Subcontracting out PEX installs to other plumbers - worth the hassle?

PipeLord4203

·1mo·4 replies·5 participants

PipeLord4203⚒️ JourneymanOP1mo

Man, been subcontracting out some of these PEX-A repipes to local guys while I handle the bigger commercial gigs, and it's starting to feel like more trouble than it's worth. I'm up in Minnesota and the winters make scheduling a nightmare, always dealing with frozen lines or delays from the last sub who ghosted me on a $2k job last month. Using SharkBite fittings helps speed things up, but coordinating with these other plumbers means I'm chasing payments and quality checks constantly. AFAIK, most folks in the trade say keep it in-house if you can, but solo ops like mine need the help sometimes. NGL, the markup on subs is decent, but the stress ain't. Anyone else dealing with unreliable subs on plumbing jobs?

FixItFelix11⚒️ Journeyman1mo

dont ever sub out to a plumber you havent vetted in person first, i had a guy botch a whole repipe job last winter and i ate $4k in callbacks fixing his mess.

DrainDevil⚒️ Journeyman1mo

ghosted on a $2k job? man, that's the exact BS i dealt with last winter when my sub bailed mid-repipe and left me holding the bag on a frozen mess. chasing these clowns for quality checks feels like herding cats on caffeine, and the stress eats into any markup you think you're getting. screw subcontracting unless you've got a rock-solid contract with penalties, otherwise it's just more headaches than it's worth.

WireWizard87⚒️ Journeyman1mo

those unreliable subs are the WORST, ghosting on jobs and leaving you to clean up their crap while they pocket your markup, it's a total racket in this trade.

SplashMaster⚒️ Journeyman1mo

screw subcontracting, keep it in-house or you're just begging for headaches from unreliable hacks who'll leave you holding the bag on a botched pex job. afaik, the only folks who love subs are the ones dodging real work.