the minimum is about 150 depending on how I feel.:thumbup:


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## Herk (Jun 12, 2008)

I started about 1976, was charging $25 per hour. Or should have been. I would actually ask people what they thought I should charge them since I was new to the business. 

I went $14,000 in the hole so fast I couldn't believe it.

House construction got busy the next year and I learned my lesson and did pretty well plumbing lots and lots of houses until everything got overbuilt and I had to go back to one-man shop. The guy who was working for me went to work for a bigger shop replete with backhoes and dump trucks in addition to plumbing for a better offer - that shop went bankrupt a short time later and he was pounding the bricks again.


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## DUNBAR PLUMBING (Sep 11, 2008)

$232.00 to show up at the house


$90/hour after the first 10 minutes. $30/hour to pull anything off the truck, $55 surcharge for using my ink out of my pen, paper, some scratch paper when I do basic math.


Then I charge $13.00 for fuel surcharge for within a 10 mile radius, $18.84 for anything outside a 10 mile radius, plus $3 for tire wear, tire inflation. 


I charge $10 for foot booties, $13 for one pair of rubber gloves and IF those gloves break in the first 15 minutes of work, I implement a $10 user fee with a $5 restocking fee to get another pair of gloves off the truck. 


Plastic bags on the job? $8.22

Paper Towels? $1.34 per 1' by 1' squares

Handy wipes are $4.32 per use and .40 to walk to the truck to get them.

I also charge per step when I arrive at the home; meaning that anything above a flat surface will cost the customer additional for future knee ligamament wear, conditional rehabilition fees and travel time to and from said rehab center.

Furthermore, I charge in 10' increments from the truck to the front door. Any step curbs are .84 cents each time I walk across them during the time spent at the job location, any large cracks in the driveway are .20 cents for any time I have to purposely walk around to avoid injury.

Parking in the driveway and forced to move because some mother F*(*(NG idiot didn't think that when you call the plumber and then decide that you need to get out. That's $37.50 per car, per movement out of the driveway.

Random dogs coming up to me during first visit whether it's your damn dog or not? $28.30 and sniffing my groin is automatic $6.83 added to the usage fees attained by hardship clause on any job less than $283 and further than 13.4 miles from shop. No exceptions to this even though I might be close by or "right down the street" from job.

Being offered a drink that's not of my liking...$3.88 and if the second offer is worse than the first, $17.32 plus tax.

Talking on the phone giving an ear estimate is based on physical appearance of customer upon arrival. The charts are as follows:

Attractive: $1.49 
Mildly Attractive: $2.48
Plain: $9.32
Unattractive: $18.29
Fugly: $24.32 and that includes any customer with bad breath or unsightly facial hair, male or female

Pubic hairs found on tools are .34 cents per hair, extremely curly hair will constitute as A 4 hair minimum penalty phase. Any hairs left in site on the toilet sanitary bar, shower drain or near toilet area are considered obtrusive and $10.97 fee for being a dumb*** thinking I want to see it. 

And if I don't want to write all this out, I start all over and tack .21 cents to all the figures and do a multiplier of .2819 to come up with a summarization fee. I continue from there.


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## ToUtahNow (Jul 19, 2008)

I started my business in 1981 and we were charging $35 per hour but went up about 10% a year for the first few years. Prior to my business I was making around $17.50 per hour and my guys were around $12.50.

Mark


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## Down N Dirty (Mar 12, 2009)

Wow, an actual dig at the time and material guys by Duck.


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## DUNBAR PLUMBING (Sep 11, 2008)

Down N Dirty said:


> Wow, an actual dig at the time and material guys by Duck.


 

Blame it on OATMEAL!


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## Herk (Jun 12, 2008)

Duck - your bookkeeping must take you a lot longer than the work you do. I assume that you have a much larger charge for that than all the rest. 

I have a slightly different method - if the customer is female and attractive the cost starts dropping. If she's exceptional, I might pay her.

Thanks for the post - it brightened my day.


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## 422 plumber (Jul 31, 2008)

2005, I started my shop, working out of the house and charged $65, then $70, then $75.00 
2006, I started renting a shop and then hired an office manager and went to $90.00
2007, I sold out and went to work for a mechanical contractor, he charged $90 an hour plus $11 an hour truck charge.
2009, $93 an hour plus $11 an hour truck charge


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## Associated Plum (Nov 4, 2008)

1973 the company was charging $11.00 an hour. The plumbers were making $5.50 an hour and I was making $1.35 and within 3 months making $3.65 an hour. Bought a house and some acerage in 1974 and my first vehicle (new truck) in 1975. Almost bought a new t top corvette as my fisrt vehicle, but didn't think I could $1,000 a year insurance.

Based on todays prices I just don't see how anyone could have the same oppurtunity that was available back then.


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## pauliplumber (Feb 9, 2009)

$55 an hr back in 98'. $85 now, soon to be $95. Most jobs are flat rate, the only time I charge by the hour is for contractors, or homeowners with bigger jobs where there's a lot of variables.


