Hot water heater install cost?

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Originally Posted By: KD0AXS
Originally Posted By: Dallas69

This is why plumbers get a bad rap


Because they are running a business and not a charity, and need to make a profit?


A lot of room between ripping someone off and charity. What's a fair price, I don't know because I don't know if it was a standard 50 gallon, an on demand, a hybrid or what. But if this guy charges double because this was a single woman that's garbage. Maybe it is a high efficiency or a 12 year warranty and really is worth the cost. Or maybe there was some rework necessary, like new chimney liner or whatever.

I would also point out even if she lives there alone the heater should be sized to the home, not the current occupant. Especially considering the labor is way more then the heater itself, or the difference between the smaller and larger.
 
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When I asked about why split ductless systems and HVAC man-hour prices were so high, I got the "how dare you ask questions about how people run businesses or their costs" from folks on here.

I look at it like this:

-How much is the item at HD? I find that plumbing supply houses are the same or less money.

-How many hours was he there and how many other people were present?


Then you can start to back out the costs.

We have a plumber that charges $50/hr. I suspect that a plumbing business that has overhead costs to include would need about that, maybe a bit more, to operate.

I seem to recall from years ago when my parents had theirs done, that it was indeed a few hours, and there may be two guys on the job. Three hours, two guys = 6 man hours x $75/hr = $450 + a $600 (?) Water heater and a few supplies for $100 = $1150

I can't see how it could be much more than that, unless there was a 24 hr/emergency call/etc going on.

My wife got hit with this once for a knocking pipe. Plumber came, only screwed some knock relief devices, didn't even solder or drain the system. Charged $250 and it didn't even work. He was on the job less than an hour and only one guy. No thanks.

Its scary if you don't have a clue what you're doing or talking about...
 
Originally Posted By: Barkleymut
and he told her that the unit was undersized for her house. Here is where he loses ALL credibility. It is a 2900 sq foot home that has 1 Person living in it. And I know that it was a 50 gallon tank that he replaced!


The number of people living in the home isn't relevant. A water heater is sized to the number of bathrooms and appliances that use hot water.

And on a side note-it's a water heater, not a hot water heater. You wouldn't need to heat water that is already hot.
 
That's what it costs if you can't DIY. And even if it's an easy DIY. Isn't everything else that you can DIY marked up as much just the same?

Andyes I have done a water heater and yes there was some additional stuff involved, like repositioning pipes and replacing the poor quality gate valve with a ball valve, etc.
 
Originally Posted By: Dallas69
My gas water heater went out last spring
I have American Home Shield insurance so I called them and they sent out a plumber
The unit was covered but bringing it up to code-running a drain out the wall to the outside,replacing a gas line,blah blah blah
He wanted 950.00 to install and bringing up to code-this is all labor since the unit was covered by insurance mind you
I said no thanks and bought one myself for 350.00 and paid a buddy 100.00 to install
This is why plumbers get a bad rap


I have first american home warranty. My 13 year old gas water heater was leaking through pressure relief valve. the plumber came and said I needed an expansion tank and it would cost 320 bucks from me. I refused. He replaced the the pressure relief valve, no more leaks. oh, he moaned how my gas water heater was not up to code. he said it was dangerous and could blow up. I told him, the tank is original to the house when it was built new. He claimed it would cost alot of money to bring it up to code.
 
The plumber was most likely sizing the water heater to the size of the home, not how many people were living there. Maybe she didn't need a bigger water heater, but the devil could say she doesn't need such a large home. When it comes time to sell the home there may be a larger family living on it. She didn't get ripped off. The plumber probably gave his reccomendation based on the size of the house and for 2900 sq ft, more than 50 gallons seems reasonable.
 
Originally Posted By: aa1986
Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
I set the thermostat at 130-140F in Winter

You'll save money setting it lower in winter.

I know that, I could save about $3-5/mo if I set thermostat at 110-120 in winter, but then I have to take cold showers for few minutes before it get warm enough to enjoy it.

I do set thermostat lower in summer to reduce the gas cost and we don't need very hot shower in hot weather.

We has natural gas for these items: water heater, cloth dryer, stove and furnace. Monthly gas cost is about $15-20 in summer and $50-65 in winter, which is not too much.

