Our rates

The rate card

Very few trades publish their rates. We'd rather you knew what an hour costs before you ring than found out on the invoice, so here is the whole card. We keep our pricing fair and competitive for Christchurch, and there are no hidden extras: the call-out fee is built into the first-hour minimum charge, and what we quote is what you pay.

*How time is charged. The standard first-hour minimum is made up of the $40 + GST call-out fee, which covers travel to the worksite and vehicle costs within Christchurch (Zone 1), and the first hour of work; outside Christchurch (Zone 2) the $20 + GST travel surcharge is charged in addition to it. All time beyond the first hour is charged in 15-minute increments, and includes time spent completing health and safety documentation and job card details, and ordering or collecting materials for the job.

All rates are in New Zealand dollars. The Rate column excludes GST, which is how trade rates are normally published in New Zealand; the Incl. GST column is what the same hour costs with GST added. Materials used on a job are calculated separately and charged on top of the hourly rate.

What each rate covers

• Standard hourly rate — $95 + GST. Monday to Friday, 8am to 5pm.
• First hour minimum charge — includes call-out fee — $135 + GST. The minimum charge for a standard weekday job. It is made up of the $40 + GST call-out fee (travel to you and vehicle costs anywhere in Zone 1, the Christchurch urban area) and $95 + GST for the first hour of work, including time spent collecting materials for the job. There is no travel surcharge anywhere in Zone 1. Time beyond the first hour is charged in 15-minute increments.
• Call-out fee, Zone 1 — included in the first-hour minimum — $40 + GST. Covers travel to your property and the running costs of the van, such as fuel and wear and tear, anywhere in the Christchurch urban area. It is already part of the $135 + GST first-hour minimum charge for a standard weekday job, so it is never added on top of it. We show it as its own line so you can see exactly what the minimum charge is made up of.
• Standard out-of-hours hourly rate — $135 + GST. Any time outside 8am to 5pm Monday to Friday — evenings, nights and weekends — after the first hour.
• First hour minimum charge, out of hours — includes travel — $300 + GST. The first hour of an after-hours or overnight emergency callout.
• Public holiday hourly rate — $225 + GST. After the first hour on a public holiday. Public holiday rates apply for the whole day, whatever the hour.
• First hour minimum charge, public holiday — includes travel — $450 + GST. The first hour of a public holiday emergency callout.
• Gas certificate — our own work only — $40 + GST. We only issue gas certificates for gasfitting work we have carried out ourselves. The certificate is issued at the completion of our work.
• Uncertified existing gasfitting — inspect, make compliant, certify — quoted or charged hourly, case by case. Where existing gasfitting was completed by another certifying gasfitter and has not been certified, we cannot certify it as it stands. We will inspect the installation and, where required, replace it from scratch to make it compliant, then issue our own certificate for the work we have carried out. The inspection and replacement work are quoted or charged at our hourly rates, depending on the job.
• Travel surcharge, Zone 2 — per visit — $20 + GST. Added to every visit to a site outside the Christchurch urban area, in addition to the first-hour minimum charge and the normal rates, at any time of day. A standard weekday first hour in Zone 2 is therefore $135 + GST + $20 + GST = $155 + GST. A job that needs two visits carries it twice. On quoted work it is included in the quoted price. It covers the extra vehicle costs of the longer trip, such as additional fuel and wear and tear on the van. There is no travel surcharge in Zone 1.
• Quote fee, Zone 2 — per visit — $50 + GST. Charged per quote visit, and covers the trip out, looking at the job and pricing it, including the extra fuel and wear and tear on the van. Travel is included, so no travel surcharge is added. If you accept the quote, the fee is deducted in full from your invoice. Quotes from photos and details are free, so the fee only applies when a site visit is needed. Quote visits are not available for service, maintenance or unforeseen work. Quotes in Zone 1 (the Christchurch urban area) are free.

Travel: Zone 1 and Zone 2

We split our area into two zones.

Zone 1 is the Christchurch urban area — from Belfast and the airport to Halswell, and from Templeton and Hornby to New Brighton, Sumner and Lyttelton. Quotes are free, and the first hour of a standard weekday job is $135 + GST, which already includes the $40 + GST call-out fee for travel and vehicle costs — nothing is added for distance. An address in Papanui costs the same as one in St Martins, five minutes from our door.

