Fair day rate for a plumber

A question about : Fair day rate for a plumber

As the title says, based on recent quotes (say last 6 months), what the current day rate for a decent (well qualified and experienced plumber) doing a good 8+ hour day. Specifically in the Midlands area.

Thanks,
Philip

Best answers:

• Why would you want a day rate?
• Agreed, hourly rates and day rates best avoided. Get a price for the job. loads of honest tradesmen will admit theyre a lot more motivated to work quicker on a job thats been priced opposed to hourly rate.
  but anywhere between Ј20-40ph
• Ј140 per day is what we charge,But we dont really do "day rate" as we convince the customer to go for a price its in everyones best interest.
  TBH i am a bit fed up of members of the public asking for "day rate" it is there for B2B use.
  Your work will not be cheaper if its on a day rate (far from it)
• I hope the OP doesn't mind me responding to this. I've got a plumber fitting a shower for me on an hourly rate and I did wonder why he doesn't charge a set rate for the job. The new shower is the updated equivalent of the old one so hopefully (fingers crossed) it shouldn't take him too long to fit it. I will remember this for next time.
• Well I paid Ј50 for having a pressure reducing valve changed.........(I had the valve so wasn't paying any materials)
  He wasn't in the house more than 30mins AND he has previously done lots of work for us..........
  He's cetainly off our Christmas card list - AND it was CASH..........
• I have my own electrical company and we use different plumbers according to needs. Our emergency/repair plumber charges upwards of Ј45 per hour but will always fit you in that day if it is an emergency etc. He specialises in central heating and call outs
  Locally (Plymouth) plumbers who will work on new builds etc will charge about Ј200-Ј250 a day.
• This is a bit of a minefield. I hope this post may paint a clearer picture and explain what it's like to be self employed so you can see why what may at first seem steep is a reasonable charge. I am self employed (doing garden design). Most of my mates are s/e too. Whatever trade people are in, there are some general rules worth bearing in mind.
  The key is to try your best to get someone that you feel comfortable doing the job for you and you need to clarify everything beforehand if possible so there is no room for any hidden charges etc. Some kind of reference or recommendation is helpful. If you are not comfortable, DO NOT take them on. In the case of someone elderly or disabled, hopefully a neighbour or family member could check things out.
  You will find that most people will charge a fair rate and do a good job. This can vary. So it may be a Ј50 one-off., maybe it's Ј100 or Ј150 for a day. Don't forget, most, sadly not all people are honest and just tryiing to earn a half-decent living and cover their expenses too.If you paid a lawyer or other professional for an hour, how much would they charge you? The costs of petrol and travel time all clock up and we have to pay tax etc. I like being my own boss, but it's no cake walk as I am sure you will know and there's no statutory holidays, no annual leave, when you don't work, you don't get paid. I have also been ripped off by customers who have a good job done then won't pay up, but that never gets on the tele.
  There sadly are some cowboys out there who will park their proverbial horse in your garden, let it s__t in there too whilst ripping you off. Any guarantee of the job being decent or your money back disappears as they shout 'giddy up' and ride off down the street never to be seen again.
  These characters as seen on Rogue Traders give us all a bad name and create mass distrust and paranoia. But if you check people out, clarify everything including the price beforehand so you feel comfortable about it / them, you are protecting your interests.
• Why, oh why, oh why have you responded to a Post that is over 2 years old? Have you nothing better to do than trawl through MSE looking for old posts that you can pointlessly comment on?
• I'm of the view that any threads not seeing a new post after a period of (say) 6 months be locked but left available for archival reference.
  What say you mods?
  Cheers
• I pay my plumbers Ј27 an hour, but they get a fully expensed company van, so I would say Ј45 an hour is reasonable as this is what I charge the customer after the Ј90 initial callout for the first hour.
• FWIW.. Lothian Health Board pay on call locum doctors Ј45 per hour. Perhaps they should all requalify as Plumbers?
• The plumber we use charges Ј40 ph and thats mates rates but he does a good job and cleans up after himself..
• The only plumbers who earn Ј100k a year work 80 hours a week and are based in London where a basic first hour call out charge is over Ј100! Regional plumbing and heating engineers are now getting sqeezed as they can't even mark up materials and appliances becase prices are so readily available online to customers and they can't even charge petrol to go to the merchants to pick materials up. So most plumbers are reduced to charging for their labour, but an hourly rate has to cover their own wages, their own van, fuel, a van full of tools and plant, annual fees to GasSafe, insurance and a cost of about Ј3k every 3 years to renew their training. So if you are on PAYE and your employer provides everything for you, and you don;t have to risk your house if something goes wrong, and yet you still want to put your local plumebr through the ringer for charging Ј20ph, remember exactly what s/he is having to pay for out of their own pocket. And let's not forget that if you have a plumber (or more specifically a qualified heating engineer) it IS a skilled profession which carries an enormous amount of risk.
• Ј120 per day is what we charge
  But normally work on price.
  The days of charging Ј250 /Ј400 a day are long gone in Leeds.