Plumber’s costs

For the installation and maintenance of sanitary systems, kitchen pipes, toilets, and heating systems, you should consult a plumber. Below is a discussion of how the cost demanded by a plumbing company is calculated.

How are the prices calculated?

The price demanded by a plumber depends greatly on the type of work to be done and the number of kilometers the plumber needs to travel to his destination. Plumber’s prices per hour are on average between $40 and $75. In addition to the hourly rate, a plumber (usually) also charges a call fee. Do you live near a plumbing company? Then these costs mat usually not be charged. It is quite possible that a plumbing company may charge a standard call-out fee. On average this would cost about $20. Below is an overview of the work and the associated costs per project.

How much time does a plumber need?

Below is an overview of the average time a plumber spends on a job:

Haste or no rush?

Another aspect which equally affect the total price is the question of whether you urgently need a plumber or not. There may be a leak in your apartment, and you may want to have it fixed immediately. A plumber can solve the problem permanently. You do not have to worry about this anymore – but the result is that you pay a little more than normal. Plumbers also charge extra on weekends.

A lower rate?

A small independent plumber will usually charge a lower rate. In addition, different rates often apply for weekends and in case of hinderances. In addition, the client will be charged for materials that need to be replaced, for example.

Choices that influence the price charged by a plumber

There are clearly several factors that can have a direct influence on the costs charged by a plumber. But there are more than just the above mentioned. We would like to list the most important options for you:

Option 1: Plumber’s experience

A plumber usually charges an hourly rate based on their experience (level of competence). A more experienced plumber can therefore charge a price of about $65-$90 per hour. A prospective plumber with limited experience will charge a much lower hourly rate of about $40-$55. Depending on the quality and experience required, you may therefore be faced with different price ranges.

Option 2: The material used

You should equally note that solving a simple leak requires much less specialized material than, when installing a new boiler, for example. The influence of the price of the material therefore depends very much on the project and should be discussed with your plumber.

Option 3: Call-up costs

As already mentioned above on this page, you should always keep in mind that a plumber can charge so-called displacement fees.

Attention: Two different types of transport costs can be calculated. These include the standard travel costs between the plumber’s place of departure and your home, but also when certain material needs to be collected or delivered. The standard displacement cost is usually around $21, and the same amount can easily be charged for the collection or delivery of equipment.

Option 4: Time of the week

Indeed, you cannot choose when you have a leak and it goes without saying that you will always want to have it repaired as soon as possible. For urgent jobs, a plumber can usually visit you the same day. This is fantastic, but you will always be charged extra. The same applies to jobs that take place outside office hours and on weekends. It I usually common to find a 25% surcharge on the normal hourly rate in such cases.

Compare plumbing companies

It is always a great idea to request a free quote from various plumbing companies and agree on a price in advance so that you at least know where you stand, with no room for surprises afterwards. Besides, everything revolves around customization. Every plumber has his own price. In order not to pay too much, you can via our tool, request several nonbinding quotes from local plumbing companies.