Four years ago I built an addition onto my log cabin. I did all the carpentry, and also did all the wiring. Good thing because, these electricians are getting about $70 an hour around here, for these little jobs. Besides, it is hard to get an electrician to even show up to do a bid on a log cabin they just don't like 'em.
I did the wiring and it turned out real well this is the fourth log cabin that I have wired. I love to do wiring.
But I don't like plumbing. We had one bathroom for the addition, with, one washing machine, one shower, one toilet and one sink. Pedestal sink.
The plumber came out and said he wanted $70 an hour, here again hard to get a plumber to show up, to drive way out into the country and drive our 3/4 mile driveway for a little job. He said he would do a bid for $2200 but it would come out to about $70/hour.
We clocked the guy, he worked at our house for 9 hours. He came out 3 times, one hour per trip. And he probably spent 2 hours at the plumbing supply store. I picked up the shower, and the sink, and the toilet at Lowes all he had to buy was plumbing stuff. Also, I installed the shower, the fiberglass part, and he plumbed it up.
So this guy spent about 14 hours, counting travel, for $2200. $157 per hour. So, if you live in the rural mountains of North Carolina, would you rather be a carpenter at $15 an hour, or a plumber at $157/hour?
He said he preferred to be paid in cash, said it was "easier on the book keeping." I didn't just fall off a turnip truck, that means, no book keeping, no pesky income tax.
