Outragious price of a Hot Water heater install.

[ACUDANUT]

  I called around several plumbers and they wanted anywhere from 300-500 bucks JUST to install a Hot Water heater (I already bought one).   After being disgusted, I did it myself and it only took a hour....Everyone wants to get rich overnight I guess.

[Magnumcharger]

No big surprise there. That's why Plumbers are usually so well off.
So, what did it take? Connect the wires, solder one pipe?

[ACUDANUT]

  Just take it apart and take notes on what goes where.  Only had to sodder one pipe, and that was just for the pressure relief valve.  The other to pipes on top, I used Gator Bites and all you do is just slide the copper pipes in and that's it. WAY TOO EASY.

[histoy]

Two years ago our water heater sprang a leak and I was busy at work and didn't have time to replace it.  My wife called the plumbers who originally installed it, and it cost us $760 for them to install a new one.  I about died when I got home that night!

[ACUDANUT]

 Hot Water heaters have really gone up.  I bought mine (40 gal) at Home depot for 478.00 PLUS TAX.

[472 R/T SE]

My neighbor's got like $1200-$1500 in his with everything hired out, he had an inspector come out and sign off on it and everything.

We had our house built in '97 so we're on borrowed time but the other neighbor is pretty handy so he says he'll help me change it out when the time comes.

[The70RT]

You guys might want to check this site out - http://www.ahswarranty.com they might cover Canadians too? They cover electrical, plumbing, heating and AC and appliances & more. It cost me 40.00 a month and charge a 50.00 service fee when a repairman comes out. I can do all my own work but for this price you can't beat it if you have an older home. My AC and furnace is 40 years old so it will be a good thing when they finally quit. They have local service company's come out to do the work. I have had them for 3 years I probably broke even. I have got two new appliances,  a faucet, some plumbing and electrical work and a garage door opener, and a AC part. It is a piece of mind compared to never knowing when you need to shell out bucks or if you don't have time to fix an emergency 

[squeakfinder]

I replaced are water heater a couple of years ago. The manufacture date was 1981 on are old one, so I guess it didn't owe us anything. The new one had the same capacity but was shorter. I used flexible copper connectors to install it with no soldering and no problems.

Two years ago our water heater sprang a leak and I was busy at work and didn't have time to replace it. My wife called the plumbers who originally installed it, and it cost us $760 for them to install a new one.  I about died when I got home that night!

When I was young, I was told theres two things people have to do. They have to shit and they have to eat.

In some form or fashion since about 1991 I've been involved in food transportation, production or preservation. In looking at my bank account, I think I should have started at the other end.

Why do they call it a hot water heater? Whats the point of heating hot water?

[6pkrunner]

No big surprise there. That's why Plumbers are usually so well off.
So, what did it take? Connect the wires, solder one pipe?

Inlet/outlet and a 220 hookup to a Square D- no biggie. I've changed 2 in my house so far. Very hard water kills the elements and tanks. Biggest hassle is emptying the old heater to remove it.

[police1]

i have one for you. about 5 years ago i decided to replace our furnace since the one we had was pretty old. i do my own work anyways but i decided just for the heck of it to price an installation. the first and only place i called wanted $1,500 to put it in!! it took me from morning till about late afternoon and i had it in and running great!! what a racket.

[Todd Wilson]

In my town you got to have a building permit to change the water heater out in your house.


Todd

[dkn1997]

While I am a "do it yourself" guy...I have to point out the plumbers point of view.  While on the surface, it seems like he's making 3-500 for 2 hours worth of work, he's not.  He's paying for a helper usually.  around here, that's 12-15/hour for anyone decent who will show up 80% of the time.  If he's legit, he's paying tax on that money, he's paying workman's comp premiums on his business insurance, gas for his van, insurance on van. a portion of what you pay also goes to paying for his office, phone bills, computer upkeep, billing software, and maybe a person to answer the phone.  

The days of some dude buying a van, parts, and a second phone line in his house are largely over.  Overhead to run even the smallest business is crushing. Insurance and taxes are huge culprits that were not as hefty 20 years ago.

