Urgent - Is it normal for plumbers to make $325/hr?

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Melinda

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Let me make it even simpler.

You got good work.

The total job price, which is what is important, does not seem to be completely out of control for the Atlanta area for quality, knowledgeable work by an actual licensed plumber (who is required to be bonded and insured unlike the typical handyman who would try to do this job). I say this having built multiple restaurants in the burbs of Atlanta.

And, again, you got good work, which is NOT a given.

I once had an insurance company tell me that they could get good lawyers to do work for them, here in New York City, for $150/hr. I told them that I would gladly send them the file back so they could put a $150/hr. lawyer on the multimillion-dollar claim in the legally-complex and factually-complex lawsuit. (Clue: I charge a lot more than $150/hr.. Partners at major law firms in NYC charge north of $800/hr., although this means that they don't really charge clock time, they only charge for the slices of the hour where they are actually performing valuable work.) Not surprisingly, they didn't take the case from me to give it to a $150/hr guy. And the amount of money they saved by having quality work done right from the beginning, leading to a minimal settlement rather than an expensive trial or an expensive settlement, more than compensated for the extra legal fees. In all professions, all professionals are not the same. Any doctor is not as good as any other doctor. Any lawyer isn't as good as any other lawyer. And any plumber sure as heck is not as good as any other plumber.

In my view, you in no way were "taken advantage of". You're letting one lowball statement from an insurance adjuster distort your thinking. So you can feel good letting it go.
Thanks for your input!
 

Dj2

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A lawyer is walking to his office one morning, thinking about today's workload. The DEVIL jumps in front of him: " How would like me make you the best lawyer in town, just give me your soul?". The lawyer: "I like that !"
Devil: "How would you like me make you the best lawyer in the state just give me your soul and your first born's soul?"
Lawyer: "I like it better"
Devil: "How would you like me make you the best lawyer in the country just give me your soul, your child's soul and your grandson's soul??"
Lawyer: "So what's the catch?"
 

Dj2

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This one is even better:

A lawyer wakes up one Sunday morning and sees a huge flood in the kitchen. He calls different plumbers, but none is available at that time. Finally he finds one who is willing to come over.
The plumber goes in, changes a washer and hands the lawyer a bill.
Lawyer: " $800 for 5 minutes? - heck, I'm a lawyer and I don't even make that !"
Plumber: "Well, I know you are a lawyer, I used to be a lawyer, now you know why I became a plumber"
 

WJcandee

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There are skid marks in front of the snake.

We have a winner! I liked the other jokes as well.

Years ago, to help the Dallas Zoo (in the city in which I was then practicing), we joined the Zoo's Adopt-An-Animal program and made a substantial donation to adopt all the snakes in the Zoo's collection. (Turns out that none had yet been adopted; snakes, like lawyers, we said, are so often misunderstood.)

A fair number of people -- let me correct that: a fair number of lawyers -- didn't think it was funny. So we then agreed to let the public re-adopt any of our adopted snakes in the name of their favorite lawyer. Those that didn't think Step 1 was funny thought even less of Step 2. We got a lot of media attention from this, whereupon we just said, "Hey, we were trying to help a good cause by poking a little fun at ourselves." The story eventually landed in Newsweek, and I spent weeks answering calls from radio morning DJs around the US who wanted to talk about it -- and use me as the straight man for them to tell lawyer jokes, some of which were very creative and all of which I enjoyed immensely.
 
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hj

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When my daughter was dating a lawyer student, I would collect all the lawyer jokes I could before he came over. He did not have a sense of humor which made telling them that much more enjoyable.
 

WJcandee

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When my daughter was dating a lawyer student, I would collect all the lawyer jokes I could before he came over. He did not have a sense of humor which made telling them that much more enjoyable.

Absolutely!

What do you get when you cross a Godfather with a lawyer?
An offer you can't understand.

What's the difference between a lawyer and a bucket of poop?
The bucket.

"You're a lawyer. If I give you $500, will you answer two questions for me?"
"Sure. Now what's your second question?"

What's the difference between a catfish and a lawyer?
One's a slime-eating, mud-sucking bottom feeder, and the other's a fish.

Why have scientists begun to use lawyers instead of rats in lab experiments?
Several reasons. First, they're more plentiful than rats. Second, the researchers don't get as attached to them. And third, there are some things even rats won't do.
 
