$250 to install a water heater...........??????????

[Soundguy]

I hear ya. I try to tackle anything I think I can wrastle down in a day. as you say. SOME big stuff just has to be hired out.

Yup, I know several people that have the attitude..." I don't need to learn stuff, I'll just call the guy." I have offered to teach them while I help them install it for free, but they are more interested in dancing w/ the stars, playstation etc. I have little sympathy for people like that.

We were too poor to call the guy, and learned in the school of hard knocks. The only things I hire out are either too big for one person, like a pole barn (I'm getting old...) or usually require specialized tools and training, like newer trucks and cars. The extra time and frustration it takes me to learn the newest technology makes it impractical to do tune ups and such.
My last oil change had borrowed tools, hot 5W-20 running down my arm and floor, and an hour of clean-up after some genious engineer tilted the oil filter 30 degrees and placed it above a crossover channel.
I figure I saved $10, and with the time and mess, lost about $40.

 

[grsthegreat]

nothing is cheap anymore. I get $65/hr for most electrical repairs i do. Heck, i have to drive all over the country and have many many $1,000 worth of tools on my rig.

plus 30 years experience that im not giving away for free. One thing to remember, most plumbing repairs for old fixtures entail replacing gas and water lines. everytime you tweak old lines the break somewheres. Also, licensed plumbers have to get drain lines and pressure pop off plumbed, and alot of times install pressure tanks to eliminate water hammer. theres more to it than just plumbing in a water heater.

I say "do it yourselve" if you can. If you have the kn owledge to do it that is..... Then again, i get called in alot of times to fix the do it yourselfers mess.

I just had a job yesterday fixing a homeowners attempt at rewiring his basement. He ended up hooking up outlets to 240 line and was wondering why his tools kept burning up. It took me 5 hours to demo his mess and fix it right. Also had to trace down and fix all the wires he cut off and stuffed into crawl space....that were still LIVE.

Mind you, i could have done the joib in 2 hours if i didnt have to trace down and repair all his mess. Since i had to pull a permit and do it correctly, i had to make sure the place wouldnt burn down. Im sure it would have if he left it like he was going to. his wife was the one to hire me.

 

[JDgreen227]

Good point, he has to wait for it to drain. Time is money. Might be a little high, but not a lot.

But that $1750 job makes my blood boil, & I don't even know her.[/Q

Don't see anyplace in that post where the receptionist TOLD her son to sign the contract but if she did and the kid signed it, that is her mistake and I hope she learned from it. Only an idiot would agree to a price for a job without getting at least 3 estimates which might take ten minutes on the phone, or doing a search on Google for what a reasonable cost might be.

I don't understand why she was in such an all-fired hurry to get the water heater replaced THAT VERY MINUTE !!!! Yes, she got ripped off big time, but that was her own fault.

"Experience keeps a dear school, but fools will learn in no other" attributed to Benjamin Franklin

 

[Bird]

i get called in alot of times to fix the do it yourselfers mess

That's probably true with most kinds of repairs.:laughing: I don't even remember how many mechanics sent me their air tools to repair after they attempted, unsuccessfully, to do it themselves. However, in my younger days, the first time I replaced a kitchen faucet, after repeated unsuccessful attempts to connect the water line without it leaking, I finally called a plumber. And of course it was so quick and simple for him that I think he was embarrassed to tell me he had to charge their minimum service call amount.:laughing: But the next time I had to change one was no problem at all.

 

[Soundguy]

the do-it-yerself type are usually 2 fold.

if I have a manual or book, and at least clsoe to the correct tools. i can usually do something that generally reqquires a trained service tech.

it's when you go in knowing nothing and have no tools that you get stuck.

I do not do my own hvac work.

don't have the tools. don't feel like buying them. that's a phone call job.

 

[ultrarunner]

Good point, he has to wait for it to drain. Time is money. Might be a little high, but not a lot.

But that $1750 job makes my blood boil, & I don't even know her.[/Q

Don't see anyplace in that post where the receptionist TOLD her son to sign the contract but if she did and the kid signed it, that is her mistake and I hope she learned from it. Only an idiot would agree to a price for a job without getting at least 3 estimates which might take ten minutes on the phone, or doing a search on Google for what a reasonable cost might be.

I don't understand why she was in such an all-fired hurry to get the water heater replaced THAT VERY MINUTE !!!! Yes, she got ripped off big time, but that was her own fault.

"Experience keeps a dear school, but fools will learn in no other" attributed to Benjamin Franklin

Yes... a lady in panic mode.

Just saying that going for the biggest ad in the phone book without comparing left her vulnerable.

Thing is I see this short of thing all the time around here... replace a Kwikset entry lock and charge $200 when the identical lock at Home Depot is $15.

 

[like2wheel]

Good point, he has to wait for it to drain. Time is money. Might be a little high, but not a lot.

But that $1750 job makes my blood boil, & I don't even know her.[/Q

Don't see anyplace in that post where the receptionist TOLD her son to sign the contract but if she did and the kid signed it, that is her mistake and I hope she learned from it. Only an idiot would agree to a price for a job without getting at least 3 estimates which might take ten minutes on the phone, or doing a search on Google for what a reasonable cost might be.

I don't understand why she was in such an all-fired hurry to get the water heater replaced THAT VERY MINUTE !!!! Yes, she got ripped off big time, but that was her own fault.

"Experience keeps a dear school, but fools will learn in no other" attributed to Benjamin Franklin

So that makes it ok that he took advantage of the situation?

 

[2manyrocks]

Maybe that lady needs to call her state consumer protection agency about that plumber who got her son to sign a contract for $1750 and file a complaint. That's just wrong.

 

[JDgreen227]

So that makes it ok that he took advantage of the situation?

Quote: "Nobody can take advantage of you without your permission" I didn't say it was okay that he took advantage of the situation, but as my dad liked to say: "People will take advantage of you, that's human nature."

I'm curious about the situation....the plumber who showed up, was he the owner/operator of the company or just someone the company sent out? Didn't the woman have a brother, a dad, a male buddy, etc. she could have checked with? Former boss of mine told me that his daughter called him and asked how much a garage door opener should cost installed (new construction) because somebody quoted her $800 for a standard half/horsepower chain drive. Took him and I three hours to install a $140 Craftsman opener. Too bad more women don't have the smarts his daughter does.

 

[grsthegreat]

be real carefull of people that run full page or 1/2 page ads. those ads cost a small fortune. Guess whos going to pay for that.

I was at a job reciently where the guy called the big ad electrical firm in town. They charged him about $800.00 to fix the tripping GFCI's in his garage. they convinced him they were all bad and replaced both. $800.00 you kidding me.

I was called cause his outdoor outlets wernt working. Found out the reason his garage wasnt working was cause a mouse or other rodent chewed thru a wire running from garage to exterior. the last guy simply unhooked wire feeding exterior outlets and switched GFCI's (which were ok to begin with). All they needed to do was to find the short which took me all of 20 minutes. I told him to get the other guys back and fix it properly or sue them. they just ripped you off. I explained that my repair would have cost $65.00 and it fixed the issue. they did nothing and charged you $800.00.

He called and the company refused to refund $$, but they sent someone out to fix break for no charge. I felt bad for the guy (he was in his late 70's early 80's, so i didnt even charge him. i just WISHED he would have written an op/ed piece for the local newspaper.....but he didnt.