Periodically evaluating your company's salaries, wages and benefits can help you to find several opportunities for cost reductions. First, review each of your roles with tools like Glassdoo r or PayScale to see if you are paying employees above their average market value. Then, scale down for future hires to better match the market and for current hires, and create new programs that replace automatic pay raises with merit increases based on revenue-driving performance. Consider switching sales roles to a commision-only pay structure , as many employees like the flexibility and income potential it provides.
But a word of advice for these recommendations: You can also reach out to a health insurance broker to get lower cost bids for coverage or reduce the cost of health insurance by choosing higher deductibles. To help reduce wage and overtime costs, you can consider using more of your part-time employees or hiring temporary workers. A final note is you cannot exchange overtime for paid vacation time unless a bill passes. A study by the American Society of Employers estimates that 20 percent of every dollar earned by a U. Using a simple time and attendance app will accurately track time worked when your employees clock in and out including breaks and includes geo-tracking and photo facial detection settings to eliminate early clock-ins and buddy punching.
These timesheets are then instantly synced to your payroll provider to save on administration time and costs. Reduce labor costs by optimizing schedules. The restaurant and retail industries know this challenge all too well. Both situations can hurt your business as the former kills your profit margins, and the latter hurts the customer experience i. There is employee scheduling software available that can provide labor forecasting where you can integrate your POS historic sales data or enter your own parameters such as employee availability, PTO, overtime stress profiles, training, and shift costs to forecast the right amount of labor needed and by function down to the minute.
These tools create the most optimized schedule that meets your profit targets. It costs far more to lose an employee than to hire and retain great employees so take the time to invest in keeping your staff happy. Draining and removing old water heater. Hauling off old heater. Installing new heater up to code. Going down to city and pulling permit.
I used a licensed plumber. Answered 7 years ago by codeman. As for Plumbers using products you cannot find, well that's usually something that can be explained easily. Why should a Plumber warranty a product that was made inferior by a "home store" or DIY store? Thats why plumbers use products from supply houses, they are better quality, and the contractor will warranty his own equipment.
Try buying a water heater, and having it installed by a licensed pro. Answered 7 years ago by balboa. Don't forget that they also take away the old one in many cases and that can also be a hassle and possibly an additional expense if you had to handle it yourself. Answered 7 years ago by Sherlock Homes. I just had a new 40 gallon gas water heater intsalled yesterday at my home in Kansas City.
I chose to purchase one from him, because he told me that his was a higher quality and would last longer I think the brand he installed was "State". Besides, when I looked the water heaters up at Home Depot they were not that much cheaper anyway and the plumber told me that there was even some sort of pending lawsuit against GE water heaters and I didn't want to get into that It took the plumber 2.
He also hauled away the old heater. I know that things like this are usually much cheaper here in the midwest than in other places, but that may give someone an idea! Answered 7 years ago by sophieollie. Sophie, what you paid sound very reasonable. You have the price of the heater, labor, replacement of some plumbing at the heater since it may be corroded and re-plumbing to fit the layout of the new heater's pipes, but the basic hook up is there to start with. Your plumber is not reinventing the wheel and barring the unforseen, max of 3 hours labor.
Unhook old heater, remove from premises, new heater in, it's hookup, dispose of old heater - - not necessarily in that order. I would do it myself because it is not brain surgery but the HARD part is getting rid of the old one, which by the time it croaks weighs about eight times what it did new [massive lime buildup inside over the years]. Some of the above posters are really paying a lot unless there is something I can't see, like they live on the 10th floor with no freight elevator or bought a very expensive, large heater.
Answered 7 years ago by baw. I live in Arizona and the overall cost is less but there is a lot more to than just the installation. You might be able to do it yourself but what will you do with the old one? Answered 7 years ago by Your Fresh Start. Your year old water heater is well beyond the typical life span here in the Philly area.
Gas water heaters here typically last about 12 years plus or minus 2. I think what has been established on this thread is that the cost of replacement depends on your area of the country.
How to Reduce Labor Costs in Your Business
It is a very common task, and I would receommend you call a few plumbers for a ballpark estimate over the phone many won't do this, but some will. Answered 7 years ago by superstar Our water is so hard around here that even if we use a softener, water heater tanks fail in 10 years or so. Unfortunately I need to replace mine, but have to choose between hot water or paying for my insurance since losing my job last summer. Not a fun choice. Answered 7 years ago by PatJewett. I just had 3 replaced in a rental property at the same time. Answered 7 years ago by hufster.
