Alpine

My mate works in IT and is made redundent every 3-4 years.. He is now well pi55ed with this and is looking for an out.. He's a very proficient DIY er and fitted his own central heating etc etc.. He's contemplating becoming a self-employed plumber here in sunny Yorkshire... (yes we do have running water in our houses). The main thing putting him off is how much could he reasonably expect to earn and is there plenty of work out there??

Anyone?

MarkO

If he gets made redundant every 3-4 years, he's either a contractor, or he's been very unlucky. But he ought to remember that most jobs aren't for life - most people move every 3-4 years anyway.

I'd suspect that depending on which field he's in, he'd earn far more where he is than working as a plumber.

MarkehB

Well my Dad is a self-employed plumber and is pretty loaded

carpet

Im gonna get loaded tonight - but thats a totally different story

Alpine

He's a project manager and as projects come to a close he's out on his ear.. He seems to manage to build up some 'fat' while he's working but it disappears with frequent spells of unemployment. To be honest he says it's 3-4 years but I think it's probably more like 18 months to 2 years...

I think also it's partly that he wants to control his own destiny a bit more... mid-life crisis? Dunno, he's asking me for advice and I don't really have any experiences to draw on here...

g0d

Plumbers round here charge up to £55.00 p/h so I imagine he could scrape through by charging little old ladies for three days labour for fixing a tap etc

Sparks

If he wants to do Central Heating stuff he has to be Corgi Registered ( i.e. complete a training course ). dunno how much this costs but I guess it should be investigated and added to start-up costs ?

If he isnt corgi registered he has to do the work and have it inspected by a corgi registered plumber/heating engineer before the system can be used.

Not an expert in this area, just what I know from talking to various builders/contractors.

FiveO

Plumber OTE >£70K. Locksmith OTE **** loads. I know one who has a penchant for Polo and had a 928S4 (new). Last I heard he had a helicopter dito for Farriers. They don't tell you that in the school careers office!

SiCotty

Locksmith, after paying a locksmith over £100 for a job that lasted for under a minute I am not supprised. Spent the next 10 minutes talking about Scoobys.

Si


[Edited by SiCotty - 5/29/2002 4:24:05 PM]

[Edited by SiCotty - 5/29/2002 4:25:04 PM]

MarkO

That wasn't a guy from Dyno-Locks was it? I had the same thing - £50 for a 5-minute job, and then he chatted about my STI (and his Scoob) for the next half hour!

(in Kent, in case you're wondering)

Alpine

gOd, he's one of the good guys and would definitely NOT rip off old grannies.. In fact one of the things I asked him to consider was his 'soft' nature when it comes to charging grannies the 'going rate'...

He's more likely to end up saying 'Give us a tenner love and we'll call it quits'..

Anybody got any idea what the going rate is in west yorks? What the usual (none-cowboy) call out fee is?

BTW thanks for all the input, I'll advise him to be a locksmith! In fact are there any courses I could take?

planky

If hes happy charging ,lets say £25 call out/£30hr thats what he should charge.
it be all down to how much money he wants to earn but we all know if youre a plumber,think of a number and then triple it.

Alpine

btt in case any more feedback... meeting for beers tonight so I'd like to go with something positive to say... of course he may have landed another job!

Cheeky Jim

Hi, A few of my mates are in the trade - not plumbing, but builders/sparkies/Gasmen. I guess as others have said is what would he feel happy charging.

Also, things to bear in mind, as with any new venture:

1) How many plumbers are in his area?
2) What prices do they charge? (Phone up and enquire about moving a pipe or something like that)
3) What are their reputations like?
4) Does he have any friends/colleagues he could team up with. E.g. my friends above. If one has a job and it needs the services of the other, then they pass business each way. Certainly helps.
5) Good jobs by individuals will always get word of mouth business. Example above (Builder friend) - he doesn't advertise, no telephone no's on his (Brand new) Van. All his work is word of mouth.

Just some thoughts really, hope it's useful - but I coughed up £70 for a gasman to move one pipe in the kitchen (3/4hr job) so there is good money in it.

Jim

Alpine

Thanks Jim,

good idea to ring a few and see what the going rate is... Also good point about the number in the area.. we do have a couple of mutual friends in the building trade so that could also be useful.

cheers