I've done some gas work before with no problems but for some reason I decided to try getting an estimate for this work I need doing .It is to cut off a bayonet cooker connection and cap the 15mm pipe .. I called someone who serviced a gas fire not so long ago for £45 and he said ...."standard call out charge £45 "....seems a lot for what it likely to be about 10-15 minutes work ....I realise that he has costs to bear but even so......
Stuart
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British Gas would charge you =A365...
I'm sure they would ( if not more ) but they ain't going to get the chance...:-)
Stuart
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What would you charge if you were doing it for somebody, assuming that you had the training, CORGI membership, insurance and transport costs before you actually make any money?
About a quid for a solder-ring endcap last time I did it...
You a Corgi registered plumber/gasfitter by any chance .?...lol
Stuart
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No I'm not, but I certainly wouldn't do it for £45 either.
My point was that one has to put oneself in the position of the person doing the work.
Call out charges are a way of covering the dead time taken travelling between jobs. Let's say it takes him 15 mins (probably a little more including the safety checks he has to do), but there is 45 mins of travel time - not unreasonable unless he has a lot of work in close proximity. Statistically that's unlikely. A typical fitter will have a mix of little jobs like this or the service job, some boiler replacements, heating jobs and so on.
Fixed costs have to be amortised across customers either on a per call or by job cost, and then there is actually the issue of making some money to live.
Of course, you are the customer. Shop around and see if you can get a CORGI fitter to do it for less. Perhaps it could be as low as £20, although I doubt it.
Considering that you have had what was presumably a good service job for £45 (basically the call out charge and including some labour), then you are trading that off against hiring an unknown person for a possible saving of, say £25. Is it worth the effort when you ask yourself why somebody would be charging so little?
I hear what you are saying but I'm still trying to get my head round why servicing a gas fire should cost exactly the same as capping a piece of piping ....I think most consumers would think the same .....
How many jobs would a one man outfit expect to do in a 5 day week.....20 ?? times £45 ...
Stuart
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If you've done it before with no problems then what is stopping you doing it now?
I don't where you are Stuart but in London =A345 would be reasonable, even cheap. I don't know a single tradesman who would even get out of bed for less than =A350. They're spoiled for work so they can demand it.
If you can make good solder joints just do it yourself.
Because once you take into account the time taken to get there and back, both jobs take about the same amount of time to do.
Sadly this is probably true.
Perhaps.
Is £900 per week. Take away costs and you're hardly left with a fortune.
Stuart laid this down on his screen :
So put yourself in his/there place... How much would you charge for
10-15 minutes work at his home, including travelling and all the other expenses of running a business. £45 seems quite reasonable to me.It happens that Stuart formulated :
20x45 = £900 less all the costs of running a small business. How much do you think a skilled and qualified person earns these days?
Well... if you think about the materials aspect, both are about the same (i.e. close to zero). Time-wise attendance is 15-30 mins I would have thought. Average driving time is going to be the same.
I don't see huge cost differences between the jobs, only customer perception ones.
Hopefully not all would be at this rate. Longer jobs would work out less per unit time because the travel time is taken out.
However, if it were, that's £900 in a week amounting to £43k revenue in a 48 week year.
Once running and fixed costs are taken out, this is not exactly a fortune.
If your in manchester,let me know
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Perhaps the answer is to become a gasman. Everone seems to think its so lucrative but those stories are only spread and perpetuated by training companies who have a vested insterest in making money out of fledgling plumbers and gasmen.
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How many could you do in a day? Rather less than you would expect. You have to organise the appointments. People have to remember that you are coming and be there when you call. How long do you expect to travel between the job locations?
It costs around £20k a year in overheads to be properly set up in a gas/plumbing business. That's what I have to earn not to _lose_ money I need to earn more than that to support myself and family.
That's why a job like that is a minimum £50 charge which covers up to the first hour.
I suspect that it's the same set of considerations with different numbers whether it's window cleaning, or a Harley Street medical practice. You not only have to pay for the actual job but for the person doing it to be in a position (literally) to do the job.
That may be about right. £900 a week that's about £45,000 if you all the guy 2 weeks holiday. Less say £20k overheads that'll earn him £25k/year before tax.
Quite a few of the bogus stories are based on Agency rates and what might be possible if you work 60hours a week 50 weeks a year.
Agencies often take 50% of the receipts.
Jeez mate, do it yourself. For a quid you can get a compression sto end!. Just ensure you turn the gas off first and buy some of tha plumbers putty suitable for gas installations!!
Done it loads of times and I aint Corgi registered
-- Cordless Crazy
Ok,OK...Beginning to wish I'd never aksed the question ..lol But I'll not use a comp fitting ....I'll solder an end cap on ...
Stuart
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