I think we got taken. My husband purchased a water heater from Home Depot. He thought he and a friend could install it, but the job ended up being more involved. We had some people come install it. Answered 6 years ago by Kvaldetero. I just had Home Depot put in a gas hot water heater. My house was built in and the Home Depot repairman said that I needed to be code compliant as well as add several carbon monoxide alarms. I don't understand how so many codes could have changed but he claimed changes almost occur weekly.
Don't know if I really needed everything he said was required but did not feel I had much a choice. Answered 6 years ago by scotth Have you costed that???? The going rate for a licensed plumber is an hour. Have you tried to lift a water heater by yourself???? It is a 2 person job so that would be where the for installation comes from. SO, here is the reality check That's not including if you have gas. I don't understand why people watch HGTV which is misleading and think they know or assume what something should cost.
I think plumbers know how much it cost to install a water heater. My advice is call 3 and get estimates. Compare each and chose which one is best for you. OF course if you want to be cheap, you get what you pay for. Answered 6 years ago by romiwilliams1. Oh and some charge you to haul it away and for stairs etc! Have a nice day. Answered 6 years ago by owen klaus. We just had one installed outside of Chicago I ended up having Home Depot install it If you buy the one that lasts the longest from them, they'll warranty it to you for as long as you own your home Answered 6 years ago by jlknaus.
He took the old 1 with him when he left and all I had was alil clean up!! I feel like u all got robbed! Family owned businesses usually do gr8 work for much cheaper then commercial. Answered 6 years ago by Jimzadd. I just had a 40 gallon tank replaced in the Chicago area. The repair took less than 1 hour without any complications. Seems pretty excessive to me.
Answered 6 years ago by tracyb The one point that I dont see in any of these answers is, The pro is a licensed plumber and had to go to school and get a license, pay fees, ect. The handy man has none of these and if he messes up, you have no recourse. Answered 6 years ago by gerg We got a 50 gallon tank and a water heater that has a warranty of 10 years. We never knew how much you could extend the life of the water heater if you vaccuum around it every month or so--especially since it is beside the dryer.
We used an Angie's List recommended plumbing service and he was very good about explaining what had to be done. I think the price was high, but it took him several hours and we got a really good brand water heater with a better warranty than most. Answered 6 years ago by sscrugg. In NJ, you should expect to pay between to for labor plus the cost of the water heater and parts. Now, if you are not up to code, or add additional issues, such as the heater being in a small closet, blocked by other appliances you are looking at a much higher cost.
If you have venting issues, the cost can skyrocket depending on what is required to get a proper vent, in some cases, it may require the plumber to enlarge a masonary stack opening from 3" to 4" and run a new 4" vent, which can take hours. Don't forget one important item about a gas appliance - the gas or the vented carbon monoxide can do a lot of damage to people and property. If you don't know what you are doing, get it done by a licenced pro. Answered 6 years ago by puter I feel better after reading these answers.
I felt ripped off at the time, but it took two workers hours total at my condo. This does not include the time it took them to purchase and transport the new water heater to my place or the time it took to discard the old one. Watching them work, I was glad I did not try to do any part of this myself. Seems like a lot of money, but reading the rest of the responses it seems what I paid is in the ballpark. My only regret is that I did not pay more attention to the warranty at the time. I live in the San Francisco Bay Area. Answered 6 years ago by LizM It is in the best interest of the home owner to get two or three estimates from a licensed plumber.
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In most states, you have to have a plumbing license, issued by the state to be a plumbing contractor. Codes are very strict as to how a water heater is installed. These codes are put in place for the home owners protection. I served a 5 year apprenticeship in the plumbing trade and I have a lot of time and money wrapped up in my training and contractors license. A water heater carries a lot of stored potential energy. I'm sure if you look on youtube or someplace you will see what happens when a water heater explodes. I also believe mythbusters did an excerpt on this as well.
When a water heater explodes, it essentially becomes a missile. Then, they believe they shoudn't have to pay for the time it took the plumber to spend his gas, his time, use his truck to go get the water heater and materials it takes to do the job correctly? Skilled labor is the only true resource we have left in this country. Yet, once people complain how much it cost them to have some plumbing work done, they go shop at Wal-Mart, where nearly every item is made in China! I don't gouge customers, because I want them as repeat customers. Any advertising I do, cost me money, which is part of my overhead.
By law, I am required to post my license number on any advertising or signage. What license does a Hanyman have? A handyman has not been trained to work on plumbing systems! When you get sick, who do you call Expect a markup on all materials purchased or used to complete your job.
