Was I overcharged?

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Wiggums1

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Yesterday (saturday) we went down to our unfinished basement in our 1972 house, and found that every time we flushed the toilet or used the shower on the main floor, it would leak all over the place downstairs. As we bought the house only about 5 months ago, we had purchassed a home warranty through Landmark HW. We tried calling Landmark to have them help us get someone out to help us, but ended up being on hold most of the day, completely wasting he day. Finally, at about noon, we got fed up and started looking for a plumber to come out and help us. We were unable to get anything other than an answering machine untill calling a plumber from the next town over at about 4 PM. He sounded like he knew exactly what the problem was just from my description on the phone. He told us that he was after hours, and that there would be a trip charge to make the 1.5 hr trip to us, but that he would be willing to come. He ended up getting here at about 6 PM with his helper. They went down and looked around in our basement and crawlspace for about 10 minutes, then came up to let us know what it would take to fix it. The told us that we had old 4" cast iron drainage, and that the top of the drain pipe had eroded away from sewer gasses, and had cracked. They said that though that is a problem, that the drain line wass also plugged, which was causing it to overflow out the cracks, and flood the basement. They told us that to fix it, they would need to replace the cracked pipe, and clear the clogg. We told them that we couldn't use the house until it was fixed, so to please fix it. They worked until midnight, then they gave us the bill as follows:

- Service call fee: $150
- Trip charge : $150
- Clear clogged main line from cleanout in basement ceiling with main line snake: $250
- Replace 15' of 4" horizontal cast iron drain pipe in basemennt and crawl space with 4" ABS, and tie in drainage for tub, laundry, toilet, and lavatory. : $1200
- emergency after hours call : double = $1750.00
Total due: $ 3,500.00

Now, I really appreciated that they came out and helped us when we needed help, but they were only here for 6 hours, and charged us $3,500.00. Thats $583 per hour! Thats more than my family doctor or dentist! So I'm conflicted. Am I justifiably outraged at that plumber's price? Or should I just be gratefull I Got someone at all?
 
I would say you where fortunate enough that he had the equipment and all the material needed to complete the job in one trip.
He did travel 1.5hrs oneway and another 1.5 going home. T
hat is actually 9 hours of his time devoted to you.
He also brought a 2nd man which helped him make the repair quicker.
So that is 18 man hours. about 200/hr
take out the equip charges and material and the /hr/man drops a bit more.

Sounds fair to me. He could have just cleared the stoppage.
Then you could have had the pipes repaired during normal working hours.
 
Can you post a picture of what he replaced. Can give you an opinion if it was done correctly or not so at least you know if you got your money's worth.
 
Made a 1.5 hour trip at that hour, on a weekend, prepared with all materials and fixed the job? I would keep his business card for sure. Impressive!
 
every time I try to post the pictures I have, it says that it cant upload because a security token is missing...
 
The software may disallow posting with only two posts, so I added 10 posts to your count. Try posting another pic for us.
 
I get this message when trying to post pics:

Your submission could not be processed because a security token was missing.

If this occurred unexpectedly, please inform the administrator and describe the action you performed before you received this error.
 
Frodo is going to snap if every first time poster cannot post a picture of their problem.

Cmon tech support, getter figured out!
 
attached are some before and after pictures. The entire horizontal pipe was cracked and actually missing pieces from the top.
They replaced everything that had cracks in it.

3243.jpg

3248.jpg

3261.jpg

3266.jpg

3271.jpg
 
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:eek: FERNCOs ... GUY used ferncos... :(

They'll work but not recommended for that kind of repair. They will on horizontal connection and the pipe will sag and misalign.
best to use banded coupling.

050 (400x300).jpg

053 (400x300).jpg
 
Thats more than my family doctor or dentist!

:p:p:p:p

I am offended by this comment.

do you think a plumber is "LESS" in his standing in the community
than a Doctor or Dentist ?

for your information, a professional plumber is not some high school drop out
who is to stupid to do anything else.

I spent 4 years in school, while working 8 to 10 hours a day as an apprentice to learn my craft.
I go to a continuing education class every year for 8 hours
to stay up on the changing codes and materials
I have been certified to install burnham boiler system and trane chillers
I have a med gas certifacte.
for safety, I have attended the osha 24 hour first aid course
and am certified to work /monitor in confined spaces
cpr certified
And have a BS card that says I know how to call 1911
also carry a 1911 for protection, mine and yours

I guess you think we are all called Bubba, smoke crack, drink beer and beat our wives.

my wife beats ME!!!
i have to go husband abuse class's or she will beat me more..please help me!!!!:D
 
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There's an old story that's been floating around for yrs. NO JOKE. :cool:

This plumber handed a customer his bill for his service. The customer :eek:

" I'm a doctor and I don't even charge that much per hour "

Plumber replied, " Yeah I know! That's why I'm not a doctor any more! " :D
 
Is this another American thing I don't get? We just dial 911.

And our apprenticeship is 5 years

I think a 5 year appt. is better,than 4


Colt 1911 45 acp this is my emergency #

UBG43-T-F1-H.jpg


few years back, we just dialed the #
then we had to start using th area code
now, you have to dial 1-then area code, then the number
to call me, you would dial
1-601-555-1212
 
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I think a 5 year appt. is better,than 4


Colt 1911 45 acp this is my emergency #

UBG43-T-F1-H.jpg


few years back, we just dialed the #
then we had to start using th area code
now, you have to dial 1-then area code, then the number
to call me, you would dial
1-601-555-1212

We just started having to dial the area code as well.

I never pick up on gun references because....well....Canada
 
We just started having to dial the area code as well.

I never pick up on gun references because....well....Canada

It has gotten so bad around here, that you are a fool to go out in "jacktown"

unarmed.

last week, buddys BIL was robbed at the gas station while pumping gas.

the.......local thugs are getting out of control because of all this anti cop BS

Do not believe a word the idiot anti[gunners say.

when you pull a pistol, the cockroach thugs scatter.

if you dont carry one, your a victim.

I have had them look at me like I was a steak dinner, till they see the colt

then instead of me crossing the street, they do
 
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Wiggums, if I were you, I would get a copy of the repair bill and send it certified return receipt to the company that held the warranty on the house. Tell them to foot the bill. Let them know that you attempted to contact them about an urgent situation that could not be left to fester and they failed to answer the phones or respond.

Also, in the future its a good idea to ask about rates before hiring someone, so you can at least have an idea of what they charge.

At least you were given a breakdown of the costs by the plumber.

Have to agree that the fernco does not seem like a good permanent solution though.
 
When supported and used properly, I don't mind ferncos in exposed areas. A lot of people have big gaps between the 2 pipes in the coupling, that's where you get pipe sags and clogs. If I have to use a ferncos when working with 2 fixed points, the pipes are always butted against each other, and each side of the coupling gets a hanger.
 

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