After all of that, he is putting his name on his work, which means if he makes the smallest mistake, he's coming out again for free a second time to fix it...even if the water heater you purchased has a defect, he will,at the bare minimum, have to make a second free trip just to tell you that.  

Also, he is not getting paid for every hour of the day.  he's got to make enough per hour on the jobs to cover the hours of the day where he's not actually making money. driving between jobs, estimates, etc....Not that this is your problem, but it's the reality of why things cost so much these days.  

As far as plumbers and other skilled trades being well off, all I can say is that if I was to open my own business and put up with all of the headaches, it wouldn't be for my current wage.  I would have to be making at least double what I make working for someone to subject myself and my family to the demands of operating a small service business by myself.  

Where the outrage should come is if you compared apples to apples.  If a similar sized company came in at 1/2 the price, then maybe this guy was trying to gouge you.  

It depends on where you live, and I'm no plumber, but I would budget 2 hours for that job at minimum 90-100 per hour here on long island, land of the 400,000.00 starter house.  add some copper fittings and pipe (he can't necessarily do the job the way you did because his name is on it, has to be by the book, cannot take any shortcuts) and that estimate doesn't seem all that outrageous to me.  Now if he could do it in an hour and you live where you can buy a nice house for 150k in a good neighborhood, then you have something there.

[Todd Wilson]

While I am a "do it yourself" guy...I have to point out the plumbers point of view.  While on the surface, it seems like he's making 3-500 for 2 hours worth of work, he's not.  He's paying for a helper usually.  around here, that's 12-15/hour for anyone decent who will show up 80% of the time.  If he's legit, he's paying tax on that money, he's paying workman's comp premiums on his business insurance, gas for his van, insurance on van. a portion of what you pay also goes to paying for his office, phone bills, computer upkeep, billing software, and maybe a person to answer the phone.  

The days of some dude buying a van, parts, and a second phone line in his house are largely over.  Overhead to run even the smallest business is crushing. Insurance and taxes are huge culprits that were not as hefty 20 years ago.

After all of that, he is putting his name on his work, which means if he makes the smallest mistake, he's coming out again for free a second time to fix it...even if the water heater you purchased has a defect, he will,at the bare minimum, have to make a second free trip just to tell you that.  

Thats a pretty good idea of how it is. We all forget including me when we have to have people out for repairs and stuff the other side of things.   And due to the taxes and insurance these days a lot of the smaller guys are going away. That leaves it for the big companies and when they are the few left then they can bend you over and you will pay the $ for the repair.

Not to stray this topic of course but I think the level of opportunity in this country has dried up a lot. Its all being eaten up by the big companies.

Todd

[Silver R/T]

ya that's how this guy got rich and wants to buy his own business We need to spread his wealth

[Brock Samson]

 sorry silver i don't git it 

[71charger_fan]

Looks like Detective Mackey's hair is growing back, but I too am at a loss as to what it has to do with water heaters.

[Silver R/T]

sorry silver i don't git it 

joe the plumber... you didn't watch presidential debates/campaigns? This is guy who wanted to buy his own business but apparently he didn't have license (I'm not sure if he got it yet or not) and owed some taxes. I'm surprised he isn't in prison and being penalized for working without license.

[Brock Samson]

oh, I thought that was the shield's leading actor... Vic Mackey,..  So that's Joe the Plumber?.. still isn't funny sorry,.. 

[Troy]

sorry silver i don't git it 

joe the plumber... you didn't watch presidential debates/campaigns? This is guy who wanted to buy his own business but apparently he didn't have license (I'm not sure if he got it yet or not) and owed some taxes. I'm surprised he isn't in prison and being penalized for working without license.

Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhh... that's not "Joe the Plumber" - you linked a picture of the leading actor on the The Shield.

Here's the actual link in case you bother changing it:

Code Select Expand

http://images.starpulse.com/Photos/Previews/The-Shield-TV-07.jpg

And why try to make this political? Even worse, why screw it up and look like a doofus? Way to make a point! 

Troy

[squeakfinder]

I typed in joe on google, and Joe the plumber came up before joe biden. Sorry, but to me that seems kind of funny.

[Brock Samson]

now that is funny! 

[Old Moparz]

Plumber's crack.   

[resq302]

Where can I hire a plumber like that>??