FAQ
I NEED PLUMBING WORK DONE, BUT IM ON A TIGHT BUDGET. WHATS THE BEST WAY TO MINIMISE THE COST?
Quite simply, all you have to do is discuss your requirements with us, and one of our qualified plumbers will be more than happy to go over your options with you. Its important to remember that there can be substantial differences in price points between different material types, fixtures and fittings, and also how the job is approached from a labour perspective. Each have their pro’s and con’s. At least with an open and honest discussion, your plumber can understand your requirements and will be able to give you some options that genuinely suit your situation, giving you the choices. Quotes are an interesting one, every company that gives a quote when there are some variables involved will overprice the quote to allow for the “worst case” scenario. The best way to save money is to just have the job attended to, as 95% of the time, the job will be completed in under the “quoted for” time, therefore you will be billed for less, if you haven’t accepted a formal quote. It is important to remember that any professional plumber will outline a cost estimate before the work commences, and will stop work and immediately notify you, and physically show you, any unforeseen problems that may arise, giving cause for any variation in the original price estimate.
I RANG ANOTHER PLUMBING COMPANY AND THEY SAID THEIR DRAIN MACHINE IS $X PER HOUR / THEIR LABOUR RATE IS $Y PER HOUR. HOW DO YOU COMPARE TO THIS?
With all things being fair, you must compare apples to apples. Lets say the company you spoke to has a drain machine that operated at 4000psi and 25 litres per minute flow rate, back 20 years ago when it was new. It likely now around 3500psi, with 18 litres per minute flow rate, if theyre lucky. Compare that to a purpose built machine that operates at 5500psi, with 40 litres per minute flow rate. A machine so demanding that it requires the largest made Briggs & Stratton Vanguard motor to power it (37hp EFI). On one had you have an old machine that couldn’t blow the froth off a cappuccino, then on the other hand, you have a machine that can literally bore a hole through hardwood. So cleaning a drain, will be done in absolute minimal time with our Hydro Jetter. And when it comes to roots in a drain, if our Jetter cant clear it, its likely that no jetter can. So, would you prefer to have someone banging way at a lockage with a substandard machine, billing by the hour? Or worst still, have to pay to excavate and replace the drain unnecessarily? Or would you prefer one of the most powerful hydro jetters clear the blockage in a fast and efficient manner?
With services and equipment, you pay for the time it takes. We have the right tools and equipment to be as fast and efficient as possible, without compromising quality or safety.
We also have hour meters on our machines, which display the running time down 5 min increments, with logs to show start / finish time of each job. This is far better for the customer, compared to the “guestimate” approach of time billing other companies use.
With labour rates, you will find that tradesman rates don’t vary too wildly across the board. Even though the “per hour” rates may be similar, where the difference lies can be in many places. How many “sundry” or “levy” charges appear on the bill, and what values are they? Do they charge out their apprentice? And if so, how much? Whats their policy regarding billable time for apprentices? Are you going to be paying qualified tradesman rates for a 2nd, 3rd or 4th year apprentice, because they are out on their own? (mind you, this practice is against the QBCC code, as apprentices must be under direct personal supervision of a qualified plumber) In regards to equipment or tool hire rates, what is it that you are paying for? Do they bill out in 15 min, 30 min, 1hr increments? In simple terms, make sure youre not paying for a Hyundai Getz with one company, when you could be buying a Lamborghini for the same price or less through another company. Are you paying for unlicensed tradesmen to work on your gas systems, under the “umbrella” of the company they work for (which is also illegal)? Also check the prices of the materials, fixtures and fittings, and what materials are being used.
Unfortunately, there are many instances where tradesman can be intentionally unscrupulous to a home or business owner, Il give you two examples.
Customer has a leaking tap. One would normally think that it’s a simple washer change. The plumber shuts off the water, bleeds the line of pressure, removes the spindle and doesn’t check the condition of the washer mating surface. He then puts the washer in, turns on the water, and tests the tap. The tap isn’t leaking as long as you crank the tap handle down tight. In this instance, it will only be a few weeks before its leaking again. That’s another service call, and more money to spend. The homeowner then is told that there must be an underlying issue, and the taps are disassembled again, the brass seating surface is faced off, or the breech assembly is replaced. Overall, costing more than it should by taking more time.