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WJcandee

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Q: What's the problem with lawyer jokes? A: Lawyer's don't think they're funny, and no one else thinks they're jokes.

Oddly enough, I hadn't heard that one, and it's exceptional.

It's the same concept as HJ's one above about there being only one lawyer joke and all the rest are true, which is also funny, but the different formulation of this one really made me laugh.

Many lawyer jokes could be plumber jokes (e.g. "What do you call 25 lawyers buried to their chins in cement? Not enough cement." "What do you call 100 lawyers drowning in the ocean? Not enough lawyers." "What does a lawyer get when you give him Viagra? Taller." "What is the difference between a mosquito and a lawyer? One is a blood-sucking parasite and the other is an insect." "What do you call a smiling, courteous, helpful person at a convention of lawyers? The caterer.")

But people don't hate plumbers enough to tell them that way.
 
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FullySprinklered

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When my daughter was dating a lawyer student, I would collect all the lawyer jokes I could before he came over. He did not have a sense of humor which made telling them that much more enjoyable.
Why is it so easy for me to picture that?
 

hj

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quote; "What do you call 100 lawyers drowning in the ocean?

A. A start.

A ethical politician, an honest lawyer, and Santa Clause were in an elevator. When the door opened there was a $20.00 bill on the floor. The question is "Who picked it up"?

Answer. Santa Clause. The other two are mythical figures.

As far as plumber jokes, some once gave me a book of Italian and Polish jokes, but the authors said if that offended anyone, just change them to Irish and French jokes.
 

Dj2

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Who asked for a plumber's joke?
Here's one:
A nice old lady had a talking parrot. One morning she told the parrot: "I was expecting a plumber at 10 am, it's now 10:30 am and I really have to run errands. If the plumber shows up, let him in please." The parrot nodded and the lady left.

10 minutes later there a knock on the door.
Parrot: Who's that?
Person: It's the plumber.
Parrot: who's that?
Person: It's the plumber !
Parrot: who's that?
Person: It's the plumber !!! and with that, the plumber got a stroke and fell down outside the door.

20 minutes later the lady returned and when she saw the man on the floor, she opened the door and asked the parrot: "who's that?"
The parrot answered: "It's the plumber".
 

SteveW

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Q: If you see a lawyer riding a bike on the street you are driving on, should you swerve to try to hit him?

A: No. It might be your bike.
 

sajesak

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Hi, Melinda. I've been in the city for about 10 years. Came over from Athens. There's a lot of good and useful information in Terry's post, especially concerning polybutylene and slab foundations. Scary on their own, real scary together.

The rates seem kind of high, but that being said, I would give a high figure when it comes to jackhammering a slab in a finished space, looking for a leak.

My company is a mom and pop operation with minimal overhead, so we can charge less than some of the bigger companies. Something to keep in mind next time something comes up.

In case you haven't noticed, there's a building boom in progress in N. metro Atlanta, and the talent in all trades is spread mighty thin. That means they can charge premium prices for their labor check out here best plumbing services. We're turning down work right and left, even from our regular customers. Strange circumstances for us.
Few days after move in one of my sons used the bathroom and clogged it up. Thought it was just a simple plunger fix and even used my little snake to run it down the toilet. Turns out the issue wasnt fixed and after running the washer the toilet overflowed out of the bowl a couple times, until we realized the washer running was causing the overflow. Turned off the washer and toilet stopped overflowing. Called out Roto Rooter and they unclogged the sewer line but ran a camera down the line and said I had a belly in a section of the pipe which was the root cause of the toilet clogging. They are charging me $2900 to fix the section of pipe, this included them having to break 2 feet of concrete to re-route the pipe. Any suggestions of whether or not this is something that can wait or I need to get done right away? If I absolutely have to Id put it on a credit card. Just very overwhelmed right now, help would be much appreciated.
 

Breplum

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Belly in a pipe run can very much cause ongoing clogging. It is a matter of contributing factors as to how often it will recur so that is the chance you run.
All homes should have a sewer inspection as part of normal inspection prior to purchase.
If new purchase, this is an existing issue and should have been disclosed and if not disclosed, you have a claim against the seller.
 
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