It depends on your location. Here that would be in the ballpark. The labor multiplier for this area is about 1.3 national average meaning we pay about 30% more.

I havent used my plumber as a call in, it's essentially all new work, but my electrician gets $250 to walk in the door. It's prorated toward whatever the cost is to deal with the problem or do the work but $250 is the minimum. Where my sister lives, its $65.

a pro master plumber around here averages a billing rate of $100/hr.

a single shower valve install is avg. $250 + materials. for example.

ask him his hourly rate and what materials will cost. Flood insurance is not cheap.

Also my plumber never works solo on a job. He always has a helper. Ask your plumber if he will have a full-time helper.

I am in the Boston area. If that helps.

That's a great price for that.

Yes, that is reasonable. Your question validates why it is so important to get several quotes. A hassle? Sure, but well worth it in many ways. In regards to location, I would assume the Boston area would run higher than average.

ukkiirish:

You don't get several quotes when taking your child to the doctor or buy a haircut on sale for $2.00. "Quote shopping" is no different. Like any other professional, check out your contractor's bedside manor and the results of other clients.

I never bid competitively. It's a race to the bottom and there is nothing there for me. If my reputation has no value and you're price shopping, I have nothing for you.

I understand what you r saying and I agree but it is hard to get a contractor to call back, let alone come to your home and give u a quote. That is why I am asking for help from people on garden web. I value their opinion. I also understand that a lot of the time, contractors take the time to look at jobs and give quotes, only to be used. I sent a text back to the plumber thanking him and asking him to let me know when he wanted to start. I am not rich but I understand that a contractor has overhead, bills, etc. I would never take advantage of another person. I am willing to pay a fair price. I had no idea what a fair price is. Thanks for the help ..

I just drove out of of my way in rush hour and met a potential client at her chosen time. she forgot the key at her other home A reschedule at her convenience to look at a small job will now consume 2.5 hrs of time/fuel. just to look at it .

I politely said with a nice smile, lets play it by ear.

it costs us on average 2-3 hrs and fuel and drive time to chase small jobs and work up any knd of estimate , large scope jobs sometimes 5-10 hrs.

charging for site visits and initial estimates seems like the future for us if we want to stay in buisness.

Why is he installing Hardiebacker under the tub? Shouldn't be a need for that. If he is installing it around the tub, be aware hardie isn't waterproof. You'll need some sort of waterproofing aside from the Hardie. A surface applied membrane, either sheet or liquid will work nicely.

I will talk with him about that. Thanks. I know we r installing a new plywood sub floor. I will def talk to him before any work is done. Thanks.

Joseph, your comment about seeking quotes for doctors has me really laughing. Try googling Dr. Farid Fata, cancer doctor. He was my husband's first oncologist. We didn't shop around, we were told by our physician he was the "best" and money didn't matter. He is currently in Federal Prison. So yes, we do shop around for doctors! We made the mistake of not doing so once and I will never go THAT route again, so if it hurts a professional's feelings because I want to do my due diligence, then so be it.

The reality is however that shopping around has very little to do with price as opposed to finding someone that I can TRUST, that has the skill set I'm looking for and that I feel I can work with in a collaborative way. Also, if I get several bids and one stands out as exessively high, well maybe he/she is out pricing him/herself. I also think that like getting a 2.00 haircut, you get what you pay for and if someone under bids a job, that's important to know too because ultimately he's going to make up for the loss somehow which usually means the workmanship will suffer. So how would you know he under bid unless you had other bids to compare it with? No matter how much effort it takes, getting multiple bids is just good common practice. It helps you to hire someone you can hopefully feel confident with and trust at a price that is the going rate in your area. Any professional worth his weight is going to have enough confidence in their skill to know that a good consumer, a smart consumer will not want that lowball estimate.

Dogger, when we first bought our fixer home, I got invaluable advise from lots of great people in the GW forum. I read a lot of threads, asked a lot of questions and educated myself as much as possible about the job I was going to find someone for. It is really important that a homeowner has some understanding about what is entailed but all that advise still didn't take the place of talking to a someone face to face. No one here can tell you if you've found the right person or not, but if you're not comfortable with his price or plan, it may mean you need to keep looking.

We've been slowly upgrading our house for years and I have never experienced a no show. The contractor we used for several bigger jobs drove 50 miles each way but we were always happy to pay extra for his drive time and gas, he was mid-range to a little high on his pricing, but worth every penny. (I cried when he retired). We don't live in an urban area so maybe it's just different here or maybe we've just been very lukki. :c)

lukkiirish, I agree completely. The face to face meeting is a very important factor in choosing a contractor. If they cancel at the last moment or don't show or come very late without calling, it says volumes of what to expect when they are on the job. And anyone who takes the lowest bid is just asking for trouble.

" So how would you know he under bid unless you had other bids to compare it with?"

A guy with a file drawer full of happy testimonials didn't get them by charging too much or too little. The marketplace keeps contractors from overcharging and undercharging. When you verify the reputation of your contractor, you've made sure you're not going to pay too much or too little.

Everyone has valid points. Sometimes you have to go for it and hope for the best. I don't want to spend too much time thinking and second guessing. Life is short!

Of course Joseph, checking references is ALSO part of the process, I never implied it wasn't but you seem to expect a homeowner to just go with the first guy she/he finds because he says he's a pro and has references? News flash! References are faked ALL the time, and no offense, but it's kind of arrogant to expect that I would naively spend thousands of our hard earned cash much less trust that person to work on our home just because he has "a drawer full of testimonials"? That is beyond ridiculous.

My contractor once told me, a good seasoned contractor can always stay busy regardless of the economy and basically word of mouth kept him busy. And even though he had great references from people I knew, I still got other estimates.

Sure hope I am not the snookypookums you are referring to, because I am really not a hard nose, I've just been burned and don't want to get burned again. But you are absolutely right, it is very important for you to feel welcome in your clients home. You also need to be given the space to do what you need to do without people or pets getting in the way or watching every move. Just because someone wants to do their due diligence though doesn't mean they aren't friendly or welcoming.

The plumber's work in my bathroom remodel cost $1,700. He had to come back three times - first for the rough in; then after the tiles went in to install the shower fixtures and the toilet; last for the sink after the countertop was installed.