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Original poster

To think that tradesmen take the piss with their rates?

412 replies

Pomegranatecarnage · 07/01/2025 00:25

Just that really. I have had a few repairs needed and some DIY recently. I paid £130 to have a leaking toilet valve fixed (it took 45 mins), £75 to have a pull string light replaced (10 mins) and then £270 labour for 6 hours work putting up some shelves, a small area of tiling and replacing skirting boards. He arrived at 10, left at 12 for lunch, back at 2 then was finished by 4pm. I can’t help wondering why I spent 5 years at University to get paid far less per hour as a teacher.

OP posts:
Original poster
Pomegranatecarnage · 07/01/2025 01:34

Craftymam · 07/01/2025 01:30

This.

We charge £245+ VAT minimum day rate; regardless whether that's an hour or a day.

And it's not as much as you think by the end of it. It's really minimum wage plus a small excess which accumulates to a slush fund for dry times - which there have been a hell of a lot of in recent years!

Some months we can do great and be like wow! But trades aren't sustainable in the same way as a job. All you need is covid, Liz truss or labour and everyone battens down in terror for weeks, months or years.

And that's not including all the outgoings everyone has mentioned above! You think the quoting and invoicing and checking you actually paid costs nothing.

Then obviously you have Corp tax; Employers NI and all that jazz too.

I don't know what you teach but it's clearly not business or economics.

Show quote history

No tax or insurance was paid, this was a cash in hand job from someone who crossed the road to do the job.

OP posts:
Poppyseeds79 · 07/01/2025 01:34

My toilet was constantly running, I watched a YouTube and fixed it within 3mins with a knife. If I'd called a plumber I'd expect to pay £150. If it was a job I couldn't fix I'd have expected to pay £150

Original poster
Pomegranatecarnage · 07/01/2025 01:32

I was asked to pay cash-no tax or NI would’ve been paid.

OP posts:
Original poster
Pomegranatecarnage · 07/01/2025 01:31

HolyPeaches · 07/01/2025 01:01

I can’t help wondering why I spent 5 years at University to get paid far less per hour as a teacher.

I feel this comes across as you looking down on tradesmen and vocational careers.

If you don’t want to pay someone who hasn’t been to university to fix things in your house, then go on YouTube and learn how to do it yourself. I assume you’ll find it easy being university educated and all.

🙄

I don’t look down on tradesmen. I feel they charge too much. Especially when it’s cash in hand so they don’t pay tax.

OP posts:
Craftymam · 07/01/2025 01:30

ItsOvaRover · 07/01/2025 01:19

I think £30/hr or £240 a day is a reasonable amount, given it's not all income and is skilled work. Vans, tools, storage, insurance and admin are all costs taken out of that. Many will charge for a half or full day because otherwise it's not worth their while. Don't forget there is no holiday or sick pay either so that comes out if it too.

This.

We charge £245+ VAT minimum day rate; regardless whether that's an hour or a day.

And it's not as much as you think by the end of it. It's really minimum wage plus a small excess which accumulates to a slush fund for dry times - which there have been a hell of a lot of in recent years!

Some months we can do great and be like wow! But trades aren't sustainable in the same way as a job. All you need is covid, Liz truss or labour and everyone battens down in terror for weeks, months or years.

And that's not including all the outgoings everyone has mentioned above! You think the quoting and invoicing and checking you actually paid costs nothing.

Then obviously you have Corp tax; Employers NI and all that jazz too.

I don't know what you teach but it's clearly not business or economics.

MarieKlepto · 07/01/2025 01:30

Not sure why you had to employ someone for all those jobs, they've very small and easy to do yourself. £270/6 is £45 ph. Take off (pro rata), tax, NI, public liability, all vehicle costs, certified body/bodies registrations, advertising (if you do it), etc etc, then parts. What are you left with p/h?

steff13 · 07/01/2025 01:28

Franjipanl8r · 07/01/2025 01:06

Actually £270 for 6 hours DIY work is a rip off, I take my previous comment back 😂. You’ve been had there sorry!

Considering DIY stands for " do it yourself," I quite agree. I'm not paying for work I'm doing myself...

Original poster
Pomegranatecarnage · 07/01/2025 01:27

£30 per hour for private tutoring-but I have to prepare for that, so it’s more like £20. At school it’s probably £20 per hour as I have to do at least two hours PPA after I finish teaching for the day.

OP posts:
YerAWizardHarry · 07/01/2025 01:26

Paid £300 for a plumber to do an “emergency” fix of a burst pipe today. He didn’t even fix the problem just capped off the pipe 😓

Edit- he was here for less than 30mins

Original poster
Pomegranatecarnage · 07/01/2025 01:23

The person who charged £270 lives on the same street and is my friend. He wanted to be paid in cash.

OP posts:
BettyBardMacDonald · 07/01/2025 01:22

Franjipanl8r · 07/01/2025 01:06

Actually £270 for 6 hours DIY work is a rip off, I take my previous comment back 😂. You’ve been had there sorry!

Hogwash.

Subtract all expenses, travel time, sixk/holiday pay, pension, and they are left with a very modest amount.