Back to topic, what permit do you guy need to replace the leaky water heater for similar unit ? When I replaced mine I didn't need any permit, I paid less than $300 for the 40 gallon gas water heater that include tax and installation.
 
I would first look at the bill and (depending) call him up and politely that you feel he overcharged. I would politly tell him you are going to submit a complaint to the BBB.

Perhaps he will give a goodwill refund of a couple hundred. Its the principle of the thing. Of course you would want to clear it with your mother-in-law.

The sad thing is that it probably only needed either the top T-Stat or maybe new elements for less than 50 bucks.
 
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Originally Posted By: mcrn
Its probably all the permit fees....I got a quote like this one time too.


On what planet do you need a permit for a tank retrofit?


A service call is expensive. You are paying for every minute he is on the road going to and from the plumbing supply,he's got a rolling toolbox of fittings and supplies,and he's a professional. Professionals cost money.
Before we start calling this guy a scam are there any problems such as leaks and so on.
If he did the job without a call back for deficiencies then I suggest it's money well spent.
And today pex pipe is used,not copper,so I would imagine there is some retrofitting to do. And if he replaced the copper with copper then that alone is costly.
I command a high dollar for my work. Or I don't even bother. Professionals are just that,he isn't flipping burgers here.
 
Originally Posted By: Al
I would first look at the bill and (depending) call him up and politely that you feel he overcharged. I would politly tell him you are going to submit a complaint to the BBB.

Perhaps he will give a goodwill refund of a couple hundred. Its the principle of the thing. Of course you would want to clear it with your mother-in-law.

The sad thing is that it probably only needed either the top T-Stat or maybe new elements for less than 50 bucks.




Give me a break.

So let's call the guy,after she's paid him and everything works fine and complain about the cost that was agreed upon because some guy on an Internet forum told me you charged me too much,and these Internet experts haven't even seen the job,nor was there to see what it entailed as far as labour,supplies,and the pain in the butt factor.
And if you don't givevme back some money I'm calling the better business bureau(like that even matters,totally futile entity) and telling on you.
Give your head a shake.

The guy walked in,he had to have quoted her a price. She agreed. Job is done.
Pay the man.
Not a single one of you guys have any real clue because you weren't there to do the job. So even thinking the job was overpriced is utter stupidity.
 
Originally Posted By: Clevy
On what planet do you need a permit for a tank retrofit?



Where I live it's a nice money grab - $50 for a permit to replace an existing water heater.

I saved myself that $50 by replacing it myself "on the sly."

I paid $450 for the heater, including sales tax, at Home Depot. It was supposed to be the best GE branded Rheem gas 40 gallon heater they had. Best installed price - $900. I accept that $50 of it is permit fee and there would be some labor cost to do the paperwork. But $450 for a job that took me less than a hour? Regardless, I agree with Clevy. Chalk it up to a lesson learned and stop thinking about it. We are so conditioned in this country to want to extract the last penny out of a purchase. It's not about the best quality anymore (usually). It's about the lowest possible price.

We really are becoming a third world, Wal Mart nation.
 
Originally Posted By: Pop_Rivit
Originally Posted By: Barkleymut
and he told her that the unit was undersized for her house. Here is where he loses ALL credibility. It is a 2900 sq foot home that has 1 Person living in it. And I know that it was a 50 gallon tank that he replaced!


The number of people living in the home isn't relevant. A water heater is sized to the number of bathrooms and appliances that use hot water.


I believe this is the correct answer as to why the plumber claimed the water heater undersized.

How many people here have thought about what happens if the plumber does not comply with the current code and it comes back on him? Should he still recommend a non compliant part?

Like others have said- none of us were there, but I bet there was a legit reason for most of what transpired.
 
Originally Posted By: Clevy
Originally Posted By: mcrn
Its probably all the permit fees....I got a quote like this one time too.


On what planet do you need a permit for a tank retrofit?



A plumber needs a permit for about anything aside from snaking a drain or changing a wax ring here where I am. They're generally under $40, though.
 
OP here, I agree with most of the posts here. A replacement electric water heater does not need any type of permit that I know of here in Virginia.

