Actually most residential HVAC work is easy... basic electrical work... some low voltage ran to the thermostat... a set of mechanical manifold gauges to add Freon are under $200... Required pressures for the system can be found online..

Where HVAC guys get you is the refrigerant... Part of the Clean Air Act states that only EPA certified technicians can purchase the refrigerant required to charge the system.


Its not the little bit of work they are doing thats costing you.. its all the time and effort put into getting and maintaining that cert to buy the necessary material to perform the work.

You're lucky to get away with paying a $100 bill just to have a local plumber within a 15 minute drive of you spend 5 minutes unclogging a sink for you.

I once needed to bury some exterior PVC lines outside of a house for a sump pump. Already had the piping materials and so forth to avoid those markups by a plumber on parts. Maybe 50 ft worth or so. Called a plumbing outfit and asked out much they'd want to do it. The guy tells me like $850, for what couldn't have been more than 4 or 5 hours of work at the absolute max for 1 person who knew what they were doing and had the right tools for the job. This was some years ago, and I'm sure they'd want about $1,100+ for the same job today.

Told them to kick rocks and did it myself. I never call plumbers anymore unless I absolutely 100% need to. They are grimy as hell.

It pays to have basic handyman skills, like plumbing in Keswick, if you want to own a home. On the other hand, a five-minute job is just one broken bolt away from becoming an all-day pain in the azz

Learn how to do it yourself then.... and make sure you buy all the tools required.

People think tradies are raping them, but we really arent. I own a landscaping business... have multiple pieces of equipment that cost 30-40k that have to be maintained, tagged, insured, fueled, etc. He might gross $300k, but i bet he only takes home like $150-175k if he owns the business. Also, you have to reinvest into the business... it is advantageous to continue reinvesting for the productivity, and tax write offs. The average worker bee has no clue what it takes to run a profitable business. Plumbing can be highly profitable because there is really not alot of material cost... just labor, which is a rate the plumber sets. Pretty sweet trade to get into if you can stand working in other peoples septic pipes, chit, nasty drains, etc. HVAC is another one... you literally cannot buy a capacitor for your outdoor unit unless you have an electrical or HVAC license in certain states.

This,

Even if its something like a serous clog you can just buy a snake (kind of expensive but they'll pay for themselves) at Home Depot, go on youtube and you'll learn step by step how to use it.

However, when it comes to replacement of old pipes under the house or in the ground, thats where I bite the bullet and contact a plumber. I'm not in the mood to get dirty and nasty for a major job I may screw up.

Demand for tradies is high.