Price list Plumbing fixtures
How much to charge to install a garbage disposal
Start from your own shop rate, not a national average. The True Rate kit's Price Book puts this task at 1–2 hours each (1.5 h starter) plus $20 of supplies. At a $90 shop rate (the kit's worked example) that's a flat price of $160 each, or $115–$205 across the typical range, before trip and minimum charges.
- Typical time
- 1–2 hours each
- Kit starter
- 1.5 h each
- Supplies
- $20 each
- At $90/hr
- $160 each
This task, priced
An estimate from the numbers above, not a quote. Materials and fixtures the customer picks (the faucet, the fan, the door) are billed separately, at your materials markup.
What gets left off this estimate
From the kit's "Did you forget?" list, the lines that apply to this job, and where the kit bills each one:
- Taking out and hauling the old fixture. Price Book: Haul-away line.
- Dump / disposal fees. Price Book: Haul-away + Dump fee lines.
- Customer-supplied parts (wrong part = another trip). Say it on the estimate: labor only, no warranty on their parts.
- Supply-house runs. Price Book: Materials pickup run. An hour a trip is normal.
- Permits, and your time to pull them. Custom line for your time, Materials line for the fee.
From the kit's Price Book notes: Assumes there's already an outlet under the sink.
Before you send the number
- Check that the existing drain line is clear and the sink is structurally sound before installation.
- If you discover a clogged line or damaged sink, stop and offer a separate quote for repairs.
Starting points, not a price list to copy
These numbers are the True Rate kit's starter hours and supplies for a solo tradesperson with a few years in, on an ordinary house. They are not industry data, a survey of what others charge, or a promise of how long the job takes you. Edit the hours for your market and your own speed: an old house, a seized nut or a fussy customer changes the job.
The $90 shop rate is only the kit's worked example ($2,870 a month overhead, $60,000 pay goal, 62% of hours billable, 20% margin). Your rate comes from your costs.
Some electrical and plumbing work needs a license, and many places cap what an unlicensed handyman can charge per job. Check your local rules before you offer or price this task.
Does that include a trip charge or minimum?
No. The flat price is the task alone. In the kit's Price This Job sheet, a ticket with only this task adds a $35 trip charge, a 15% small-job buffer (the whole job is under 4 hours) and a 5% contingency. At $90 an hour that's $230 for this task on its own. Those are the kit's starter settings; set your own.
Where do these hours come from?
They're the True Rate kit's starter hours for a solo tradesperson with a few years in, working on an ordinary house: tools out, work, clean up. Drive time isn't in them. They're not industry data or a survey of your market. Old houses and tight spaces take longer; log your real times and edit them.
Price the whole ticket, not one task
The True Rate kit is a spreadsheet that does this for all 80 jobs from your own rate, then adds materials, trip and minimum charges on one Price This Job sheet and shows the margin before you send the number. One-time $39, Google Sheets or Excel.