I owned a landscaping biz for 8 years so I am very familiar with all of the overhead and labor costs. My problem is with charging a thousand dollars for what should be maybe a 3 hour one man job (that includes buying a new heater and disposal of old unit).

I am not going to investigate any of this, it just isn't worth my time and anyways my MIL is happy since she has hot water. I was just curious to find out if someone could earn a grand for less than half a days work. If so, a plumber could line up 2 hot water heater jobs a day and make 2k a day. So in 300 working days a year he could easily clear 500k. Maybe I need to go to water heater install school
smile.gif
 
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My city claims that they require the permit because the requirements have changed since my house was built in 1996. My water heater is on a platform in the garage. The garage floor slopes downward toward the overhead door - measured with a level. It is totally exposed and I see it every time I pull into the garage. The city says that they now require a drain pan with a connected drain line under every WH. When I asked about how that is relevant to my situation I was informed that the drain line could be routed along a side of the garage to ensure that it drains outdoors and not indoors. Seriously? I actually replaced my heater because it was showing the signs of significant scale buildup - made gurgling noises and had reduced efficiency as evidenced by running out of hot water after two showers (with low flow shower heads). The issues were gone immediately after replacing the cheap tract house builder grade unit.

I can understand the drain pan/drain line requirement if the thing is inside your house, or in an attic space, but in a garage?

It's good intentions gone awry.
 
Originally Posted By: Clevy
Give me a break.

So let's call the guy,after she's paid him and everything works fine and complain about the cost that was agreed upon because some guy on an Internet forum told me you charged me too much,and these Internet experts haven't even seen the job,nor was there to see what it entailed as far as labour,supplies,and the pain in the butt factor.
And if you don't givevme back some money I'm calling the better business bureau(like that even matters,totally futile entity) and telling on you.
Give your head a shake.

The guy walked in,he had to have quoted her a price. She agreed. Job is done.
Pay the man.
Not a single one of you guys have any real clue because you weren't there to do the job. So even thinking the job was overpriced is utter stupidity.


I somewhat agree, it's paid for and it's over. However I have many rental units and replace water heaters all the time so I know what I pay to get them replaced, I use to end up replacing 2 or 3 every year til I started changing out the anode rods. So based on experience, it's not utter stupidity to say it's over priced when it is in fact overpriced. Home depot would have quoted them a flat rate price that was lower than what she paid.

Around here, you basically need a permit anytime you touch plumbing, gas or electric. With an electric water heater, they probably want to see an electric permit plus a plumbing permit. Usually they're worried about the vacuum breaker/back flow preventer and the line for the relief valve. Craziest thing I ever saw was the vent for the gas water heated going into a room in the basement. They were using it for heat. Good thing the guy living in that room didn't die.
 
Originally Posted By: Clevy
Al said:
The guy walked in,he had to have quoted her a price. She agreed. Job is done.

Not a single one of you guys have any real clue because you weren't there to do the job. So even thinking the job was overpriced is utter stupidity.

Thats why I said I would first look at the bill.

And you weren't there..the OP didn't say he quoted out the job before starting.
 
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Th water heater was likely more then $400 unless you can buy the exact model at home depot. Home Depot sells in stock stuff for a cheaper price and you can typically order the real stuff and pay the same amount as plumbing supply anyway. In my findings higher quality fittings are less or same as home depot junk.
 
OP it shouldn't have cost that much. Should have been 2 hrs of labor and materials (and maybe the pipes like you said.) x2 on him losing credibility when he said the unit was too small for her.. As I was reading before I got to your comment I thought the exact same thing as you. I have a feeling him saying it was too small was a way for him to introduce an issue and charge more.

Nothing can be done now, but next time a large expense comes up and you are unable to help, at least have her as for your opinion or shop around for a different price. Learn from her mistake and move on.
 
Originally Posted By: Smcatub


A plumber needs a permit for about anything aside from snaking a drain or changing a wax ring here where I am. They're generally under $40, though.


Kinda depends on the specific municipality. I'm in the E.Aurora area and permits are not needed, unless it's new construction, an addition, etc. OTOH, I believe areas like Kenmore or Tonawanda NY require licensed contractors for water heater replacements. Crazy.
 
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