Dear forum community,
I have a question that comes up quite often: We are currently building our house with a general contractor, and we decided to exclude all sanitary items that are mounted "in front of the wall"; everything else was handled by the contractor’s appointed plumber. When I asked him if he would also install our two washbasins and the toilets, he grumbled but agreed. During a phone call, he said it wouldn’t cost "much." However, he has now allocated 19 working hours for these few items and is charging me a special price of 900 euros without an invoice. It should be noted that the washbasins and bathroom accessories in the main bathroom were mounted on porcelain tiles with a thickness of 1 cm (0.4 inches), which of course requires more time for drilling.
He and his employees installed the following (in the main and guest bathrooms):
- 2 x wall-mounted Laufen Pro rimless toilets, white, with Clean Coat (Note: items behind the wall were provided by the plumber, thus covered by the general contractor)
- 1 x ceramic washbasin, 60 cm (24 inches) wide
- 2 x wall-mounted toilet brushes
- 2 x wall-mounted toilet paper holders
These items were mounted on porcelain tiles with a thickness of 1 cm (0.4 inches):
- 1 x double washbasin "Villeroy & Boch Venticello" cabinet double washbasin white, with CeramicPlus, including two space-saving siphons, with 2 tap holes and 2 x Grohe Lineare single-lever washbasin faucets, S-size with push-open drain, chrome finish
- 2 x Keuco Edition 400 towel rails, single piece, fixed
- 2 x Keuco Edition 400 cup holders
- 1 x Keuco Edition 400 soap dispenser
What do you think about this, and if this seems unrealistic, what would you do? The issue is that this plumber also installed our heating system, so we have a 5-year warranty with him through the general contractor. We are also buying the water softener from him, which he is giving us 200 euros cheaper because we agreed to have the maintenance contract with him (though it has not been finalized).
Thanks in advance!
Sony
I have a question that comes up quite often: We are currently building our house with a general contractor, and we decided to exclude all sanitary items that are mounted "in front of the wall"; everything else was handled by the contractor’s appointed plumber. When I asked him if he would also install our two washbasins and the toilets, he grumbled but agreed. During a phone call, he said it wouldn’t cost "much." However, he has now allocated 19 working hours for these few items and is charging me a special price of 900 euros without an invoice. It should be noted that the washbasins and bathroom accessories in the main bathroom were mounted on porcelain tiles with a thickness of 1 cm (0.4 inches), which of course requires more time for drilling.
He and his employees installed the following (in the main and guest bathrooms):
- 2 x wall-mounted Laufen Pro rimless toilets, white, with Clean Coat (Note: items behind the wall were provided by the plumber, thus covered by the general contractor)
- 1 x ceramic washbasin, 60 cm (24 inches) wide
- 2 x wall-mounted toilet brushes
- 2 x wall-mounted toilet paper holders
These items were mounted on porcelain tiles with a thickness of 1 cm (0.4 inches):
- 1 x double washbasin "Villeroy & Boch Venticello" cabinet double washbasin white, with CeramicPlus, including two space-saving siphons, with 2 tap holes and 2 x Grohe Lineare single-lever washbasin faucets, S-size with push-open drain, chrome finish
- 2 x Keuco Edition 400 towel rails, single piece, fixed
- 2 x Keuco Edition 400 cup holders
- 1 x Keuco Edition 400 soap dispenser
What do you think about this, and if this seems unrealistic, what would you do? The issue is that this plumber also installed our heating system, so we have a 5-year warranty with him through the general contractor. We are also buying the water softener from him, which he is giving us 200 euros cheaper because we agreed to have the maintenance contract with him (though it has not been finalized).
Thanks in advance!
Sony
H
HilfeHilfe19 May 2019 16:46Sony70 schrieb:
Well, very nice people here...What did you expect... instructions on how to cheat my plumber out of his under-the-table money? Have you ever been to a hardware store and checked how much diamond drill bits cost? He easily spent 50-80€ on drill bits.H
HilfeHilfe19 May 2019 17:09Why not? Do you need it shorter? When it was for two people, it took one day. That sounds about right.
H
hampshire19 May 2019 17:59No rip-offs and no special discount either. I believe everyone here has already spent money on worse value.
Usually, HVAC and plumbing contractors have a decent margin on what they install. Of course, that margin is missing in your case, but the tax office didn’t benefit from that (which I don’t support). If the work was done properly and everything fits well, the frustration about the invoice fades quickly. It would be different if the workmanship were poor—that would be annoying for a longer time.
Usually, HVAC and plumbing contractors have a decent margin on what they install. Of course, that margin is missing in your case, but the tax office didn’t benefit from that (which I don’t support). If the work was done properly and everything fits well, the frustration about the invoice fades quickly. It would be different if the workmanship were poor—that would be annoying for a longer time.