If a plumber disposes of your water heater, that costs them labor time and money to dispose of your old water heater properly. They just don't dump it on the side of some county road. Don't count on the big box hardware store for quality plumbing either. Get a good plumber yourself by asking friends, phone book, etc. By doing so, if there is a problem, you know exactly who installed your unit and who you should call. So for a water heater, this would be the bill you would get from me or any small, honest plumbing company in my area. Labor rates and markup will vary slightly from company to company and from area to area.
If you want it done cheaply, wait for Chinese plumbers to invade our country in hoardes and I'm sure you can have it done for next to nothing. When that happens, all the good plumbers in this country will shut their doors because we won't be able to compete with labor rates so cheap.
If you think I'm kidding, briges are being built in California with Chinese welders as we speak Answered 6 years ago by Zobie Last week, my 10 year old water heater in our 10 year old house started spurting from the top. Luckily we heard the water as it had just begun to leak 8 AM , and shut off the inflow, and spent the next few hours soaking up the leaked water around the heater from the concrete slab. We needed it so I said OK. I was not present when he was installing the heater.
He stated that a pan to catch the future leaks can be used but we did not have a drain in the basement near the heater. When I got home and looked, there is of course a drain just 6 feet away. That pisses me off because now we have to remove all plumbing and move the heater to install the pan, especially after paying them their asking priceL. Answered 6 years ago by nycap. I noticed at the beginning of your post you said water was spewing from the top of the heater? I'm a licensed plumber in Georgia, I have never seen a heater burst from the top, unless a cracked fitting, which commonly happens due to over tightening during initial install.
An incorrect customer diagnosis is very common, which is ok, if your plumber has integrity. My point is you called in for a new heater without a professional opinion of the problem, not a good idea. You also said your heater was on a concrete slab? Is your floor concrete? That would explain the extra cost for a pan if it is Hope this helps someone facing a major expense like a water heater. Answered 6 years ago by allen Actually my Richmond power vent 50 gallon model just started spewing out the top last night just like the post above - right out the top of the tank, underneath the power vent.
Can anyone confirm; would this price be out of line for an install of this type? Answered 6 years ago by thanscher. I live in NJ near the Trenton area. I heard a dripping,water running,sound coming from my hot water heater and water was every where. I looked under the water heater to see that water was dripping profusely from underneath. My hot water heater stated on the outside that is was made in I lived here for 20yrs myself,so I knew getting it repaired would only prolong the inevitable. They also said I would have to pay for a permit.
I live alone and work monday through friday,so I needed this done asap. It was less than 10minutes and the call came in the they were on their way. I called Home Depot and they were more money and I had to wait until Monday. I also am able to pay it off interest free for 12months with my pseg bill every month,they were out today and I was up and running in a couple of hours. The total for all including a 6 yr. I am satisfied with the outcome. Answered 6 years ago by kmarie I feel sorry for you all that are in union states. You pay a lot more for the identical work than us in Georgia.
In the Atlanta area, I use a licensed plumber who specializes in water heater replacement and polybutylene line replacement name Greenlee Plumbing. I've used him for a couple of rental houses over the last few years, and it's a flat rate for the job. They advertise their rates on their website, e.
I've actually installed a gas water heater myself. If the heater is easily accessible, it's an very easy job especially for a professional. It's not rocket science. Answered 6 years ago by comjohndoss. My gas water heater just failed. Fortunately the mfg said it's under warranty. Answered 6 years ago by JRHami. Thats basic install and haul away of the old heater. This includes, new shut off, 3' of flue replaced, 2 new dielectric unions and the installation of an expansion tank.
We also check your static water pressure in your home and counter balance the expansion tank. Besides if you have it installed by un licensed plumber and or do not pull a permit you can be subject to a fine in most urban areas when you sell your home and will still have to pay a licensed plumber to come in and inspect it and or bring it up to code. Codes dont change weekly either like I heard someone told someone on here, they change anually if at all. We will not install them even if a homeowner buys it themselves.
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State and A O Smith are the same company. Also we asume the labor on the water heater parts warranty we install, and that cost is expensed into our quoted price but averaged over 10 water heater installs. Everyone please do yourself a favor and have any water heaters installed by a Licensed Master Plumber, you get someone who is Bonded and insured. Answered 6 years ago by hockeycoachtim. I found this thread because I was concerned that I may have been overcharged, but after reading the posts it seems like it was an honest charge.
