You have to factor in that this is suburban Chicago area so union rates may have something to do with it. So far as I know that’s the normal charge for the job and doesn’t go down when work is slow, though may well go up when they are backed up due to overtime fees. We live in a townhome and from what neighbors tell us they have paid similar amounts when their heaters were replaced.
By comparison a retired painter charged us $25/hour to paint, but he was also a neighbor, and a local independent carpenter charges $35 per hour. The carpenter has a van-full of tools that probably cost him thousands and someone has to pay for that, not to mention his SS & Medicare and other taxes.
I have probably $75,000 plus in machine tools and supplies not to mention software that incurs annual fees and periodic maintenance on the machines. Being retired, taxes (other than income) is not an issue for me, but someone has to pay the cost of those tools or at least a part of them since I am also a hobbyist. Figuring 5 year useful life at full time working conditions is $75k/10,000 hours or $7.50 per hour just for depreciation and amortization. When you consider the actual amount of hours charged per year, I’d be losing my shirt at $50/hour, but I’m not very aggressive at finding new work. Still, I find the process of doing detailed (and honest) pricing calculations an interesting endeavor and think that most customers grossly underestimate the cost of doing business for professional tradespeople.