PLUMBING - OUR LABOR RATES

Monday thru Friday 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM on scheduled work

We have the lowest show-up rate in town. It allows us to give accurate estimates of your job. The diagnostic charge should allow us to diagnose the problem and give you an intelligent estimate of the cost of your repair or project. All jobs will be estimated there on the spot if possible and you may accept or refuse the quote. We are a family owned shop and all our plumbers are very good at doing their job. We only use licensed plumbers who do NOT work on commission (like many service shops). If you have any questions please call the shop and talk to Evan.

Estimates for repair work

We will be happy to give you a firm price on most projects upon request, once we see the job. Yes, you have to pay for that time. You will be charged on a time + material basis unless we have a contract. We are happy to give free estimates on major work (typically $2000.00 or more) including re-piping with copper or PEX, new bath additions, boiler replacement, etc. If you need a free estimate on smaller jobs we will be happy to give you an estimate over the phone based upon the information you give us. Keep in mind that estimates are only estimates. They are not contract pricing. Plumbing repairs can quickly "turn for the worse" when old parts fail or conditions change upon further inspection.

Plumbers charge for the time spent on the job even if the time is spent walking through the house discussing the problem. Consultation time is chargable. Waiting time is chargeable. We charge for alll time from the time we show up to the time we start writing up the bill. Please manage both your time and ours wisely by being home when an appointment time has been set. If we get stiffed on an appointment we generally will not re-book. We will bill for the miimm service call if nobody is home at the appointed time.

Equipment Charges - Some services require the use of specialized equipment which we charge for on a per-use basis:

Main Line sewer snake 3" - 6" lines up to 125 total feet in length - $85.00

1.5 - 2.0 inch drain lines beyond 15 feet length to 75 feet length - $35.00 (mid size snake)

1.5 - 2.0 inch drain lines less than 15 feet length - $10.00 (electric drill snake)

Sewer snake equipment is expensive and requires constant maintenance to insure reliability. There is extra time spent cleaning & repairing these machines.

CO & Co2 analysis equipment (heating work) $75.00

Transmitter/Receiver pipe locator $75.00

Sewer Camera - We have the latest sewer camera equipment with recording capability onto a dvd. We charge $325.00 to camera a sewer line. If we are also using our main-line sewer cleaning equipment on the same service call, we charge a discount rate of $125.00 for the camera use.

Only authorized persons may order work

Only the property owner or their agent (manager) can request service on the property. W do not knowingly do work without the owner being made aware of the work being done to their property. If you are a tenant, you must get the owner or owners' agent to give us authorization. If the owner cannot be reached and it is an emergency, you must tell us that you are not the owner and explain the situation. We assume that if you call us and request service that you are the owner. If you give us the work order, you are responsible for the bill! If you call us and order the work - you pay us - we do not bill third parties - including landlords. We do not extend credit to anybody except the Pope and a few local property management accounts. The bill must be paid when we are done unless credit has been established prior to the work order. Checks, Cash, Visa, MC are OK. If you are a single mother with 5 kids, or a senior citizen, have no heat, no hot water, no money and no job - talk to Evan - miracles have been known to happen......

We normally work Monday thru Friday 9:00 to 5:00. We SOMETIMES work on Saturday.
We only maintain a single service man on Saturday (when we have a man available) and he gets booked quickly.. We do monitor the phones during off hours.
We are willing to work off hours when we can - however, we are not always available after hours. Leave a message if we do not answer or if after hours, we do not call you back in 30 minutes assume that we are gone or booked up until the next normal business day. If you are flooding - call another plumber if you have to or call the fire department. We are small neighborhood service guys - we can not be everything to everybody everyday at any hour (even though we try).

Sorry, but blocked phone numbers will almost always get routed to voicemail as we are getting many unsolicited telemarketers that tie up our phones. So if you want a live person to answer - unblock your phone if possible! We oly have one man answering the phone so if you get dropped into voicemail we are probably already on another line. We will call you back, typically within minutes.

Typical costs

Material & Labor included (Queen Anne Magnolia Ballard) +tax

Garbage Disposal- ISE brand recommended. Replacement options: Good/Better/Best

$385.00 - basic economy model 3 year manufacturer warrantee 1/2 HP

$465.00 - Some Stainless parts, less noisy, 4 year manufacturer warrantee 3/4 HP

$595.00 - Bigger motor, stainless steel parts, most sound insulation. Very quiet. 5+ year manufacturer warrantee 1 HP

Add a garbage disposal to a sink that has never had one - (varies) budget at least $600.00, depending upon height of drain outlet at wall and depth of the sink. Don't forget that disposals need electricity (the plumber doesn't run electrical wire!). To lower the drain in the wall typically costs $600.00.

Kitchen Faucet - Replace with New American Standard Installed: $425.00 (faucet costs vary - this is the American Standard Reliant all brass, 3 hole, single-handle, no spray). Chicago commercial grade kitchen faucet 2-handle with wing levers, Installed: $690.00. Moen or Delta single-handle, no spray, Installed: $320.00 If you want a really cheap faucet we suggest you buy it yourself and we will install it for you - but you will have no warrantee from us if it doesn't work well or it leaks. We charge all time associated with customer supplied material problems. (Please do NOT purchase a $19.00 kitchen faucet off the hardware sale table and expect it to be anything but a liability waiting to happen.) Buy a name brand brass faucet - Please! (better yet, buy one from us). Call Evan and he will tell you his opinion on what is good or not worth owning.

Water heater - Easy access to the heater means best price. Our water heater installed costs are for 1 man, very accessible situations. Thru-the-house access can add $125.00 or more. Basements, attic locations, stairs, narrow hallways, moving appliances and restricted stairwells add time, maybe a helper and cost more. If you have white carpets over which we have to haul out the old rusty leaking water heater - you will pay for protective tarps and extra time. Water heater installed prices

Water Service- underground copper pipe from water meter to basement - typical cost $1500 for 40 feet or less with no obstacles to digging! Cost varies with ground hardness, obstacles and distance (its a time thing). Rockeries, retaining walls, concrete walks, large rocks, landscaping all dramatically change the cost. We dig, lay in the line and cover it up. We don't landscape or patch concrete. We use a "mole" about half the time - costs about $500 plus $20.00 per foot plus the plumber and material. We can replace underground pipes without trenching the entire distance in most cases. Call Evan for advice.

Toilet - Replacement cost (Installed) $525.00 white Kohler or American Standard with seat. New Toto Drake toilet $625.00. (If you want to flush a football - install a Toto). Flange repair extra if required $300. Hauling old toilet to the dump extra $50.00 - Replacing an old lead bend $600.00 - $700.00 These prices are for straight change out only - it does not include flange repairs, angle stop change, repiping, or floor repairs.

WARRANTY

We guarantee the quality of our work for 1 year. (This does not mean that we guarrantee that a washer change-out on a faucet will last a year as we have no control over how long a washer will last in your old faucet). All plumbing parts are guaranteed for 90 days against defects. Electrical appliances and devices are not warranted by us - but most manufacturers have warrantees. (We have no control over the performance of electrical parts - but we will assist getting replacements if needed). Most water heaters have replacement only tank warrantees for leakage past the first year by the manufacturer, typically 6 years. If you buy a water heater from us we give you a year warranty including labor.

There is no warrantee on customer-supplied items. If you want a warrantee on a garbage disposer or faucet then you should buy it from us. When you supply the part YOU are responsible for paying any labor charges if it has to be repaired or replaced.

There is no warranty on drain cleaning. We open a clogged drain but can not guarantee that it won't plug up again.

Updated February 2010

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Evan Conklin can be contacted at tel: (206) 281-8855