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## SewerRatz (Apr 25, 2009)

Before I got into this my father used to flat rate all jobs. He went out and gave free estimates, gave a flat price and guaranteed all roddings one free rodding if it blocked in two years.

Back in the 1960's he used to charge $15.00 for what they call a cleaner, that is to scoop the grease and soap from an outside catch basin. They start on one end of the block and knock on each home and offer to clean the CB for 15 bucks. If the main line was clogged he get $75.00 more to hand rod the main line. In the 1970's the prices went up to $45.00 for a cleaner and $225 to power rod a main. In the 1980's he went to T&M and charged $90.00 an hour a $40.00 service call and a $35.00 machine charge, so if a main took an hour he only got $165.00 But he changed the guarantee to read one labor free rodding if it blocked in two years, he would get the service call and rod charge still. Today we get $160 an hour, 6$60.00 service call and a Large rod charge of $45.00 so we now get $265.00 for the first hour same guarantee.


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## Plumbus (Aug 4, 2008)

1976-35/hr $15,000/yr.


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## Pipedoc (Jun 14, 2009)

DUNBAR PLUMBING;47447.Fugly: $24.32 and that includes any customer with bad breath or unsightly facial hair said:


> I think you need to raise that price Dunbar!
> 
> 
> 
> ...


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## SewerRatz (Apr 25, 2009)

Pipedoc said:


> I think you need to raise that price Dunbar!
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 Do you remember an outfit called Dombroskie and Holmes?


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## Cal (Jun 17, 2008)

al said:


> 1976 $2.85 per hr and the company charged $40.00 for a service call. this was in washington d c and maryland suburbs area. quit after one year and got a big raise to $3.50 per hr doing new residential


 You must have been in the city !! ?? We were just outside at the time ,, paid $ 1.85 hr ,,, company charged $25 

HAHAHAHAHAHA but we lived WELL !!!:thumbsup::thumbsup:


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## Pipedoc (Jun 14, 2009)

SewerRatz said:


> Do you remember an outfit called Dombroskie and Holmes?


 Yep. Name is familiar.


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## Miguel (Aug 10, 2009)

1982 started at $6, company charged $40 w/ 10% discount for seniors/fixed income types. End of same year $8.50 for me
Stayed with the first guy for almost eight years. Shoulda went out on my own then but . .
1995 company charged $45 and I got $20 but no shop time. (Same guy pared off 18 employees and is on his own now, no helper. $95/hr)
I started my own song and dance show in '98 @ $45/hr but couldn't pay myself so quickly went to $58. There were still shops around charging $40!!! 
I went flat rate in 2000 and never looked back. $38.50 to show up w/ tools and an eager smile. Priced per task after that.
eg:
38.50 - Service Call
45.00 - Replace KS EO continuos waste (ABS)
$83.50 + taxes and I'm on to the next one. 40min or more and I'm losing but usually done 20min inc. cleanup. Usually takes longer for the HO to write out the friggin' cheque!

Keep your OH as low as you can without cutting into quality of finished product.


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## IPLUMB (Jul 15, 2009)

I Charge A Flat Rate Price/ T&m On Custom Work Or Work That Keeps Changing. I Charge A Trip Charge Good To See The Job For Bout 15 Min. Anything After I Charge A Diagno.charge If I Have To Pull Out My Tools To See Something Behind The Wall It Goes To T& M Or Flat.i Charge For Estimates I Charge For Stamps And Even The Toll Plaza To Get To Your House. I Am In Business To Make Moneyyyyyyyyyy. I Charge For Extended Warranties. And For Gloves And Anything I Can.my Work And Company Are Neat, On Time , We Give Guarantees, Warrantees, And Any Other Tees You Can Think Of.we Answer The Phone Personally. I Hear Alot Of You Here Sounding Worst Than Handymen. You Guys Are F**king Proffesionals. Start Charging If You Can And For Everything.as Far As You Guys Who Work For Somebody Start Giving Youselfes Tips. I Used To Work For A Company And Carge The Customer $5 Or $10 Ontop Of The Price, (i Used To Give Prices To Them ) The Company Got There Money And I Would Say Mr Jones Gave Me $5 Tip On This Job Included In The Check. 

Doing That 9 Or 10 Times A Day With Service Starts To Pay Off.
I Started A Couple Of Years Ago And Learned Quick That I Have To Start Charging Higher Prices. 

My Mechanic Charges $98 An Hour Why Cant We Charge More (do You Really Want To Stick Your Hand In That Toilet For Anything Less Than $170.00) Or At All.


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## service guy (Jun 26, 2008)

IPLUMB said:


> II Used To Work For A Company And Carge The Customer $5 Or $10 Ontop Of The Price, (i Used To Give Prices To Them ) The Company Got There Money And I Would Say Mr Jones Gave Me $5 Tip On This Job Included In The Check.


:no:That seems unethical to me the way you describe it. You know, kind of like lying, cheating or stealing. If it seems ok to you, good luck then.


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## Protech (Sep 22, 2008)

charged $80/hr and made $12/hr working for my brother back in 98.


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