Is work carried out by plumber (Arbeitsaufwand) for 3hrs 15mins at a cost of CHF774.00 too high, or in line with going rates?
In the area where I live, households have been advised to install a pressure control valve, as in the near future the water pressure will be increased.
Local plumbing firm came out, measured up, gave a quote and I said proceed.
When the plumber came to do the job, he found a much easier way to install the valve and he was only at the house for 3hrs 15mins.
Invoice has now arrived for the work. Total is 1'442.20 or which labor is CHF774.00.
There is just one line, with no break down of hours or rate.
What do you think? A bit cheeky?
If you agreed with CHF 1'442.20 in advance, what seems to be the problem?
Yes, about 200chf/hour for specialist trades is about right....
If the invoice is in line with the quote you agreed to, there is nothing to dispute. If on the other hand the invoice grossly exceeds the quote then the plumber should have advised you of the potential over run and got your agreement to proceed. So which is it?
Given that he completed the work in less time as was originally quoted doesn't mean that he would drop his price accordingly. He likely has a schedule worked out for the day and had factored in the time for the longer job. He would have had a gap in his working day which would have cost him money.
Swings and roundabouts; if it had been a pig of a job and he'd had to throw more time at it, perhaps he wouldn't have been able to increase the price accordingly?
No harm in asking for a line-by-line breakdown although they'll probably shrug the first time you ask.
Are you able to describe the device they installed, and where they fit it? Or share a photo? Prices vary a lot from simple brass ones to hefty deluxe adjustable models with a pressure dial etc.
LOL, this is Switzerland, of course he would
"extra labour for unforeseen complications" etc
The plumber we recently used charged chf 80/hour. That is lower than others who are further away. However, he charges not just for labour but also travelling time to go pick up materials needed for the job and travelling time to our house. The latter is standard, but us paying for the plumber to go pick up materials was something we never paid in the past. If we ordered a new faucet or other materials through the plumber they brought it with.
So I went and bought the faucets I wanted and the plumber just did the installation. He wasn't pleased. He was complaining about what I bought. A KWC kitchen faucet was well over chf 500 from his supplier. We had a KWC(which was broken) and I wasn't convinced it was worth the money to buy a new one. So I bought a name brand product (Gröhe) with the features we wanted and a 5 year warranty.
Usually the invoices we receive show the cost of materials, hourly rate and time unless the work was quoted at a flat price. This seems to be common with some trades in this area, but not all. I prefer invoices with materials and time, as then everything is transparent.
Sometimes the quote is detailed, but the invoice not, it just says as quoted.
I always thought that the problem with plumbers was their hourly rate was too high, and waistband too low.
If the trades man supplies the materials he usually gets a cut from the vendor. If you want to supply the materials then you usually have to tell them before hand and the hourly rate goes up.
Thanks for everyones input/feedback.
I confirm that the invoice matches the quote.
Seems reasonable.
I got a quote to connect a water pipe (i.e. turn off mains, cut pipe, thread pipe (old iron pipe), put T-junction, put stopcock, pressure test and turn on mains.
CHF 3000.
Ended up watering the garden with a longer hose
I've got to replace a stop cock with a broken wheel.
It's got screw-threads but is joined to those stainless steel compress fittings which require an expensive special tool which I don't have.
With the tool it's a five-minute job.
If this is the tool (I don’t know its suitability for this application) https://www.vevor.de/rohrpresszange-…p_010964513647 then buying one could be cheaper than getting a plumber for an hour or so. I guess that you have to cut the pipes to get the old stop tap out and cut enough away to be able to add an inline joint and another small section of pipe.
I have that tool - both in the manual version you linked and the electric one.
For a one off fitting, the manual one is ok... but it's a PAIN IN THE A*** to do more than one unless you have serious muscles. I was redoing my bathroom, so ended up buying the electric one
Tom, if you want, I'm happy to lend you mine... (the hand one I have with fittings for everything, gerberit, M, W, H, etc --- while the electric one I only have the clamps for my specific bathroom fittings)
I wasn't sure how reliable the joints would be with a manual one and thought an electric one would be better but I guess they are probably ok.
Thank you for the kind offer.
I may re-think it and get one as they are not as much as I thought they were and if I am doing it myself, I'd quite like the tool handy in case something goes wrong down the line.
I've done a few of plumbing jobs before but with copper pipes and solder!
It “clicks” when the pressure is right, so it works well. So far, about a year or two on, nothing in the bathroom has leaked
The first half was done by hand, the second half, electric.
Maybe this summer I buy/borrow a threader and get the garden pipe done.I’ve noticed there’s one on sharely: https://www.sharely.ch/en/rent/rems-…e–42045-14823