We charge by the job, not by the hour, and you see the number in writing before anything starts. If we find something we did not expect once we are into the work, we stop and re-quote rather than adding it to the bill, and you decide what happens next. Several things are genuinely free: a written replacement quote, an in home water hardness test, a Poly-B inspection with a letter for your insurer, and a Gradient warranty check. 180 Plumbing and Heating, southeast Calgary. Call 403-404-9975.
Why by the job and not by the hour
Hourly billing puts you and your plumber on opposite sides.
If the job turns out to be complicated, you pay for the complication. If your plumber is quick and experienced, they earn less than the person who is slow. Neither of those is a good arrangement, and the second one is worse than it sounds: it quietly rewards inefficiency in a trade where experience is the entire value.
So we price the job. One number for the finished work, agreed in advance. If it takes us longer than we thought, that is our problem. If we are faster because we have done it a hundred times, that is our reward and your price does not change.
What you get before we start
A number, in writing. Not a range, not a verbal estimate at the door, and not a figure that becomes something else on the invoice.
What is included. The quote says what is covered and what is not. If parts, disposal or permits sit outside the figure, it will say so in plain words before you agree to anything.
Options where options exist. On larger work you will see three rather than one:
- The straightforward fix. Deals with what is in front of us, nothing more.
- The one we would recommend. Deals with the problem and the thing that is going to cause it again next winter.
- The one that fixes the underlying cause. Usually more work up front and less of it later.
We will tell you which one we would choose in our own house, and we will tell you when the cheapest option is the right one, because sometimes it is.
No surprises. If we open something up and find a situation nobody could have quoted from the doorstep, we stop, explain it, and re-quote. You are never handed a bill for work you did not agree to.
What is free
These cost us time rather than money, and they are how most of our customers meet us.
- A written replacement quote on a furnace, boiler, hot water tank or water softener. Yours to keep whether you use us or not, including if you take it to someone else.
- An in home water hardness test. Ten minutes. Southeast Calgary is fed from the Glenmore plant, which runs harder than the north of the city, and knowing your number tells you whether a softener is worth it.
- A Poly-B inspection, with a written confirmation letter you can send to your insurer, whether you replace the pipe with us or not.
- A Gradient warranty check. If you have a Gradient syncFURNACE, we confirm the model, tell you when your first documented service was actually due, check whether the unit is registered, and leave you the manufacturer’s maintenance record form.
What actually determines the price
People ask what a job costs before anyone has seen it, which is fair. Here is what moves the number on the work we do most, so you can judge a quote from anyone, including us.
A furnace or combination unit service. How accessible the unit is, whether it is a conventional furnace or a combination appliance with a water side that needs a flush and descale, when it was last properly serviced, and whether it is currently faulting or simply due.
A hot water tank replacement. Size, whether the venting and gas connections are reusable, where the tank has to be carried to and from, and whether anything about the original installation has to be corrected to meet current code.
A water softener. Your hardness number, the size of the house, where the unit can go, and whether there is a drain and a power point where it needs to be.
A furnace or boiler replacement. The heating load of the house rather than what was there before, the vent route, the state of the gas supply and the electrical panel, and whether the mechanical space needs work to make the new appliance serviceable in future.
A gas line. The distance, what it passes through, the meter capacity, and the permit and inspection.
Anything in an emergency. Whether it is genuinely an emergency. We will tell you honestly if it can wait until Monday, because most things can and it costs you less.
Permits
We take out City of Calgary permits on the work that requires them and we handle the inspection. That is in the quoted price. Anyone offering to save you money by skipping a permit is not doing you a favour: it matters for your insurance and it matters when you sell the house.
What we do not do
We are residential only, and we would rather tell you that at the start than waste your afternoon.
We do not do commercial or industrial work, drain cleaning, mainline drain cleaning, hydro jetting, sewer camera inspection, UV water treatment, or gas fireplace installation. We repair gas fireplaces but we do not install them.
If you need one of those, call us anyway and we will tell you who we would call.
Getting a number for your job
Call 403-404-9975 and describe it. If we can price it on the phone we will. If we cannot, we will tell you what we need to see and when we can come and look, and the quote you get afterwards will be in writing.
Frequently asked questions
Do you charge by the hour?
No. We price by the job and you agree the number before we start. Hourly billing penalises you when a job turns out to be complicated and penalises a fast, experienced plumber for being fast, so we do not use it.
Will the price change once you have started?
Only if we find something nobody could have known about from the doorstep, and in that case we stop, explain it and re-quote rather than adding it to the bill. You decide whether the extra work happens. You will not be handed an invoice for anything you did not agree to.
Do your quotes include parts, permits and disposal?
Yes, unless the quote says otherwise in plain words. Permits are taken out by us and the inspection is handled by us.
How much does furnace maintenance cost in Calgary?
It depends on the appliance and its condition, and the biggest single factor is whether it is a conventional furnace or a combination unit with a water side that needs an annual flush and descale. Call 403-404-9975 and describe what you have and we will give you a number.
Written by Desmond Neufeld, Red Seal Journeyman Plumber and Certified Type B Gasfitter. Last updated 26 August 2026.