Zone 2 is everywhere outside the Christchurch urban area that we travel to — Rolleston, Prebbleton, Lincoln, West Melton, Tai Tapu, Kaiapoi, Woodend, Rangiora, Governors Bay, Diamond Harbour and the like. The hourly rates are the same, with two additions:

• A $20 + GST travel surcharge on every service visit ($23.00 incl. GST), in addition to the first-hour minimum charge — the call-out fee in the minimum charge is set for trips within Christchurch, and the surcharge covers the longer trip. A standard weekday first hour comes to $135 + GST + $20 + GST = $155 + GST ($178.25 incl. GST); after hours and on public holidays it's added to those first-hour minimums the same way. A job that needs two visits carries it twice. On quoted work, the surcharge is built into the quoted price, so the quote is still the price.
• Quote visits are $50 + GST per visit ($57.50 incl. GST), travel included: the travel surcharge is not added to quote visits. If you accept the quote, the fee is deducted in full from your invoice. If you decide not to go ahead, it covers our time and travel to price the job.
• Quotes from photos and details are free, so the quote fee only applies if we need to visit the site. Quote visits aren't available for service, maintenance or unforeseen work.

Why there's a travel surcharge and quote fee outside Christchurch

Jobs outside the city mean a longer drive there and back. The Zone 2 travel surcharge and quote fee cover the extra vehicle costs that come with that: additional fuel, wear and tear on the van (tyres, brakes and servicing), and the extra time on the road. Charging these costs only on the jobs that need the longer trip means we don't have to raise our rates for everyone else.

Both are flat amounts rather than a per-kilometre charge, so you know the figure before you book. If you're near the edge of Zone 1 and not sure which side you fall on, ask when you ring — we'll confirm your zone before we come, never after. The full list of suburbs is on the areas we serve page.

Materials are charged separately

The rates above are for labour. Materials used on a job are calculated separately and charged on top of the hourly rate — the cylinder, the tapware, the fittings, the pipe, whatever the job actually takes. That's the standard way plumbing work is charged in New Zealand, and it's why an hourly rate on its own never tells you what a job will cost.

If you'd rather know the total before we start, ask for a quote: a quote covers labour and materials together, in one number.

When each rate applies

• Normal working hours — 8am to 5pm, Monday to Friday. Standard rates apply: $135 + GST first hour minimum (including the $40 + GST call-out fee), then $95 + GST an hour.
• Outside those hours. Before 8am, after 5pm, and all day Saturday and Sunday, out-of-hours rates apply: $300 + GST first hour, then $135 + GST an hour.
• Public holidays. Public holiday rates apply for the whole day, whatever the hour: $450 + GST first hour, then $225 + GST an hour. A public holiday is charged at the public holiday rate even if the work falls between 8am and 5pm on what would otherwise be a weekday.

The rate is set by when the work is carried out, not by when the job was booked. If a job is going to run past 5pm we will tell you before it does, so the decision to keep going or come back in the morning is yours.

Why after-hours and public holiday rates are higher

The higher hourly rates outside normal working hours, and on public holidays, reflect the inconvenience of working those hours. It means someone getting out of bed at two in the morning, leaving a family dinner, or giving up a public holiday to come to you. That's what the rate is for — not a surcharge bolted on because you're stuck.

The rates are published here for exactly that reason. You can see before you ring what a night callout costs, decide whether your job needs one, and never be surprised by the invoice.

Emergencies only, outside working hours

We only take emergency work after hours and on public holidays. A burst pipe, a gas leak, water coming through a ceiling, no hot water in the middle of winter — ring us any hour and we'll come. Non-emergency work is not accepted at those times.

If what you've got can safely wait until the next working day, that's when we'll book it in, and you'll pay the standard weekday rate rather than the after-hours one. If you're not sure which yours is, ring and ask — we'll tell you straight, and we'd rather save you the money than take the callout.

Quotes, deposits and payment

For anything that can be priced up front, ask for a quote. Quotes are free for work within Christchurch (Zone 1), carry no obligation, and remain valid for at least 30 days from the date we issue them. Outside Christchurch (Zone 2), quotes from photos and details are also free, and a quote visit is $50 + GST (travel included), deducted in full from your invoice if you accept the quote. What we quote is what you pay — nothing gets added at the end. For work that can't be sized until it's opened up, you're charged for the hours it actually takes at the rates above, and we'll tell you before we carry on if a job turns out to be bigger than it looked.

Quoted work. Where a quote is accepted and the quoted price exceeds $1,000 + GST, a deposit of 50% of the quoted price is payable on acceptance, and the balance within 7 days of the work being completed. Quoted work at or under $1,000 + GST needs no deposit and is invoiced on completion.

Hourly work. Invoiced on completion and payable within 7 days. No deposit is taken on hourly work.

All goods and materials we supply remain the property of Flush & Flow Plumbing & Gas until the outstanding balance is paid in full. The full terms are on our terms of use page.

What counts as an emergency

Water you can't stop, a gas smell, a burst pipe, flooding, a failed cylinder in the middle of winter, or anything that is doing damage while you wait. If that is you, ring now — the out-of-hours rate is what it costs to have someone there tonight, and the damage from waiting usually costs a great deal more. There is more on how after-hours callouts work on the emergency plumber page.