cost of a plumber

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Sarah

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Im (hopefully) getting a plumber in to do some work in the ensuite bathroom like a bigger shower, shower doors and moving a sink and radiator. He has quoted me €2000 for this. Does this seem reasonable? Also i was thinking of getting new tap shower and draining board fittings for the kitchen and bathrooms. Ill be buying all these myself but does anyone have an idea what i could expect to pay for a plumber to install these. It seems to be a nightmare getting a plumber out for a quote...Have rang 4 plumbers and only one showed up and he was vague about exactly what it will look like(ensuite) and tole me to contact him two weeks or so before were ready to start the job. He also said we would be better off doing this sooner rather than later as the cost of labour and materials(he's supposed to be getting the shower tray,doors,a few tiles) goes up by about 25% every 3 months! Any help on this would be great!

p.s im living in Co. Kildare -Athy
 
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This quote sounds excessive to me surely somebody in your family or friends have had a plummer do work for them in the past that they could reccommend.
Also try and get quotes from this site and compare them if you like.

http://www.onlinetradesmen.com/?gclid=CJbT66XnlocCFSYyTAodQlWFsA


Good Luck
 
Hi Sarah,

Having built a house in Athy last year I must say that this quote does not come as much of a surprise to me, .. I found the tradesmen there extremely brass-necked. For example, I was quoted Eur 10K by our plumber, (the only one who bothered to quote, .. and that only after a lot of chasing by us), to plumb our house, .. 3 bathrooms, 1 utility and 1 kitchen, .. he wouldn't touch the geothermal units and wasn't happy about my wanting anything other than a gravity-fed system. After speaking to some plumbers "up the country", I promptly got rid of him after first fixes, (he managed to be nearly 3 months late turning up and was nothing but contrary, all the while I was doing my damnest not to lose it), I got my dad finish the rest of the work.

Has the plumber quoted you for the following ? :

Removal of old shower tray
Bedding down of new tray
Moving the old doors and fitting an extension to allow for the increased size of tray
If you have cement floors, lifting of tiles, then kangoing of said floor to get pipes to new sink position, otherwise lifting floor boards and doing same
Fitting sink to the wall and attaching taps
Boring through outer wall if there is a problem with draining new sink position, (unlikely).
Recementing and leveling of kangoed floor
Tiling floor and putting new tiles on the wall if necessary
Does extending the pipes for the rad's new position involve kangoing the floor also?

Be careful about getting new shower fittings as some "boutique" shops fittings are of untrustworthy quality.

Best of luck,

ALERT
 
Has the plumber quoted you for the following ? :

Removal of old shower tray
Bedding down of new tray
Moving the old doors and fitting an extension to allow for the increased size of tray (not a plumbers job)
If you have cement floors, lifting of tiles, then kangoing of said floor to get pipes to new sink position, otherwise lifting floor boards and doing same (not a plumbers job)
Fitting sink to the wall and attaching taps
Boring through outer wall if there is a problem with draining new sink position, (unlikely).
Recementing and leveling of kangoed floor (not a plumbers job)
Tiling floor and putting new tiles on the wall if necessary (not a plumber job)
Does extending the pipes for the rad's new position involve kangoing the floor also?


2000 seems a lot for the labour. The plumber is wrong when he says labour and materials go up by 25% every 3 months so dont be rushed. Id hold off until i got someone who is recommended, it is worth waiting for the right man
 
Well i managed to get another quote for €40 an hour. He wont supply anything but told me that the work should only take him about 2 days. He seemed fairly trustworthy and when i mentioned the other plumber and the cost going up after 3 months he told me i was spun a yarn.He told me that he will fit the shower tray and doors and move the radiator and sink around for me. (i presume that he will remove the shower tray and doors that are there also seeing as hes quoting me by the hour rather than by the total price) I also want to get new taps fitted throughout the house and he said he would do this as well as it would only take about 30 mins per tap! Only thing is we have to now look for a shower tray and door that will suit a 1200 x 800 fitting. Not too sure if these are expensive. Can anyone give some info on this?
Thanks to all the replies. Much appriciated.
 
Well if he works for two days 10 hours per day thats E800 which is a hell of a lot better quote than E2,000 just keep the fingers crossed that he finishes on time.

Good Luck
 
Davies (raheny 01 8511700) should be able to get you shower tray that size, it may not be instock. if it is i would expect to pay around 300 euros for it. you could get them to make a tray to fit your ope but it would cost more (and take longer)
40/hour is pretty much the going rate for a tradesman, as a rule it is not advisable to let someone loose on a hourly basis, you might find him taking long breaks, going to the 'hardware' so you are exposed to additional costs. nut if you keep tabs on him it should work out ok
 

Hi Sarah,

I agree with Ludermor in that the above mentioned are not percieved by plumbers as their job, ... fair enough. However, if you want to use your new bathroom, somebody's going to have to do this work some before and some after the plumber comes. If the plumbers quote does not include doing a proper job just what is he getting Eur 800, (or in the case of the original plumber Eur 2K), for? Turning off the water, (to taps, shower and Rad), removal of old shower tray, bedding down new, connecting new pipes to sink, (along the track you've had kango'd out in your floor), connecting said pipes to hot and cold water supply, doing same with radiator, then turning on water supplies again?

I suppose this brings me back to my original message, in general, I find it very hard to see value in paying what tradesmen are demanding, is their cost just a matter of limited supply and unlimited demand?

Better stop now before this chip on my shoulder gets any bigger

ALERT.
 
Tried pinning him down for an overall quote but he says he works by the hour, but to put my mind at ease he informed me at most it should only take him a day and a half to two days at 8 hours a day and that includes the taps and draining board i want fitted. Im fairly new to this game with tradesmen but he seems to "sound" more trustworthy and clue in than the first €2000 plumber...i could be wrong though, and because what he said about the other guy about labour costs and material costs going up every 3 months was a load of baloney and went through ideas more thouraghly than the first plumber, i just feel that he might not be a rip off merchant! Again...it remains to be seen though so only time will tell. Fingers Crossed and thanks a mill for the replies. The other thing about the shower doors is the plumber told us to get a 1200mm fixed panel and an 800mm pivot or bifold door due to the narrowness of the ensuite....these seem to be very hard to find! So if anyone knows price wise what i would pay to have one made or when i could buy such a door it would be great and very appriciated.
 
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