what is up with the modern plumber?
 

i took the day off to sit and wait for plumbers. i need to re-pipe my house, and i wanted multiple bids. it took some doing, but i got all four guys to agree to show up on the same day. no sense taking several days off. only two guys showed up. one guy, walked about, and gave me a verbal price. he is going to email me an official bid, in a few days. ok. he was several hours late. 4 to be exact.

the second plumber was also late by an hour, but he kept me up to date with periodic phonecalls. he then donned a jumpsuit and climbed under my house. much more of a pro. he is also going to email me a bid.

i like both guys alright. the second guy gives me more fuzzy feelings. but the $$ will tell. i dont mind spending alittle bit more. i am also going to relocate my waterheater and go tankless.

why didnt two guys show up? they dont need the jobs? no phone call or anything.

i did take the time to get my elephant bushing dialed in, and my ride height perfect! all in all a decent day.

Business must be good for them. Most plumbers would rather work on new construction as it is much easier work.

that is a great point!

I think Kurt is right and there's still tons of new construction happening. I had a similar experience but with an electrician for my kitchen remodel. I called numorous electricians trying to get someone to even return my calls and give me bids. Finally got two to show and only one actually emailed me a bid. He gave me a $5K bid for what he said was 3 days work. It was so out of line it seemed obvious that he felt it was only worth his time if I would cough up $5K.
I got fed up and just did it myself.

See my HVAC thread. Same deal, no one wants to come out. I never got anyone to come and hope I self diagnosed correctly.

I need to buy a book and teach myself HVAC.

I always end up with one of these, I heard crack can kill!
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1203997575.jpg

7 years bad luck instantly if you gaze upon one.

Vash, plumbing isn't that hard. Granted, I didn't repipe my house, but depending on the age of the house and where the piping is run, its not always that hard. The bad thing is that it will certainly take you much longer. For example, the piping in my roof is mostly in the attic and walls. The plumbers would open the wall at the emergency valve behind a sink, cut it off and cut the pipe off in the attic and just pull it out. Then they'd shove a new one in and resolder top and bottom, and knock a hole or two in the drywall to install a hold down clamp.

Subcontractors are a mystery to me. I looked for bids for the construction of my house. I got 3 or more bids on each thing & it took some time. Some were rediculously high. For instance the high bid on my electrical was $27K. The low bid was $14K, and I went with a guy that bid $17K. For plumbing, I had one guy bid an even $25K. I ended up going with another for $19.5K The guy that bid $25K came around later & asked what was going on. I told him I had gone with somebody else & asked why his was so high. He said when things are good contractors bid high. What an idiot!
I think your best bet is to just be persistent, keep your eyes open, and kind of do some networking until you come up with something acceptable.

From Evans, MarvHe said when things are good contractors bid high. What an idiot!

Absolutely true! The contractor doesn't care about the market, a few local boys who depend on repeat business might, but if they're smart they'll do your job on an as they can get to it basis, which might save you money, but will certainly take longer. I have a really good contractor who I've used around here three times in 20 years, he's alway very honest, and says if he's too busy that it isn't a good time. I've told him, if I wait three/four months, can he help me out, and that has worked out well for both of us.

Yep, most of the posts and the opinions voiced of the actions of some plumbers and electricians are probably true.

Now, if everyone would start doing the same thing with the azzhole lawyers who charge $300-450 per hour we would be on to something. Just shop around and get price quotes from various attorneys and make them compete or study up and do it ourselves or or use para-legals.

That would make more sense to me than questioning some of the charges of the people who do things that we really need!

Last summer my son who is luckily skinny as a rail did the plumbing under my house for 500. I'd had several bids for 3-4k. I should have paid him way more. 3 bathrooms, 2 water heaters, utility room, kitchen and 2 outide faucets. Total of 240 feet. I only had to help him a couple of times and we now have a cutoff under one of the crawl space doors that wasn't there before.

Now, if everyone would start doing the same thing with the azzhole brain surgeons who charge $300-450 per hour we would be on to something. Just shop around and get price quotes from various brain surgeons and make them compete or study up and do it ourselves or or use manicurists.

Easier for mechanic to price time and materials for the job. The longer it takes the more it costs. How much $/day?

If it's a controller tell them 3x what you can figure.

No specialty contractor's up there Vash?
I know it doesn't do you much good, as I live in the So Cal area, but I know of several specialty contractors that have narrowed in on doing re-pipe business only. No room additions, repair work, or new home construction, all they do are re-piping jobs. Because they are set up for this niche, they are usually much more efficient through the entire process. Typically cheaper too...

It's not just plumbers... I've always tried to get multiple bids for concrete work, electrical, plumbing, carpentry, roofing, etc... and I have never been able to get more than 1 to show up to give me an estimate. I end up going with the one who showed up and so far, that has worked!

BTW, house painters seem to be the least reliable or willing to show up when scheduled. Around here, most of these guys do this work after-hours and have a full-time job, but maybe with the laid off auto workers entering the job market, in the skilled trades, this might change?

