Any plumbers here getting paid by piece work?
 

Hey all!

Currently working for a plumbing company in Edmonton and getting paid hourly and have had a few job offers, but they are paid piece work which means they get paid a set amount to do certain jobs. I’m looking for info before putting in my notice… the grass is always greener on the other side until you get over there is a saying I’ve heard throughout my career. 13 years with this company that’s treated me pretty well throughout those years but recently has me questioning things.

What I’d like to know is how many hours you get for each stage of new residential builds and if it works out good for you. I’m concerned that the hours they give you to complete a rough in is doable without letting your quality of workmanship go down the drain like a large #2.

Pm me if you would like.

Thanks,

Daryl

Those questions might be best ask in the interview or to negotiate when you get offered the job....

Piece work is how companies pass the risk of estimating job cost on to the person actually doing it. :D Residential construction is worst for this kind of scam.

Grizz

I’m not a plumber but I have experience with being paid piece work in mechanic or fabrication work.
I’ve always liked it and would do it again, being paid for results always suited me.

The issue is not usually the allotted time per piece- most tradesmen can understand and negotiate that. The issue is the constraints that are beyond your control- delays because of someone else.
In construction that might be waiting on other trades or suppliers.

If you can address those issues it can be great but if you are always being held up and not getting things done then you aren’t getting paid.

Kinda depends on how the piecework is set up… i was a rough in plumber for almost 20 years - 15 of it i was on piecework, and 12 of those 15 years was as a subcontractor.

The money is much, much better on piecework, as long as you’re fast - but when things slow down, the hourly guys get the work while you’re sitting at home.

PM me with any direct questions you might have

I wasn’t a plumber but when I was in the construction industry, I was dang glad to be hourly when the supply manager screwed up and we were pushing brooms around the shop till the bristles wore off. The sparky was piece work, can still hear him swearing as he headed home 10 minutes after showing up. Nothing any of us could do about it, management poking the poodle

If a guy was working on something self contained/directed, or in his own shop, then it’s different.

You don’t want your paycheck tied to the lowest common denominator. They tend to be related to the boss.

Currently, if I was paid piece work… I’d be screwed! That’s what worries me, with all the supply chain issues, warehouse messing up and ordering the wrong material, office staff sending the wrong material out to site. These last couple years, I’m sure happy about being paid hourly.

I started my construction career as an hourly paid framer for a major Calgary housing company, full benefits and every couple of years the company would give you a deal on a house, which I took advantage of, the jump start to my future. Then times changed and they discovered subcontracting by piece work was way cheaper. I vividly remember the framing crew arriving with the air compressor hanging out of the trunk of a compact car. :lol:

Grizz

Sounds like the first step to starting your own business. Sure you might go home early sometimes because of issues but be efficient and you’ll make a helluva lot more than your hourly rate.