I trust this plumber and he always does good work for a fair price I just had no idea what the "going rate" was. In Chicago and all suburbs, unless you do it yourself, you need a licensed plumber to install a water heater and it must be inspected. No flex tubing can be used anywhere. Haul away old tank and permit fee. The "do-it-your-selfers" are our best customers.
If you use Angie's list, you're going to pay more. Answered 5 years ago by Northwest Plumbing. It took 2 people 3 hours as shelving had been built on both sides of the water heater before I bought the house so they couldn't just slide it out it had to be lifted up and over; the previous work was also not up to code as it was rigged to drain on the garage floor so they drilled a hole out to an atrium and added piping for it to drain there and they had to add a new electrical box as that was not up to code either.
I called the company on Monday and had the new heater on Tuesday. Answered 5 years ago by GGDallas. Here's what I paid: At first I thought the labor seems high but after reading this forum, I think it's fair. Answered 5 years ago by CCinOC. I am a plumber and this amazes me. People will go out and pay 20, for a car that is a piece of junk in years. But will balk at for a 50 gal water heater that is giving them hot water for the same amount of time.
Part of what you are paying for is someones experience. You want someone who knows what they are doing when you are having an appliance installed in your home that has the potential of killing you and your family. Of course there are rip off artists out there. Just be sure that you go with a reputable company. If there is any problem with anything we install, you can be assured that when you call it will be taken care of. If you call some friend of a friend to save bucks do you think they will be anywhere around when something goes wrong at Ask around for a good company that will stand behind the work they do.
You can just call different companys and tell them what size heater you have and get a price right over the phone. If someone is twice the price of everyone else obviously avoid them. Also if one company is way below everyone else be careful of them as well. Sure you may pay a little more for a licensed plumber but you will be much better off than calling Joe Schmo who usually plows snow for a living but the lack of snowfall has him looking to make some cash somehow.
Or the guy who's uncle used to be a plumber and he saw him install a heater once. Answered 5 years ago by gbailey. I would charge dollars to do it as a favor to someone, by time I go to the house and see the broken unit and leave their and get new one and all the parts I need im already 2 hours into it. Then you have to drain it and disconect everything and dispose of the unit somewhere theirs another hour.
All said and done the installation takes 3 hours but all the running around and gas kills ya.
If you dont want to pay someone for their time,tools and experience then do it yourself. Its fairly easy if your mechanically inclined and have half a brain. Look at the people in the industry if they can do it so can you. Go buy a shit load of tools and blow your house up. I know some places charge way too much. Im constantly doing favors to help out people the 1 percenters are the problem. They are cheap as hell. Answered 5 years ago by thermpdynamic. I owned a Rheem 40 Professional gas water heater for 17 yrs, trouble free.
Of course it started to leak at pm on a Sat night during one of the wost blizzards in Bismarck ND history. Sun at noon headed to Menards in 15 in of snow and white out conditions. Luckily Menards did open and it was myself and three others in the entire store. Best customer service ever! Purchased new 40 gal heater transported home. Began calling plumbers for next day install, with winter storm still raging outside was not expecting to get anyone. Got a hold of Curt a licensed plumber and said he would be there next day when he could.
Answered 5 years ago by dphclh. Fortunately, my father-in-law is both a firefighter and an experienced plumber, so he was able to correctly install all the gas fittings and test them correctly. Answered 5 years ago by JPZ. I didn't have time to read all responses. Typically an electric water heater can be replaced in 2 hours. Gas a little longer vent pipe is usually replaced with new, gas line disconnected and re-installed or replaced. Occasionally you have to add components to bring up to code. Items may include vacuum breakers and potable water expansion tanks. I can start draining the tank.
I like to connect a pump with hoses and pump it dry. Much faster that way and often is in a basement where it needs to be pumped up to a drain or outside anyway. While the pump is draining I can start cutting. Once it is drained a little I can usually shuffle it out of the way and get the new one in place to start plumbing it up. Sometimes the inlets and outlets match up well the install is quick. Other times you have to re-plumb the lines to line up with them. Again it will usually take about 2 hours maybe 3 on gas. Those rates are common for people working solo. The benefit to that is they usually have all items you might need stocked in their van.
I might show up and find I need a particular fitting and have to run out to get it. A good plumber doing "side work" will look at the job first to get a material list and come prepared.