A professional would reface the mating surface (it only takes 5 minutes to do) , and inspect it properly to make sure the new washer will seal. If the breech is damaged, the customer should be visually shown the issue, and given the option of a screw-in seat replacement (if possible), OR a breech replacement. The job is done in less time overall, the work was done properly, and the bill reflects the lower value. End result is that the customer is happy.
The other good one is blocked drains. So much time can be wasted by the plumber, which again, is all billable. They’ll start off by plunging the line, tipping down liquid drain cleaners (chargeable products), then move onto a low powered hydro jetter, when that doesn’t work, they’ll try a drain eel. When all of those items fail, they’ll inform the home owner that the drains must be dug up and replaced. At this point in time, no progress has been made on clearing the drain, yet the bill is already substantial, and its about to get worse. A lot of this can be avoided by a proper inspection, analysis and diagnosis of the drainage system and its problematic symptoms, and possibly the use of the best available CCTV and blockage locator equipment. From that point, the plumber is better versed to be able to present options to the customer. If drains need to be excavated, it is highly beneficial to know EXACTLY where the blockage is, instead of aimlessly digging around trying to locate drains that are hidden underground. Our locators have pinpoint accuracy, we can determine exact location, exact distances, and depths. Post-work advice would also be prudent, so that the cause of the blockage can be addressed, vastly increasing the chances that it wont happen again.
Same can be said for water leak detection. Water has a habbit of travelling in unlikely paths. With our state of the art leak detection equipment, the precise location of a leak can be found faster, with more accurate results and (depending on the situation) little to no invasive damage to interior or exterior walls, concrete slabs, asphalt and turf in the locating process. I have personally seen big holes torn up in concrete slabs trying to locate a leak, and the leak being located quite some distance away from where the holes were cut.
WHY DO YOU HAVE TO BRING AN APPRENTICE, LET ALONE CHARGE ME FOR THEIR TIME?
Sometimes the apprentice will be charged out, sometimes they wont. It depends on the job, and this will be discussed before any work starts. But if they are charged out, here is a good way to look at it.
Let’s say you have a 2 acre block to mow. It takes one experienced person 4hrs to mow it. That person charges $100 per hour. That’s $400 total and 4hrs time to do the job.
Same scenario – But you hire (add) another experienced person who charges $100 per hour. It takes them half the time (2hrs) to mow the 2 acre block, as there is two of them working on the job. The first person charges $200 for his 2hrs work, as does the 2nd person. The total cost is still the same, $400, but it was done in half the time, as there were two people on the job.
Imagine the same situation. 2 acres to mow and it takes one experienced person 4hrs. The expert brings his apprentice, who helps mow the easy bits, does the run around work, refuels the mowers, while the expert does the finer work, and uses all his time on tasks that require his expertise. Its done in 2.5 hours. expert charges $100, apprentice is charged at $25. That’s a bill total of $312.50, which is far better both price-wise AND time-wise for the customer. AND its helping train the next generation of tradesmen.
To summarise, the qualified tradesman will attend to the job itself, while the apprentice will assist him in running to get tools or fittings, cut lengths of pipe, getting supplies, filling out paperwork, cleaning & packing up and generally do the lesser skilled tasks, saving the tradesman time. If you look at the tradesman and apprentice rates, you will see how this benefits your bottom line when the invoice is issued. In addition, apprentice time is only billed for the work that he does. If they are watching a tradesman do a particular task for the purpose of their learning, obviously this time will not be billed. If the Company you hire takes a fair and realistic approach to billing and the work that is required to be done, your invoice will be fair, reasonable and realistic.
WHY DO YOU HAVE SEPARATE CHARGES FOR SOME OF YOUR TOOLS, BUT NOT ALL OF THEM?
There are some specialist tools that we use that we have to charge for. There are several reasons for this, and generally the reasons vary depending on what piece of equipment you are looking at.
Ill give an example.
Our drain machine is a unit that costs about the same as a new vehicle. These machines are rated to 500hrs before major rebuild is required, as performance starts to decrease. These are precision tolerance, highly stressed machines. Some may run their machines for 20 years straight with no or little maintenance, but all this does is make the machine FAR less effective. A less effective machine will take a lot longer to get the job done, if it gets the job done at all. Remember, you are being billed based on time. Our machine is new, but we already have a service agreement in place with the manufacturer for complete overhaul / major rebuild once the hour meter hits 500 – at their recommendation. By doing this, we can guarantee your getting the best performing machine for the dollar you are spending, and also having the machine onsite for the least amount of time possible as it remains effective and efficient. In addition to this, there are running costs (trailer tyres, fuel, oil, standard maintenance), and unforeseen expenses such as damaging / losing a jetter nozzle, or damaging a high pressure hose. We run three hoses, and each one costs nearly $1000. Some of our jetter heads are upwards of $2000. If we rip the sidewall of a hose due to debris in the drain, we don’t bill you for it, but we have to foot the $1000 bill to replace the hose. That’s part of the risk of doing business.
