stamp said...

i used to charge $90 plus gst for mobile welding & steel fabrication.

after insurance, rego, consumables, advertising, workshop costs, fuel, replacing tools etc i took home around $20 an hour (before tax). that doesn't include all the time spent doing paperwork and quotes after hours.

factor in the risks of bad debts and the worries about work drying up and you can see it's not a lucrative endeavour for many tradies.

you should work out all your annual expenses (from last year tax return maybe and excluding material supply)
but include a realistic wage you would like to earn, add it all up plus say add at least 15% to 30% extra over for profit and bad time money buffer, then divide by about 1,650 hours per year. your hourly rate. some people just double or quadruple their expenses (incl wages, materials etc etc).

petermac33 said...

Took my car to get fuel pump and thermostat changed,cost $360.

Only 6 screws to undo!

From Repco cost of fuel pump was $92.50

Total job could not possibly have taken more than an hour,some mechanics/tradies rip e-p-c-o.

So why did you take your car to the mechanic when you are so educated with the process?

Obviously such a menial task could have been easily handled by yourself and you could have saved in excess of $250.00!

Maybe we can have the full story.... the car was overheating and cutting out and you did not know why and the mechanic spent his time diagnosing the fault for you to determine the cause. He may have even put his diagnostic equipment that he spent thousands of dollars purchasing to extract any trouble codes that may have been recorded. He may have refilled the cooling system with coolant and pressure tested it after replacing the thermostat and road tested it upon completion of repairs.

Maybe you were to busy to do this job yourself and your time was better spent doing your own job where you are far more productive and it was more cost effective for the mechanic to do this task for you.

How about giving us all the relevant info for an overall picture before you sledge the tradie.

also with those water heaters (and i hate doing them for the following) the rules are forever changing on their installation
gas codes need to be adhered to and if the water heater isnt true to code its $$$
tempering valves need to be installed these days min $120 right there
no longer can plumbers do the wiring - another $90 min.
certificates are $20 which go to the useless jokes called Plumbers licensing Board here in WA.
cold water expansion valve must be replaed every time a heater is replaced - $70 or so.
so theres 300 bucks right there. blame the beaurocrats mate. plumbing is the most over regulated trade in australia. dont blame the plumber.

cisco said
All this ag601, as3500, and the local bylaws is the type of thing any tradesman needs to know. [b]Ie relevant to their particular trade

saltiest 1 said
definately not something all tradies should know. might want to do your homework prior to a flippant comment like that.

I don't see what is flippant about that if you read and understand what is said.

saltiest1 said...

also with those water heaters (and i hate doing them for the following) the rules are forever changing on their installation
gas codes need to be adhered to and if the water heater isnt true to code its $$$
tempering valves need to be installed these days min $120 right there
no longer can plumbers do the wiring - another $90 min.
certificates are $20 which go to the useless jokes called Plumbers licensing Board here in WA.
cold water expansion valve must be replaed every time a heater is replaced - $70 or so.
so theres 300 bucks right there. blame the beaurocrats mate. plumbing is the most over regulated trade in australia. dont blame the plumber.

A water heater exchange from a standard electric to a heat pump system costs over $300 in materials and fees then minimum 2 hours and up to 5 hours depending on situation.
Every time we touch a hot water system it has to be brought up to current standards which includes valves and coucil fees.

As Salty sais it is the most regualted trade and getting worse.

Don't shoot the messanger.

All we do is take your money and pass it on to someone else.

Oh we get to keep the abuse and synical comments, thats a bonus.

petermac33 said...

BarryDawson said...

petermac33 said...

Took my car to get fuel pump and thermostat changed,cost $360.

Only 6 screws to undo!

From Repco cost of fuel pump was $92.50

Total job could not possibly have taken more than an hour,some mechanics/tradies rip e-p-c-o.

So why did you take your car to the mechanic when you are so educated with the process?

Obviously such a menial task could have been easily handled by yourself and you could have saved in excess of $250.00!

Maybe we can have the full story.... the car was overheating and cutting out and you did not know why and the mechanic spent his time diagnosing the fault for you to determine the cause. He may have even put his diagnostic equipment that he spent thousands of dollars purchasing to extract any trouble codes that may have been recorded. He may have refilled the cooling system with coolant and pressure tested it after replacing the thermostat and road tested it upon completion of repairs.

Maybe you were to busy to do this job yourself and your time was better spent doing your own job where you are far more productive and it was more cost effective for the mechanic to do this task for you.

How about giving us all the relevant info for an overall picture before you sledge the tradie.

I was a little shocked at the price,later rang repco to check part price,cheaper than i thought.

I tried years ago to change a radiator and failed.