Getting rid of an old water heater isn't a problem and should not be an added charge. It's almost all metal. There are scrap metal yards everywhere and you usually make a few bucks scrapping them. The company I used to work for would leave them in a designated area in the parking lot. Multiple days a week people would show up and haul away the old stuff for scrap. It was their way of life. Tough to say how much to replace a water heater. I'd say straight replacement without having to replace other components or having to bring up to code: Pans to go underneath are not needed unless leakage can cause damage to the building.
In a basement I would not put a pan under unless it was on a wood floor. You need to pipe the pan drain somewhere and usually no option in a basement. Answered 5 years ago by dooner I don't portend to know how much any of this should cost, but it seems to be common on these threads that someone will mention what it cost a professional to pay for his training to get into this field. How is that possibly the burden of the consumer??? Can you imagine someone applying for a job, and requiring an additional salary premium to pay for their education?
All the varioations in price are a result of the fact that there is no standardization. If an installer occasionally runs into a difficult install, so what! Have you ever heard of one giving a customer a discount for an exceptionally easy install? The next time I do will be the first time. Answered 5 years ago by skridder. Answered 5 years ago by tonyminh. GE now owns Rheem. My old water heater was a builder's special POC that was exactly 3 years old!!!
I bought this condo new. One of the problems with the old unit was also very hard water, apparently. I could not get a hot shower to last for ten minutes. We first tried replacing both elements, which were covered with lime. Didn't make any difference! They also don't tell you that installation in a condo is not the same as in a separate house. Old unit was drained off a balcony onto my driveway , lots of new hookups had to be made, and tray was replaced.
Of course I wish it had been cheaper, but it was becoming a real nuisance, and now I have piece of mind. I hope that you get what you pay for. Plumber also made several free trips to try to get the old one to work better, before I decided to just get rid of it. Answered 5 years ago by PRWins. A water heater is a simple machine. Understanding one does not require a degree in physics.
Just be sure to turn off the gas to a gas one, or the electricity to an electric one flip the circuit switch , before you start messing with it. An electric water heater is just a big metal pot with a 'heating element' -- a lot like those little coils you can sink into a cup of water to make coffee -- and a drain near the bottom, to drain off minerals that accumulate through the years. At the top, it has a short pipe to let the hot water out, and a short pipe for the cold water to get in to replace the hot water you're using.
There's also a place to attach a gas pipe to get gas into it if it is a gas water heater , or, if it's electric, a plate you have to remove on top, on mine to attach wires to get electricity into it. There's also a short pipe with a flimsy metal 'handle-type-thing' which sits on top and "blows first" if there is any problem.
If you are only replacing your water heater, you will have the electrical stuff or the gas pipes already there. Just open that drain at the bottom connect a garden hose to it and run it outside so it won't weigh half a ton and you will actually be able to move it. Disconnect it, remove it, put the new one in, and connect it.
When you go to Home Depot to get your new water heater, ask the help to show you where all these things are located. Watch a You-Tube video if you want. Gas can be turned off before you ever start the job -- there should be a 'cut off' xxxx about 3' away from your water heater. An empty hot water heater is pretty light -- it's just a big empty tank, after all.
After several years, your water heater will have calcium deposits in it. Open the drain at the bottom, run into it a little with a long screwdriver to loosen the deposits and get the water to drain out, and when you have a few cups out, pour Lime-Away in the top into either the hot or cold water outlets and let it sit a day or so to dissolve the deposits.
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Then you can stuff a hose down one of those outlets and turn it on full force and flush the rest of it out. You don't have to replace the whole!
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If you accidentally burn the heating element out, take down your model numbers, etc. Ask the staff about how to replace it. It's easy -- just unscrew the plate on the front of the water heater probably about 2' up from the floor and pull the old one out and stick the new one in. There's nothing mysterious about it. A completely new installation, where you have to run gas pipes to the site again, not difficult or provide electric, is a different matter, but again, not rocket science.
Don't let anyone confuse you with talk of a "sacrificial anode rod. It's put in there so that caustic chemicals from the water will 'eat it up' before they attack the metal sides of the water heater Just flush the tank every five years or so or when it starts "popping" and forget about the rod. It's probably broken and lying somewhere on the bottom of the tank anyway.
It won't hurt anything. The popping happens when the mineral deposits are dry and heat up against themselves. If there are that many in there, it's time to disconnect the cold water on top, open the drain valve on the bottom, drain a bit of water out or siphon it out if the drain is completely blocked , and reach for the Lime-Away. If the hot water smells bad, drain enough out to let you pour a gallon of Clorox bleach in there and let it sit for 24 hours.
