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We operate on the principles of customer convenience, honesty and accountability. O’Shea Plumbing doesn’t charge by the hour, so you’ll never be caught out if the job takes longer than initially expected. If we underestimate the size of the job, it’s our problem, not yours.
For peace of mind. Every job we complete is backed by our service guarantee.
We’re only happy if you are. If you’re not happy with the job for any reason, we will return to fix it for you free of charge.
Pensioners and seniors receive a 5% discount.
If your plumbing project is particularly large, we will always provide an initial quote to conduct exploratory work. After investigating the complexities of the project, we will provide a second quote to complete the job.
In Melbourne, most plumbers charge a call-out fee between $60 and $120, which usually covers travel and the first stretch on site, then either an hourly rate of roughly $80 to $150 or a fixed price for the whole job. Emergency and after-hours attendance runs higher, commonly $150 to $300 before the repair itself. Small jobs like a tap washer or a minor leak generally land between $150 and $350 all up, and anything bigger should be quoted as one number, in writing, before work starts.
Those are market ranges rather than any one company's price list, and the spread is wide because plumbers price in genuinely different ways. Understanding the model behind the number will save you more than chasing the lowest advertised rate ever will.
Hourly billing looks cheaper on paper, and for a genuinely quick job it sometimes is. The catch is who carries the risk. If the job runs long, and plumbing jobs have a talent for running long, the bill runs with it, and you don't know the total until the invoice lands.
Fixed pricing turns that around. The plumber assesses the job properly, gives you one price, and that price holds no matter how the afternoon unfolds. The risk sits with us, where it belongs, because we're the ones who can judge the job. It's how O’Shea Plumbing has priced for years, and the reviews tell us it's the part customers remember. One put it in nine words: "I knew the cost before he started work." Another, an 82-year-old customer, wrote that after years of being wary of trades, "my faith has been restored by this company." That's what pricing honestly, in advance, actually buys. We've written a fuller comparison in our guide to fixed rate versus hourly plumbers.
When you're comparing quotes, compare totals, never rates. A cheaper hourly rate across four slow hours costs more than a dearer one across two efficient ones, and only one of those jobs was done by someone who arrived with the right parts on the van.
You'll see it advertised, and it sounds like a free visit. It never is. Getting a licensed plumber, a stocked vehicle and insurance to your door costs real money, and every business recovers that cost somewhere: in the hourly rate, in the job price, in the margin on parts. There's nothing wrong with building it in, but don't choose a plumber on the headline. The only comparison that means anything is the fixed, written total for your specific job. If a company won't put that in front of you before starting, the headline was doing a lot of work.
The same logic applies after hours. Emergency work costs more because someone is rostered, insured and awake at 10pm on a Sunday, and $150 to $300 to attend is the honest market shape of that. What shouldn't change at midnight is knowing the price before you say yes. Our emergency plumbers work 7 days, and they quote before they repair, whatever the hour.
As a general guide only, because every house has its own ideas:
| Tap repair or washer replacement | $150 to $350 |
|---|---|
| Toilet repair (running toilet, inlet valve) | $150 to $400 |
| Unblocking a draindepending on the blockage and whether a camera or jetter is needed | $200 to $600 |
| Hot water system replacementfor a like-for-like tank swap | $1,500 to $3,000 |
| Burst pipe repairdriven mostly by access and damage | $300 to $1,000 plus |
Often, for defined jobs. A quote for a hot water changeover, a renovation or a new installation is standard and free. Diagnosing a hidden fault is different: finding a leak inside a wall or tracing a recurring blockage is skilled work with equipment involved, and it reasonably attracts a fee, which any decent operator will tell you about up front. What you should expect either way is options. One of our reviews describes it as well as we could: "He quoted in detail and ran through the different options with us." Sometimes the right option is the cheap one. Sometimes it's fixing it properly once. Your call to make, our job to price both honestly.
Melbourne rates typically run $80 to $150 an hour plus a call-out fee of $60 to $120. Fixed-price plumbers quote the whole job instead, which moves the time risk off your side of the table.
Expect $150 to $300 to attend after hours, with the repair priced on top. Ask for the total before approving work; a professional will volunteer it.
In metropolitan Melbourne, $80 to $150 during standard hours, rising for nights, weekends and specialist work.
Defined jobs are usually quoted free. Diagnostic work, like locating a hidden leak, fairly carries a fee, and you should be told before anyone is dispatched.
For a fixed price and no surprises at the end, call O’Shea Plumbing on 03 8566 8450 or request a quote. Upfront pricing has been part of The O’Shea Way since 1978.