Then when i was a courier,hit kerb on round-about going back to base,had to get guy across the road to put spare on,get the picture?

yeah, sound like the old "itll only take you 10 minutes mate" line . 2 hours later.... theres your 300 bigguns.

saltiest1 said...

cisco said...

cisco said
All this ag601, as3500, and the local bylaws is the type of thing any tradesman needs to know. [b]Ie relevant to their particular trade

saltiest 1 said
definately not something all tradies should know. might want to do your homework prior to a flippant comment like that.

I don't see what is flippant about that if you read and understand what is said.

tilers do
carpenters do
builders do
sparkies do
mechanics do

the books are actually law believe it or not.
the standards are passed through federal parliament, and local government.
they are designed to prevent disease and contamination of the water supply.
have a flick through them and you will see how different they are from all the other "good books" for other trades
plumbers are lumped with the mother of all codes and standards.

I understand what you are saying but I am just not getting anywhere here am I??

petermac33 said...


I was a little shocked at the price,later rang repco to check part price,cheaper than i thought.

I tried years ago to change a radiator and failed.

Then when i was a courier,hit kerb on round-about going back to base,had to get guy across the road to put spare on,get the picture?

Yep, I get the picture.... By your own admission you can not perform the simplest of tasks in relation to motor vehicle maintenance and yet you found yourself qualified enough (with this job as your basis) to sledge all trades.

You haven't even mentioned what type of vehicle this is or how much the thermostat was, again important information.

Engine bays on vehicles are not what they once were, it must be twenty years since I replaced a thermostat "just quickly" on a Holden red motor. Some engine thermostat's now require hours of work removing inlet manifolds, pipe work and other associated components simply to facilitate the replacement of this part. Obviously you vehicle was not in this category or your bill would have been much larger.

Not all thermostats are $10.00 either, some are now incorporated with housings and thermo switches that are only sold as a complete assembly.

Did any bolts break when the thermostat was removed? Again this can happen on older vehicles due to corrosion therefore adding to the labour cost.

"Some mechanics/tradies" do not appreciate derogatory comments made by people who are ill informed and unqualified.

stamp said...

i don't want to burn myself for a living anymore...

Yeah, but was there good money in the bondage video industry?

It's people like you that give customers a bad name.

I would kill to be a tradie now, you tradies should imagine having to work 8 to 5 in an office and having to plead to your boss if you can leave 5min early while your lame co-workers give you the death stare. It's degrading. Then drive through peak hour.

At least if your a self employed tradie you have some control over you life. Work hard get paid well. You can choose life bit more.

SandS said...

Hey calling all plumbers , I need an emergency callout to fix a broken water pipe into my property .

Can you come tomorrow ? And if so how much per hour to fix it ?

Merry Xmas , shout your selves a new PVC pipe cutter and a new pair of tin snips for Xmas you blokes . You know you can aford to.

When the wheel stops next year let me know when you have dropped your rates to a more realistic level

You can all stop trying to justify your charge out rates now and have a Holliday !!

you see, as long as people need to sh1t, im in a job, and as i charge the right price according to the market ( which is based on how fast i can get there be it commercial or domestic) people WILL pay the premium (which by the way i can do for less than most others for a "drop everything and get here" rate) and keep in mind many businesses lose way more than $1000 / hr and are happy to pay the asap rate.
on top of that, people are so happy with the jobs, i no longer advertise, and business is growing, and other tradies will pay me to use my name and methods. now if that doesnt say something is right then you are tripping!
sounds like you are bitter for chosing the wrong profession to me.

hows that make you feel?

saltiest1 said...

SandS said...

Hey calling all plumbers , I need an emergency callout to fix a broken water pipe into my property .

Can you come tomorrow ? And if so how much per hour to fix it ?

Merry Xmas , shout your selves a new PVC pipe cutter and a new pair of tin snips for Xmas you blokes . You know you can aford to.

When the wheel stops next year let me know when you have dropped your rates to a more realistic level

You can all stop trying to justify your charge out rates now and have a Holliday !!

you see, as long as people need to sh1t, im in a job, and as i charge the right price according to the market ( which is based on how fast i can get there be it commercial or domestic) people WILL pay the premium (which by the way i can do for less than most others for a "drop everything and get here" rate) and keep in mind many businesses lose way more than $1000 / hr and are happy to pay the asap rate.
on top of that, people are so happy with the jobs, i no longer advertise, and business is growing, and other tradies will pay me to use my name and methods. now if that doesnt say something is right then you are tripping!
sounds like you are bitter for chosing the wrong profession to me.

hows that make you feel?

....... "I feel good dannananana" " like I knew I would danananana".....

saltiest1 said...

never hear how doctors or mechanics charge too much btw.

not from a plumber at least