Cost per hour of your plumber

[Wigeon]

We've used the same plumber for years, who seems honest and reliable and usually fixes the issue. His most recent invoice was £90 per hour (Inc VAT), which seems like a very high hourly rate. We're in Hertfordshire, just inside the M25 so practically London.

What do you pay for a plumber? Is this crazily expensive?

I'm pretty sure it's about £75
Yorkshire

We recently paid £65 labour for a plumber, East Anglia

In London - £90 per hour plus VAT

Sounds about right assuming it was a small job and not a half or full day. Bear in mind that they have to drive between jobs etc, fit different jobs together, so they're not earning £90 an hour solidly from 9 to 5.

Hm thanks. I do appreciate that it's not the equivalent of an hourly rate from 9-5. But it's still pretty decent for a plumber in demand, and as we live in a densely populated area he probably can fit several jobs in a day! Also appreciate you're paying for his experience - he's been in the trade for many years.

I think we charge approx £40 per hour plus VAT but there is a minimum callout of 2 hours to account for travelling between jobs.

In all honesty that sound about bang on average. The sparkies I had to use recently wanted just north of £100 an hour to fault find something in the consumer unit. Plumbers in my area pretty similar. As per above post, they need to account for travel and petrol and so on so it’s not like they are earning £800 a day doing a 9-5. They might perhaps do three little jobs in a day with the travelling.

£60 an hour, North East, that's for a Gas registered Plumber.

I pay nothing. He's my son-in-law. Mind you , I provided many hours of free baby-sitting in return.

They also need to cover tax (20%), National Insurance, holiday pay, sick pay, travel time and pension, as well as equipment, insurance, vehicle costs/maintenance and any professional qualifications and certificates.

So yes, £90 an hour sounds like a lot but his take home will be nothing like that amount.

London - £70 inc VAT.

Ours is £100 for the visit/first hour, then £50 per hour after that.

Ours is £75 plus VAT, we live in an expensive part of Gloucestershire. He's worth is weight in gold, he's a busy chap but turns up when he's compromised and sorts out problems immediately if he can get parts.

Thanks, good to know the range of costs. Re parts: ours got a spare part from screwfix within 30 mins - apparently they have a kind of deliveroo type thing for tradies!

Everyone can get the delivery thing. Costs a fiver and the bits will be with you within 60 mins.

I think it's exorbitant but sadly par for the course. Round here, it's about the same hourly rate, and they see a 'full day' as being 11am-4pm. For which they would earn in half a day day almost what I earn in a four long days as a teacher :(

Yes, but you don’t have your head a foot away from other people’s excrement and see on a daily basis.

Plumbers command good money because of training and ICK.

Well, exactly.

You can always retrain as a plumber if you want - nothing to stop you and in fact, female plumbers are often incredibly popular.

Nothing, DH does it all, plumbing is one of those things that DIYer can easily do unlike electrical work.

I wouldn't necessarily say "easily do" but can do is probably a better description as I think all gas work and some electrical work is regulated.

Whether you should do it is another question. The results of a cold water pipe failure and water cascading through your house from upstairs to downstairs can be catastrophic. This is something you generally have to experience to understand how bad it can be.

That doesn't mean pipes put in place by professional plumbers can never leak. But the probability that they will is far reduced compared with those done by a DIYer. Not only that, but professional plumbers generally understand failure points and a good one will take steps to mitigate them, such as securing pipes with wall mounts and strain reliefs etc.

DIY can stand for do it yourself. But it can also stand for destroy it yourself too.