In addition to this, since our machine’s performance is so extreme, it is classified as a Class B machine, which requires RTO training, certification and licensing to operate. Refer Australian Work Health & Safety Act (WHS) 2011 – Section 19, and also AS/NZS 4233.1-2103 High Pressure Water Jetting Systems.
There are many businesses that solely focus on Hydrojetting only, and their rates are substantially more expensive.
Most domestic machines run between 3,000 and 4,000psi, with a flow rate of around 20 litres per minute. Ours can go as low as this value, or it can be escalated to 40 litres per minute and over 5000psi. There are larger units out there, but these are meant for drains (150mm to 800mm) that are substantially larger than what is found in domestic and commercial premises. These machines are designed for local authority sewer mains. They have a high rate of flow (100 litres per minute) and a low pressure (3000psi). They are ineffective in comparison, as the flow rate is too high for domestic, and even most commerical sized drains, and the pressure is too low for cutting roots.
If you ever wish to discuss pricing, or want to know more – we are always happy to have a chat, as we firmly believe in transparency and fairness.
DO YOU OFFER CREDIT ACCOUNTS?
Our minimum invoice value is $50 inc GST.
Accounts can be pre-organised with management approval. This includes documents to sign, which can be discussed upon enquiry.
WHICH PAYMENT METHODS DO YOU ACCEPT?
We accept Cash and Bank Transfer. We also accept Visa, Mastercard, Eftpos, American Express, JCB, Diners, Union Pay . We also accept paypal which also offers “PAY-IN-4”
We are currently working to add a few extra “buy now pay later” services.
WHAT ARE YOUR OPERATING HOURS? DO YOU DO AFTER HOURS CALL OUTS?
We are available 24/7.
However, our standard operating hours are 8am to 5pm Monday to Friday.
WHAT DO I DO IF I HAVE AN AFTER HOURS PLUMBING EMERGENCY?
Stanthorpe Plumbing & Gas has a plumber on call 24hours a day 7 days a week. Call our number, leave a voice message and our on-call plumber will return your call promptly.
CAN I SUPPLY MY OWN PARTS?
If certain requirements are met then yes you can. We cannot guarantee the quality, nor warrant self-supplied parts. Parts used for contact with potable water need to be Watermark Approved and suitable for the intended use. Parts used in an NG / LPG installation need to hold a relevant approval (AGA, UL ect). All of these need to comply with the relevant Standards. Its important to note that not all parts sold by retailers are legally able to be installed.
WHAT ARE THE ADVANTAGES OF GAS HOT WATER OVER ELECTRIC HOT WATER?
Gas hot water systems are environmentally friendly. Gas burns much less CO2 to heat the water than electricity. By comparison, electric systems can burn as much CO2 as an average sized car.
Gas burns very hot and very little heat is wasted making the system very energy efficient
Operational costs are less for gas systems than for electric.
Gas systems heat the water up fast. No more waiting around for the water to heat to finish the showers in the evening. Electric systems can only deliver a certain amount of heated water before the storage is depleted, and the hot water runs out for the day. Gas systems provide unlimited hot water (as long as you have gas in your cylinders!)
Gas systems use gas only when the hot water is un use, unlike electric systems which consume electricity – irrespective of whether you have used any hot water.
Gas systems do not require an electrician to disconnect / reconnect the unit. Electric systems require an electrician to disconnect the old unit (if applicable) and reconnect the new unit. This is an extra cost. Gas systems use a standard 240v plug. Further, some Gas systems are designed to operate without mains power (either pilot light or 9v ignition)
WHY DOES MY ELECTRIC HOT WATER SYSTEM ONLY HEAT UP OVER NIGHT?
Since the price of electricity per kW is getting more and more expensive, most systems are put onto the off peak tarrif. Electricity is up to 60% cheaper on off-peak tariff. You will also be reducing the demand on the electricity system by running your water heater during off-peak times.