How much should a plumber cost per hour?

Expect about $150 to $250 an hour for a plumber's regular-hours work in Pasadena, and roughly $175 to $350 an hour for evenings, weekends and emergencies, according to published rates. Many jobs are not billed by the hour at all, and a plumber quotes a flat price for the repair. For what we do across the area, see the Pasadena Pipe Works home page. Use the quote form when you want a price on your own job.

What is a fair hourly rate for a plumber?

The hourly rate pays for far more than the person's wage: a truck, tools, insurance, license upkeep, parts stock, dispatch and the gaps between jobs. That is why the customer rate, often $150 to $250 an hour here, sits well above the hourly wage plumbers earn. Federal wage data for plumbers is published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

A plumber who specializes in one thing, such as tankless heaters or sewer lines, may charge more, and for good reason: the pros who do a job daily diagnose faster. A rate that looks cheap can cost more if the work takes twice as long. Judge by the total on the written quote, and ask what the quote includes. California also expects the contractor to hold a license in the right classification, and the state licensing board has a lookup by number.

What does a plumber charge outside regular hours?

After-hours work usually costs 1.5 to 2 times the standard rate. Published figures for the Pasadena area put emergency or after-hours calls at about $175 to $350 an hour, and one countywide guide adds a service call fee of $125 to $175. Weekends and holidays tend to sit at the high end, and some shops set a two-hour minimum.

The extra charge is for being on call at night, and it is fair to ask if the problem could wait for the morning. Burst pipes, sewage backups, gas smells and a water heater flooding the ceiling cannot wait. Dripping taps, running toilets and slow bathroom sinks usually can. A gas smell sends you outdoors first. SoCalGas (1-800-427-2200) handles the emergency, and the plumber handles the repair afterward.

Is the trip charge credited if I hire the plumber?

A service call fee is a flat charge for the plumber to come to your door and diagnose the problem. Published figures run about $50 to $200, with $75 to $150 common. Plenty of plumbers subtract it from the final bill, a few waive it, and some just add it on top. Ask the question before you book.

Some companies bundle the fee into the first hour, while others charge it separately. An honest plumber can tell you in plain words what the visit covers, what happens if you decline the repair and what the diagnosis fee buys. A written quote, given before work starts, should list the fee and the repair cost as separate lines. When we arrange the visit, the plumber who arrives writes the quote down before anything is cut or replaced.

How do prices work by the job instead of the hour?

Most plumbers price repairs as a flat rate built from the hourly rate and the parts, so you pay one figure whatever the time taken. Published prices for common Southern California jobs give a feel for it. They are guides only, and your quote has the final word.

For a closer look, see what it costs to fix a burst pipe, water heater replacement prices, toilet replacement costs and faucet installation costs. Gas jobs, from a water heater gas valve to a new gas line, carry their own safety rules and belong with a contractor who carries the right California license.

Is there such a thing as plumbing cost per square foot?

Builders talk in square feet for new construction, and a few guides publish rough numbers, yet the measure fits an existing house badly. Published figures for rough-in plumbing in new homes are roughly $4 to $8 a square foot, and whole-house repipe estimates range from about $2 to $12 a square foot depending on the material. Your own quote will be priced by fixtures and pipe runs.

Repiping an older Pasadena home is a good example of why square footage misleads. A Craftsman bungalow with plaster walls, a slab section, a second bathroom added in the 1960s and galvanized supply lines is a different job from a same-size ranch with copper. The question that matters is how many fixtures there are, how much of the wall must be opened and what the finish repair costs. Our page on repiping cost walks through it.

Can I get a free plumbing estimate or use a repair cost estimator?

Online estimators give a ballpark from average prices, and they are fine for a first idea. They cannot see the hidden things that move the price: the pipe material, the access, the shut-off valves that will not close, the condition of the pipe nearby. A written quote, issued once the plumber has viewed the work, is the one number worth trusting.

Many plumbers quote simple jobs from a photo or a phone call, and some give no-charge estimates on bigger projects such as repipes or water heater replacement. Ask if the estimate is free, if it binds the plumber, and what happens when more work turns up once the wall is open. Heating, air conditioning and plumbing sometimes come from one contractor, but the license for each trade is separate. Look at the classification on the quote, since a gas furnace and a water line connect to different codes.