Ninth Bar Espresso Service

Rate sheet — posted

Every job, what it includes, and what it costs.

These are the prices on the wall of the shop. Parts are billed at cost plus 15%, listed separately on the invoice, and quoted to you before they're ordered.

Effective January 2026 · Prices in USD · Parts extra unless stated
Job What's included Turnaround Price
Diagnosis Bench run, brew pressure and group temperature under load, flow measurement, written findings and a fixed quote. Credited in full if you go ahead with the repair. Same day–2 days $85
Full service, home machine Descale, new group gasket and shower screen, every seal in the brew path, steam valve rebuilt, OPV set to 9 bar, calibration sheet. 2–4 days $260
Full service, commercial Everything above plus boiler inspection, element and probe test, water hardness check and a full gasket kit. Priced per group. On site, 1–2 days $190/group
Group head rebuild On an E61, the cam, mushroom and springs come out, every O-ring is replaced, the jet is cleared and the moving parts are re-greased with food-safe lubricant. 1–2 days $175
Pump work Rebuild or replacement, flow measured against pressure on the bench, new mounts and hoses, bypass set and a reference shot re-timed. 1–2 days $140
Boiler & element Descale or replacement, new boiler gaskets, thermostat and thermal fuse tested, then a leak test held at pressure overnight. 2–5 days from $220
PID installation Kit fitted, probe placed where it reads the group rather than the boiler jacket, tuned to your target and verified against a scale-and-thermometer profile. 2–3 days $195
Electrical fault Tripping breakers, dead machines, intermittent power. Traced to the component with a meter — no shotgunning parts at it and hoping. 1–3 days $95/hr
Café callout Same-day visit inside the Portland metro for a machine that's down. Callout covers the first hour on site; labour after that is hourly. Same day $150 + $95/hr
Mail-in service For home machines outside the metro. Diagnosis, quote by phone, repair and return shipping, insured both ways at your declared value. 5–8 days Service + freight

Terms

What the price actually covers.

No trip charges hidden in the labour line, no diagnostic fee that quietly reappears on the invoice, and no minimum that turns a ten-minute gasket swap into an hour.

Labour warranty
90 days, parts and workmanship
Parts warranty
Manufacturer terms, passed through
Parts markup
Cost plus 15%, itemised
Quote changes
I call before exceeding the quote
Storage
Free 30 days after completion
Payment
Card or transfer, due on collection

Before you book

Four things that fix themselves for free.

Try these first. If one of them solves it, you've saved $85 and I've kept a slot open for a machine that's genuinely broken.

  • Slow shots that got slower over months. Backflush with detergent, then replace the shower screen. A screen blinded with coffee oil mimics a dying pump almost exactly.
  • Water past the portafilter. Nine times out of ten the group gasket has gone hard. It's a $12 part and fifteen minutes with a screwdriver.
  • Steam that's gone weak. Pull the tip and soak it. Milk protein bakes into the holes and chokes the wand long before the valve is at fault.
  • A machine that won't come up to temperature. Check it isn't sharing a circuit with a fridge or a kettle. Brownouts read exactly like a failing element.

Next

Bring it in, or tell me what it's doing.