A water heater can easily last 30 years -- even one that hasn't been maintained much. Fixing them is so easy Answered 5 years ago by GlennJr. All the plumping, electrical, and material except Yes total cost Typical installation costs can be found in construction cost estimating references. I have been satisfied with National Construction Estimator. Check your public library, and some cost references available on-line provide a trial period.
To heat water, more money streams to utility bills than to the installer. Consider cost of ownership. Some high efficiency options, such as tankless heaters, can be repaired, with likely longer life. To figure your actual cost, consider the higher cost of efficient equipment over possibly longer service life. Feel free to consider the planet when selecting appliances. The American Council for Energy Efficient Economy water heater tool provides helpful comparison of technology, service life, installed cost, and cost to own.
The pace of energy efficient technology innovation is brisk, so installed costs and efficiency have moved beyond the update of the ACEEE tool. It's more useful as a guide than for decision support. I always consider features along with cost. Gas fired tank water heaters now come with automatic gas shut-off safety feature in case of flooding.
Some of my energy audit clients have opted for tankless heater after a few inches of water in the basement caused their water heater to shut off. The particular brand they had purchased required a service call to re-establish gas supply to the tank. The tankless unit is mounted above the basement window sill. A flood that would disable this heater would be of Biblical scale! Your formula for total cost seems very reasonable, maybe even a bit high. Of course, the cost of the heater will vary as will the cost of a licensed plumber. He is not licensed but was a welder by profession before being laid off.
In this economy, there are many talented and capable people who can do the work for a lot less than what we paid two years ago when this question was originally asked. We trust our guy so the job will be much less than your calculated cost or the quotes of others. As for hauling away the old water heater, we just put stuff like that at the top of our driveway. The heaters can be recycled for the metals they contain so local treasure hunters gladly collect them for free. You can also advertise on CraigsList to give away your old and broken appliances for free. There are many creative folks out there who will turn your trash into a treasure while keeping our throw-aways out of the waste stream.
I encourage you to give them a chance if you can. Here in California, in addition to all the things mentioned by others, we also need to have our water heaters strapped and have special lines and shut off valves installed. This isn't like getting a new fridge, plugging it in and off we go, it does require a lot of expertise in many different fields.
How to Reduce Labor Costs in Your Business
Answered 5 years ago by bcgrote. The Store chain I am associated with stores right across the country of Canada,located most provinces, and usually sell a brand called Giant Hot Water Tanks, They come with a good warranty. If you walked into the store and bought the same tank off the shelf, you could buy approximately 3.
This is a loaded question as there are many factors that influence the cost of replacing a water heater. When replacing a gas fired heater, you should know that our federal government has mandated a flame guard feature on new heaters sold in the US. This is to guard against idiots that want to store flamables next to their water heater from killing themselves. This has been phased in over the last 8 years or so and now includes most all residential gas heaters. This means a flue upgrade when venting into a masonary chimney or 'B' vent chimney, from 3" to 4" pipe.
Code also states International Plumbing Code that an expansion tank be installed if there is any type of backflow device on the main water feed to the home, including a pressure reducing valve. Drain pans with drain lines rated for hot water no more PVC are also required in many applications all where significant damage would occur to the home if the heater leaked.
Heaters, as well as other major appliences, should always be permitted and inspected when replaced. This benefits the installer and the home owner with respect to liability. If, God forbid, something went wrong and a fire or flood occurred, the homeowners insurance company could renig on a claim if the unit was installed by an unlicensed person and not inspected.
Gas is not something to 'save money' on. I also beg tio differ with a previous responder that said forget about the sacrificial annode rod. Most residential heaters last between 13 and 15 years unmaintained which is how most folks do it. If you are fastidious about maintaining your heater You could get a water heater to last a lifetime. Fortunately for us plumbers, almost no one does this. Annode rods are made of different materials as well, depending on the type of water you have city or well. Some are aluminum and some are zinc. Be sure and get the right one.
Answered 5 years ago by Plumbest. Next Columbia Station does not inspect or have a code to cover this. They will install a couple of valves, an expansion tank and if you don't have an electric outlet close by they will install one of those too at even more cost. If you refuse they will not install the thing. I got caught while on vacation and had no choice but to have the work done since I was across the country from home and the tank went.
Inquire with one of the stores if you do not believe me. We're in Oregon and I got a quote from 'the water heater king' in the area two years ago and it was roughly bucks for the install and tank 50 gallon, nothing fancy. Last December after we had a full repipe, the water heater gave and started leaking. In talking to the employee, the cost of water heaters went way up. The price included two hours of labor. We ended up going with a local plumbing company who pulled the plumbing permit, brought in a top notch rheem 50 gallon water heater, and hauled off the old one.
