A Plumber's Backyard

Sometimes even plumbers get sick of plumbing. This picture is my backyard in Bellingham, Washington, Geneva neighborhood.

My neighbors describe my place as "native lawn", "early hillbilly rustic", or "that contractor's house". I try to tell them that if someone would pay me to fix it up, it'd be done in a heartbeat. Nobody has stepped up with the dough, though.

As soon as business picks up enough, I'm tearing it down and building a modest home. In the meantime, my acre is a haven for native plants and wildlife.

Sewage ejector Blaine, Wa

Here's something most people will never experience.

This house has a pump that ejects the sewage up the hill to the county sewer. The pipe shook loose and filled the pit that's located in the front yard. Next to the front door. 

Sometimes, this job can never pay enough...

Ball Plumbing Gets a Complaint

All our prices and charges are on our website: www.ballplumbing.net/services.html

We try to be as honest and transparent as possible, but recently we had a complaint from a landlord over an  overtime bill of $292.12, including tax. All charges were told to him and his tenant. He agreed to the prices.

The invoice break down:

Overtime Rate (09/08/12): $99.00 per hour x 2 hours: $198.00
Equipment Charge: $25.00
Trip Charge: $45.00
Tax: $24.12
Total: $292.12

I'll break it down further:

Overtime Rate (09/08/12): $99.00 per hour x 2 hours: $198.00. At that time, we were charging $66.00 per hour with 30 minute increments. O.T. is charged 50% more to bring the hourly rate to $99.00/hour. Still a deal at any time.

Equipment Charge: $25.00. Every plumbing company I've ever worked for charges for equipment and we're still far below what anyone charges. Try to rent an electrical 3/8th snake machine, an extension ladder, and 150' of electrical cord from Hardware Sales and see what it will cost you (a lot more than $25.00).

Trip Charge: $45.00. I wish we didn't have to charge that, but the cost of running a truck is almost prohibitive now. (my rant about gasoline and insurance deleted).

Tax: $24.12. Tax is 9%.

Total: $292.12 The total for that Sunday job is what most companies charge for regular time and good luck trying to reach them on a Sunday afternoon.

Ball Plumbing Hourly Rates and Flat Rates

Ball Plumbing offers two ways to purchase our services and materials. The following is a general outline and doesn't include all the prices.  Prices are subject to change without notice.

For more information and a complete list, go here:  http://ballplumbing.net/services.html

The first is commonly referred to as "Time and Material" (TM), which means being charged for the time actually spent working on your job. There are some things to remember about T&M:

1. At Ball Plumbing, we can show you the ballpark price using out Flat Rate book, so you won't get Invoice Shock. 
2. Service Charge: Instead of a Travel Charge, we charge $45.00 (per day) to cover travel. This charge started in 2010 to cover the high cost of fuel and oil. If the prices go down, this charge will be gone.
3. Hourly Rates: We round off to the nearest 1/4 hour. Time begins when we knock on the door and ends when we hand you the invoice. We currently charge $88.00 an hour.
4. 4. Estimates: Ball Plumbing charges for estimates. Simple estimates start at $55.00.
5. Material Collection: If we have to get parts for your job, it's usually on the clock. Exceptions are made for parts we usually have on the truck. 
6. Equipment Charges: We charge an usage rate for all equipment. Range is $5.00-$45.00.
7. Materials: We mark-up all parts on a sliding scale. Right now, it's approximately 50%-100% over our cost and our cost is very close to what you can get it at Wal-Mart.
8. Tax: Everything is taxable and adds a lot to the bill.
9. +Labor Rate: $88.00 per hour (charged to the closest 15 minutes); 
   +Service Charge: $45.00 Service Charge (local travel and truck charge);
   +$45.00 per hour per additional worker (charged to the closest 15 minutes);
   +Parts, equipment, and tax are extra.
   
   Minimum: 1 hour plus Service Charge: $133.00 ($88.00 per hour plus $45.00 Service Charge)

The second way to be charged is "Contract" or "Flat Rate". Flat Rate is the set price for the job, barring unseen problems that may increase the price. We have a price book that we can quote from for most jobs. We haven't raised prices since 2010.

1. Prices reflect the service charge, hourly rates, material collection, and equipment charges.
2. Taxes are not included.

Which is best for you? It all depends on how comfortable you feel with the plumbers' skills. If I were to hire me, I'd go hourly. If I hired someone not as honest or dependable as me, I'd go Flat Rate.

Fairhaven, Wa Sewer

The first picture is a 3/4 sewer snake that popped out of broken sewer under the house (shack) in Bellingham (Fairhaven neighborhood). Crawling under the shack (house) was impossible because of limited access and raw sewage:

We dug outside and was able to replace the broken section after tunneling a few feet under the house (shack).

Bellingham Water Meter

Yesterday we got a call about water leaking into the basement where the water pipe enters the building. In any other town in America, a plumber would check the water meter to see if it's turning, which would indicate a leak.

But Bellingham is special. Only a few homes in the city limits have actual water meters. People pay a flat rate for their water (often more than they would pay for metered water) and the city's water shut-off is ancient and deep in the ground.

But....Bellingham is installing water meters with proper shut-offs in new homes, major remodels, and retro-fitting the rest. The retrofit is due to be completed by 2017...none too soon for this plumber.

Anyway, back to yesterday's drama. I found the meter box, sans meter, and called the COB Water Department and asked them why the meter wasn't installed. The question was snarky because I know the reason lies in the database not being ready and the house had a major remodel a few years ago, accounting for the meter box.

What they did do was send Rick out with a meter. Rick installed the meter in minutes, we checked for leaks, no leaks were found, and uninstalled the meter.

There wasn't a leak; just one heck of a lot of ground water. The water meter box was full of water when I lifted the lid and it filled back up in 30 minutes.

Kudos to Rick and COB Water. They saved the homeowners hundreds of dollars.

While we were there at the house, we unclogged a sink stoppage, cleaned some aerators  and checked the systems all for under $200.00 including the tax (90 minutes, no parts or equipment used).

Picture 1 is the water meter vault all ready for the new meter.

Picture 2 is the temporary meter that helped determine there wasn't a leak.

A Plumber's Cat

Sadly, Goon has been gone almost a month.

One day last month, he used the sofa as a litter box a few times before we caught it. I put him in isolation, but let him out and he bolted for the door, never to be seen again.

He was 9 years old, born in our bathtub, and a true indoor/outdoor cat.. He fought many a brave battle and had the torn ears and battle scars to prove it. He was a gentlecat to his friends, though.

May Bast embrace his warrior soul!