The guy who sanded and finished our hardwood floors was 100% reliable and always showed up when he said he would... we recommended to others and he's gotten at least 3 other floor jobs due to our referrals. He deserves to be successful!

Contractors suck. The biggest complaints I hear from my customers are about unreturned phone calls and no shows. I make it a point to make sure I return calls and keep in touch. My business is part time. Most of my work is done on the weekends and some evenings. If by some chance I cant make it, I will ALWAYS let the customer know it.

I know an electrician who works cheap but you'd want him on the job early in the morning 'cause he'll be drunk by noon.
Jim

Sounds like my painter:D

Just remember, if they're late to make a bid for taking your money, think how late they'll be when they have some of it! Good contractors are worth their weight in gold. You'll notice, the few who are both professional and skilled are never lacking for work. Still, I thank God that I DIY. Finding that good contractor can be an expensive struggle.

I work for a commercial general contractor and things of course are different in my market. But let me remind you guys of a few issues as you bash local small contractors...

1. Someone said earlier that contractors like to do new work and not renovation work. This is very true and one reason is manpower. The journyman plumber that is in his 40-50's can do it all, but he does not want to do renovation work. They see it as a PITA and they have put in thier time and are above it now. But on the other hand they can do it with their eyes closed. They would rather be the leader of a crew on a jobsite where they direct the work. That is fine but the young guys don't always know the cheapest/best way to do renovation work. So the owner of the company has a hard time being able to put the right guy on the right type of work that both makes him money and keeps his employees happy. Replacing broken toilets everyday can get to be a drag.

2. Small trade contractors work on relationships to get thier work. They have a comfort level with people they know and work with everyday. To have to go to the other side of town to price a job for someone they know nothing about is a risk for them. Sometimes it just isn't worth it. They have to weigh the size of the job, who they are going to put on the job (see item #1 above), the materials to be used and the profit to be made and thier current work load. Some of these guys can only schedule thier work one week into the future and are always juggling 10 different factors before making a decision. Not a easy job.

I was taking to a friend of mine the other night that has a small bath and kitchen remodeling company. He only visits and bids jobs on Tuesday and Thursdays. If he can't see you then he won't bid it. Bidding work is very time consuming and he also has a company to run. Everyone has a differnt way to do things.

Paul, I think #2 is totally understandable. However, to schedule an estimate then not show is simply unprofessional. It's much better to simply say no thanks.

While I agree with the above statement (being a small contractor), it is still no excuse for no-shows and not calling back customers.

I agree about not calling back. That is a personal responsiblity issue.

These days, if you would have called Pedro and Jose' Inc. they would have been there the day before and already completed the job under budget. I dont know why it is that contractors dont want the work, or if they do, they think they can charge any price.

And anyone who can't discern the difference between an azzhole lawyer and a brain surgeon might be in need of a brain surgeon.;)

wide bod - you simply don't understand the issue -- if you need a highly trained specialist and don't get one then you are in big trouble -- your fortune or even your life is at risk.

now surely you are smart enough to see the similarity???

Call a union plumber, they are the only ones with the proper training to assist you. Ignore this advice at your own peril.

You are the guy who brought up "manicurist" but now want to ignore your inane comment.

You seem to totally miss my point...why b!tch about relatively small gougers such as some plumbers or electricians when other "professionals" such as lawyers do it on a routine basis and are probably 10 times more over-priced than those who provide a service that we really need.

What is not clear about that to you?

The comment about renovations not being sought after may well be true. I have a huge renovation to do on my house. HUGE! Demolition , new foundation, new plumbing,new electrical. Over $100k worth! It took me 4 months and many,many no shows before I could get a contractor to come look at the job.

Sounds like a lot of painters.... Or is it just the fumes?????? :confused:

I am sorry you feel you are being gouged by your lawyer, wide body. It is illegal to do that, and I suggest you call your state's bar -- if you really feel that is true.

What makes you assume that I'm being gouged by my lawyer...I try to stay as far away as possible from people that I do not trust. I do not have a lawyer and haven't used a lawyer in many years. Why do you make such an uninformed and incorrect assumption?

What we were actually talking about was the relative "gouging" of some tradesmen such as plumbers and electricians compared to lawyers. And so far I have not heard a single thing to the contrary.

WOW....around here, plumbers, like doctors, don't make house calls anymore:D

That could be because plumbers probably have a better won/lost record than doctors.SmileWavy

a guy got busted on tv for offering undercover pd whore $1 for a pipe job in sarcasm.

Reminds me of a Porsche tech joke....

Rich heart surgeon stops by to Porsche shop see progress on his 911 engine rebuild. Affter going over the rebuild, the tech says to the surgeon: "Doc, you know, we essentially do the same thing. I repair valves you repair valves. I replace oil lines which are like arteries and veins. The fuel injection system is like lungs and we both work on those. You get the picture, doc. But why do I only make $60,000 per year and you make $600,000.00 per year. Why the big difference?"

The doc pauses for a minute and says to the tech, "Try to do your job while the engine's running.":D

So, you don't have any real knowledge? All your whining is based on what you hear?

Jeez!!

And I thought you were going to tell the tailpipe joke...