We were willing to pay a little more because the company was local, used REAL licensed plumbers, amazing customer service, great warranties. I found a different approach to for me is a more economical way to purchase a water heater and it has to do first with brand warranty and how to get the benefit of that warranty for myself. I purchased a Reliance which has a ten year parts and 1 year labor warranty in I decided to replace proactively so I would not need a plumber in a high urgency situation which is a high cost situation.
So Reliance gave me 15 years of fine service life and i decided to replace with another Reliance which has a 12 year parts and one year labor warranty. So I purchased at my leisure after shopping around for hte best price so a skilled plumber would not be wasting his time picking up and delivering. All I needed the plumber to do was drain, remove and install the new one and dispose of the old one. Getting warranty coverage is what is going to be a complicated process. My view is that it is better to take responsiblity for having a well warranteed unit, at the lowest cost, that has a history of good service life which for me was and is Reliance.
Getting 15 years and still running fine for a 10 year unit convinced me to stay with Reliance, coupled with their 12 year warranty. True, if I have a failure I expect I will have to pay the plumber for the labor and most likely the part and then have to seek a claim with Reliance in an effort to get reimbursement, assuming the part was not readily available at the time of the failure.
My solution it to minimize the plumber's responsiblity, replace proactively when you can shop for economical installation and do not expect warranty coverage from your plumber who very likely cannot take responsiblity for making such a claim with the manufacturer. As far as the cost of installation that I incurred, I bundled the labor with a highly competitively priced furnace purchase so the contractor did not have to make an incremental trip here to pick up or to install.
I suggest you consider Reliance if it is available in your area, that you consider going with the longest warranty possible if it makes economic sense like this case and that you preventively replace before it leaks so that you can control the timing and competitively select your plumber-- obviously using Angie's list to select your plumber.
Answered 5 years ago by SeaJay. I have a pickup truck. They loaded it into the truck for me. I was able to unload and spin it into place myself after disconnecting the old one and rolling it outside. It comes with installation instructions which were very simple to follow. Just be sure to buy one with the overflow pipe in the same location as your old one. There were plenty of recyclers in the phone book who were happy to come pick up the old one at no charge the following day. It took me one afternoon The short answer is "A whole lot less than it does cost" especially if you get the job done through a big box store.
You should never ever get a water tank installed by a big box store unless they have some ungodly special going on. This is not sour grapes it is just a fact that Lowes or Home Depot or what have you all do it the same. They contract the job out to a "plumber". You pay union rates for the plumber, plus tyhey will "upgrade you to code" at flat rate costs for each item upgraded.
They will install ball valves for about 50 bucks each, usually 2 of them. They will install an expansion tank for another They will install a new gas valve, another 50 bucks. They will have an electrician install an outlet if you do not have one close enough lots of new tanks need volts even if they are gas fired They charge you for getting a permit even if none is required happened to me My township does not require permits and has no interest in your improvements to existing structures and also no building code to comply with.
But do not worry, the store will find a county, state or federal code to comply with to charge you more. Last but not least, to add insult to injury they "install" a cookie sheet underneath the new tank as a "spill protector" non-existant code again. For the cookie sheet you get a deal, just You guessed it 50 bucks!!!
Oh yes, I almost forgot, they did me a great big favor and hauled the old one away no doubt for scrap value or to re manufacture it I was out of town when my home tank failed and I had no choice but to let them handle it for me. So if convenience is all that matters and you have lots of money that obama did not take yet, make one call and get it done by a big box store.
But if you are normal and have any other choice call a real plumber who will probably do it for bucks. The install also had some positioning issues the new tank was larger to avoid some shelving we had, requiring two extra 45degree bends in the hot and cold water inlets to avoid the gas vent which meant there were 8 new copper connections, not including the expansion tank. All in all, I believe the install cost was a fair price. If your install is simpler, you don't need an expansion tank, etc. The expansion tank is not stricly necessary and he explained that , but if the city ever decides to put in check valves to restrict back flow, having the expansion tank will prevent stress and banging noises on the cold water side -- it is basically a good idea to have one.
I was ready to ask for it anyway, and was pleased when he volunteered that I ought to install one while doing the other work. He was able to mount it in a way to keep the shelving space I wanted. As for buying a more expensive tank with a longer warranty I'd recommend it. The tank I bought had an interior glass coating compared to the cheaper one, so it should last longer. Not to mention not having to deal with the whole thing for a longer time.