ItsOvaRover · 07/01/2025 01:19

I think £30/hr or £240 a day is a reasonable amount, given it's not all income and is skilled work. Vans, tools, storage, insurance and admin are all costs taken out of that. Many will charge for a half or full day because otherwise it's not worth their while. Don't forget there is no holiday or sick pay either so that comes out if it too.

BettyBardMacDonald · 07/01/2025 01:17

MartinCrieffsLemon · 07/01/2025 00:31

It's not just "10 minutes" anyway is it?
There's Admin time in arranging and booking the job in as well as invoicing. Then the travel time to the job.
Then insurance for the business, for the tools, for the work vehicle, professional insurance...
Then parts and upkeep of tools (which wear out a lot faster than you expect. A drill, for example, needs new bits fairly often)

Thank you for enumerating this.

Snobs who think it should be cheap need to get a grip.

BettyBardMacDonald · 07/01/2025 01:15

MartinCrieffsLemon · 07/01/2025 00:28

Go and retrain as a tradie then....

This.

Self-employed people have a great deal of overhead. It's not just the hours they are in your home.

Not to mention supply and demand. If it's all so easy, why don't people like you DIY, eh??

blackandwhitefur · 07/01/2025 01:15

£270 is not a rip off. That is not a builder's clean profit ffs. Not sure why people don't understand this.

Randomontheinternet25 · 07/01/2025 01:12

@MillyGoat I was thinking the same thing

MillyGoat · 07/01/2025 01:12

Franjipanl8r · 07/01/2025 01:06

Actually £270 for 6 hours DIY work is a rip off, I take my previous comment back 😂. You’ve been had there sorry!

Call out plus hourly labour and materials … it’s not cheap but it’s not that bad

MillyGoat · 07/01/2025 01:11

this hasn’t quite gone the way op expected has it…

Franjipanl8r · 07/01/2025 01:06

Actually £270 for 6 hours DIY work is a rip off, I take my previous comment back 😂. You’ve been had there sorry!

Franjipanl8r · 07/01/2025 01:03

It sounds like you don’t understand hourly rates and overheads. Trades overheads are:

  • booking in work
  • travelling
  • insurance
  • business admin
  • tools
  • time spent buying supplies…
if a tradesperson worked for a bigger company as an employee they’d be charged out at a day rate of £150 - £400 depending on what they did and where. And their take home pay would probably be a third of that.

It’s about the type of work they’re doing which includes LOADS of faffing around with customers and travelling hence a high hourly rate. They might have days where they charge just for an hour or two of work and some days where they can charge a lot more.

mainecooncatonahottinroof · 07/01/2025 01:02

Pomegranatecarnage · 07/01/2025 00:25

Just that really. I have had a few repairs needed and some DIY recently. I paid £130 to have a leaking toilet valve fixed (it took 45 mins), £75 to have a pull string light replaced (10 mins) and then £270 labour for 6 hours work putting up some shelves, a small area of tiling and replacing skirting boards. He arrived at 10, left at 12 for lunch, back at 2 then was finished by 4pm. I can’t help wondering why I spent 5 years at University to get paid far less per hour as a teacher.

They take the piss because they can get away with it, because there's not enough of them.

I agree with you but I think you will be torn to shreds here!

HolyPeaches · 07/01/2025 01:01

I can’t help wondering why I spent 5 years at University to get paid far less per hour as a teacher.

I feel this comes across as you looking down on tradesmen and vocational careers.

If you don’t want to pay someone who hasn’t been to university to fix things in your house, then go on YouTube and learn how to do it yourself. I assume you’ll find it easy being university educated and all.

🙄

saltinesandcoffeecups · 07/01/2025 00:59

Katy232425 · 07/01/2025 00:57

That’s not their hourly pay though is it. Comparing it to your teacher’s salary is completely ridiculous.

The tradesman is paying for materials, van, fuel, tools, insurance, advertising, accounting, invoicing, office tasks, professional body registration and all the other overheads. Plus has significant unpaid time like travel, quoting for jobs never taken up, collecting supplies and the like. And then there’s just the value of their skill and knowledge. They don’t get your nice pension either…

You forgot about losses when people don’t pay for all that work that they could have done a lot cheaper themselves

Katy232425 · 07/01/2025 00:57

That’s not their hourly pay though is it. Comparing it to your teacher’s salary is completely ridiculous.

The tradesman is paying for materials, van, fuel, tools, insurance, advertising, accounting, invoicing, office tasks, professional body registration and all the other overheads. Plus has significant unpaid time like travel, quoting for jobs never taken up, collecting supplies and the like. And then there’s just the value of their skill and knowledge. They don’t get your nice pension either…

blackandwhitefur · 07/01/2025 00:45

MartinCrieffsLemon · 07/01/2025 00:31

It's not just "10 minutes" anyway is it?
There's Admin time in arranging and booking the job in as well as invoicing. Then the travel time to the job.
Then insurance for the business, for the tools, for the work vehicle, professional insurance...
Then parts and upkeep of tools (which wear out a lot faster than you expect. A drill, for example, needs new bits fairly often)

This.
You're paying for a personal repair service within your home. There is a lot that comes before and after from your few hours work. My DH is a tradesman and you have no idea how much of that payment disappears to pay off everything needed. He needs some profit from that job.