Pipes, bolts, connectors, and all the rest are pretty much the same, right? While many plumbing parts are standardized, some parts can be difficult to find. If you’re looking for a specific clamp or other part, it can be difficult to locate the right one. Part costs, meanwhile, are a big part of how much plumber charge for a repair service.
If you’re looking for a plumbing repair service, it’s smart to find companies that know where to get high-quality parts at an affordable price. Some plumbing companies will sell parts at a very affordable rate. Other companies will mark their part prices up substantially.
You also want to check to see how much is the hourly rate for a plumber is from a specific provider. Costs can vary a lot. A plumber who is relatively new to the industry will often charge less than a journeyman plumber, who in turn probably charges less than a master plumber (click for more info here).
Figuring out part and labor costs will go a long way towards determining how much to pay a plumber and also how much should a plumber charge per hour. You’ll want to find someone who charges a reasonable rate given their experience.
The initial trip to the automotive store seemed so simple. You just had a few items on your list:
- 2 hose clamps stainless steel
- 3 tubes of lubricant
- 1 fuel hose clamp
- 2 quick release hose clamps
The repair work, however, was more than something you could handle yourself. Although you were quite capable of switching out and installing hose clamps stainless steel, once you started checking out the power steering pressure hose leak you realized that the entire hose would need to be replaced. You might be able to avoid the expensive $100 evaluation appointment at the dealer because the problem was so obvious, but you could not avoid the labor costs it would take for a certified mechanic to make the repair. Getting in and and of the tight power steering hose location without doing more damage was not something you could do on your own.
Like car repair, some home plumbing problems can’t be accomplished without professional help, so services from THAHeatingAirPlumbing.com could be useful in this sort of situations.
The other repair issue with an oil leak, either from the rear main seal or the oil drain pan. Both are listed in the automotive catalogs as dealer only parts. The oil drain pan, however, is not listed as long labor hours. The rear main seal however, the worse case scenario, can require extensive time in the shop. The hose clamps stainless steel were, in fact, just the tip of the repair iceberg.
Hose Clamp Design Is Versatile Enough to Serve Many Purposes
Interestingly enough, the versatile function of hose clamps is useful in both automotive repair and home plumbing repair and installation. The key though is making sure that the purchased hose clamp is the correct size. While tubes and hoses are generally purchased according to their inside diameter, the only way to decide on the correct hose clamp size is to know the outside diameter of the hose.
This measurement takes into account the size of the wall. Hose clamps are sized and sold according to a range of outside diameters that they will work with. Whether you are working on a car radiator or power steering hose, a garbage disposal or an air conditioning installation drainage hose, the outside diameter will be the most important factor in deciding on a hose clamp size.