Answered 5 years ago by SteveD I am so glad to see this question posed. As one of the answers did a good job of explaining; there is a substantial amount of overhead involved in operating a contracting business, especially in California. These kind of 'big box' stores have been a huge factor in changing the face of contracting. His business model incorporated purchasing materials at wholesale and then re-selling the products at retail as part of the profit margin.
Thanks to the manufactures, that has gone to the wayside and the purchase price I pay as a contractor is either exactly or nearly the same as the customer would pay. Therefore, for me to make a profit, I have to make it in the labor portion of the job. This leads customers to believe they are paying too much or more than they should have to. But here is the reality Customers expect our prices to be in alignment with Home Depot or Lowe's, but what they fail to remember is two-fold:.
The manufactures of plumbing products are producing two levels of products for the most part. The merchandise they market through the 'big box' stores and a product line distributed via 'wholesalers'. A good case in point is a lavatory faucet. Though they may look indentical, if you purchase a lavatory faucet at one of the 'big box' stores, you will find that the pop-up drain included is plastic; whereas, the drain assembly from the SAME manufacture of the equivilant model purchased at a wholesaler will typically be brass.
The same holds true for much of the inards of the product. As for water heaters, I recommend customers spend a few minutes reading reviews of the brands sold at the 'big box' stores before the consider purchasing. They will most likely find they should steer clear. It seems most customers fail to calculate or consider the costs involved in acquiring the materials. Someone has to go shopping.
It takes time, some product knowledge, and the appropriate transportation. To protect our common interests, I like to purchase wares that won't likely need serviced for many years and have strong customer support system if they do. It is very frustrating as a contractor to have a client assume I should provide a better quality material at the same price posted on the 'big box' retailers websites. I won't deny that there are plenty of unscrupulous contractors out there, but if you are using Angie's List to source your providers, you ought to be able to weed them out easily.
In general the 'ole adage still holds true Answered 5 years ago by Hermanhoggenflogger. I worked for a medium sized appliance and plumbing business for many years and the bottom line is they know you need a water heater. It is an installation they can and do make a large profit margin on. Especially when you consider they also get a contractors discount for many of the supplies. I laughed at one of the comments here about paying more for their water heater installation because they needed a drain pan. The same thing is true for air conditioning installations.
New Premier 40 gallon natural gas water heater installed on December 31, Not do it yourself people, so had it professionally installed. Having a water heater installed can vary from state to state. Size of water heater comes in to account as well and brand. Now I have seen people here stating they had home depot come out and install there GE water heater with a great warranty. I'm sorry but who installed this water heater for you. A third party contractor no home depot. When your water heater fails you might want to understand home depot wants the whole water heater back for a warranty.
Now do you think the contractor who works through home depot is coming back to remove this water heater and reinstall a new one for you. Guess again he just installed this for you and he doesn't warranty anything. Plumbers who sell top of the line water heater like Bradford White will warranty it. First there is a cost for a good water heater. Haven't you heard the old saying you get what you paid for well GE would be just that, bottom of the barrel cost for bottom of the barrel water heater. Any customer can walk in and buy a water heater from Home Depot.
You can't do that with Bradford Whirte. If you buy a good water heater from some person advertising they will sell this to you then watch out. No warranties from some on line sales. I don't care what they tell you. Bradford White only sells to qualified plumbers. Many systems that are being replaced have old fill valves and the plumbers need to install a new ball valve, brass tee for expansion tank and copper plus fittings.
They pick up the water heater and they take away you old one. How many of you own a car that's 12 years old. Labor is not free my friends and other than GE a good water heater will cost you. Bradford white is a limousine and GE is a Volkswagen so witch one is better quality and going to cost you for quality. Answered 4 years ago by USMC. I am a small person with no professional experience in the building trades. I just replaced my gas water heater with an electric. I did about an hour of research. Labor time was about 45 minutes, most of which was finding my tools. Some of the big box stores will take back your old unit if you drop it off.
That is what many of the local contractors do here, even when they haven't purchased from the store. I see that this is an old question so moot for the person originally asking but seems like people are still answering so I'll add my 2 cents. A couple of months ago I had to replace a water heater. I ordered one from Lowes, that included installation. Well - long story short, I just had him leave the heater. A couple of days later my brother installed the heater in just over an hour and it did not require ANY additional parts.
So in my experience - the whole "add this much for this part, and this much for that part" is well