$150 is not unreasonable at all for having someone come out to replace a head.
Contributor
$150 is not unreasonable at all for having someone come out to replace a head.
Contributor
I'm having a bit of trouble wrapping my head around the idea of $150 to repair a sprinkler head. A valve or long section of pipe, sure, but a head?
I do my own yard work now, but when I had a gardener, he'd fix broken heads as part of the normal lawn service. That appears to be true for the ones my neighbors now use as well. They usually even have the parts on their trucks, since dealing with that sort of thing is pretty much an everyday thing for them.
The only way something like that should cost $150 is if you called out a plumber to do it. But that's a bit like having an electrician come to your house to change a lightbulb.
Yoga class makes me feel like a total stud, mostly because I'm about as flexible as a 2x4.
"Design"? Possibly. "Intelligent"? Sure doesn't look like it from this angle.
We used to be hunter gatherers. Now we're shopper borrowers.
The three most important words in the English language: "Front Towards Enemy".
The world makes a lot more sense when you remember that Butthead was the smart one.
You can never be too rich, too thin, or have too much ammo.
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When you say "I will take care of it" that implies you are taking care of it. Is he responsible? Yes, but if that is the exact statement it implies discussion is over. Probably what you should have said is do you want to take care of it? I am unfamiliar with sprinkler systems and what you might have. A quick search comes up with many different ones for under $10. As I said I am unfamiliar with those systems. $150 does seem like a lot.
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My folks have sprinklers. Their guy charges a $75 trip charge. So I could see $100 around here, if you call a repairman. But the cost of living may be higher where the OP lives.
"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."
“If you want to know what a man's like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals.”
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For all we know the AC person drove over it and not only broke the sprinkler head but also some underground pipe.I'm having a bit of trouble wrapping my head around the idea of $150 to repair a sprinkler head.
Even if it was just the sprinkler head, there was likely a trip charge, a minimum hourly charge and parts. It can add up real fast.
Plumbers do not drive to a job for free. They do not learn how to do their job for free. They do not get parts for free. It all gets billed to their customers.
jtk
"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
- Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)
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Again...plumber?!? For a sprinkler head?Originally Posted by Jim Koepke
As my dad said many years ago, "Don't pay a $25/hour guy to do $5/hour work." Adjust for inflation as necessary, YMMV.
Yoga class makes me feel like a total stud, mostly because I'm about as flexible as a 2x4.
"Design"? Possibly. "Intelligent"? Sure doesn't look like it from this angle.
We used to be hunter gatherers. Now we're shopper borrowers.
The three most important words in the English language: "Front Towards Enemy".
The world makes a lot more sense when you remember that Butthead was the smart one.
You can never be too rich, too thin, or have too much ammo.
[OP]
Contributor
It was a sprinkler company not a plumber. $150 didn’t surprise me, around here you don’t a many repairs for less than that.
Dennis
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Ok, I know that Dennis has already said that it wasn't a plumber, but that phrase is a keeper. I love it.
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I have a sprinkler company that comes out every Spring, does a backflow test and a Spring startup test, and they will repair or replace any damaged heads. They usually only charge for parts as they are already there. If I have to call them for a repair at another time it is usually $40 to $60 for the call plus parts cost. I think that they are pretty reasonable. Of course, they installed my system when the house was built and have been servicing it for 19 years now.
Derek
Contributor
That could be the difference between locations (New Jersey vs Idaho) and having continuous service with the company.
Also without knowing the extent of repair needed on Dennis's system it makes little sense to chastise the service company. If it was a simple remove broken head and install new head, $150 does seem a bit high. The installer likely had to do some system testing and we do not know what all else.
There was a problem with a field hydrant in my greenhouse:
Field Hydrant.png
Fortunately my abilities to use a shovel and repair things likely saved more than what Dennis was billed if a "professional" was called in to do the job.
jtk
"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
- Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)
Contributor
Interesting where this thread has gone. The majority of discussion is whether $150 is a reasonable to repair a sprinkler head rather than what I think is the issue which is the lack of communication between the service guy and the homeowner.
Contributor
Isn't that why this is the Off Topic Forum because people often go off topic?
jtk
"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
- Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)
Contributor
Still on topic, just not what I thought was the more important issue, I've been wrong before, some say more often than not.Isn't that why this is the Off Topic Forum because people often go off topic?
jtk
Contributor
We're in the process of building a new house right now.
Customer service is not only dead, it's rotting carcass is stinking up the whole neighborhood....
My wife had a plumber tell her right to her face he didn't care if what he was doing wasn't up to code and didn't pass inspection.
The builder was right there too BTW and said nothing.
"Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans." - John Lennon
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I was at a flooring store yesterday looking at hardwood flooring. It is not a fancy store. Bare concrete floor with rolls of carpet piled on the floor and displays of LVP and hardwood along one wall. The employee had no sense of good customer service. He apparently had worked there a long time. I asked about pricing on some samples with no prices listed and he didn't want to look up the price for me.
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