I want to install new faucet – drain – and handles on two bathroom sinks. I’m in the Westchester, NY area. I will provide the kit for each sink. What is the fair cost for a plumber per hour and approximately how many hours is reasonable to accomplish the work.
Thanks
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I'm not going to try to directly answer your questions, but just note that there are a lot of variables. Some faucets simply won't fit some sinks, and some sinks are arranged/installed in ways that make installing a faucet quite a challenge. The plumber is not going to be able to give you any sort of firm estimate until he sees what he's dealing with.
One tricky point is that the shutoff valves under the sink may or may not work. If they don't work (or there aren't any) then the entire house water supply will have to be shut off. If they "sorta work" the plumber might try to change out your faucet while stopping the drips with a rag or bucket, but things could get messy if he runs into trouble. (If there are not currently a modern 1/4-turn shutoff valves in place then it might be wise to have them updated as a part of the job.)
Hi there,
In my area near Boston good plumbers get 85 to 110 per hour and most have a 1/2 day billing minimum. A project like yours assuming it doesn't require some of the extra work Dan explained would probably fall into this half day job category or approx 500 bucks. You might find a handyman who could do it for a lot less. Professional plumbers also generally don't like installing fixtures supplied by the owner because often they are lesser quality or obscure and require more fussing and may lead to callbacks if they fail. This can lead to ugly situations where the plumber and owner argue about whether workmanship or material defects are to blame for a less than perfect job. In the future I would recommend finding the plumber first, tell him/her what you are looking for, then get a price to have him furnish and install everything needed to complete the job. That way if something goes awry the plumber owns it all. Or, buy your own stuff and have a handyman do the work and play the risk/reward game. Just my 2 cents.
The faucet and drain assembly come together as a kit in one box so should always be installed together. The supply valves and lines should be replaced than as well. It's a simple job that any reasonably person should be able to do in a couple of hours tops. You could probably do it yourself. A plumber is probably going to want about $300.00.
Replacing supply valves.
Replacing supply valves every time you replace faucets seems to defeat their purpose of not having to shut off main water supply. No that I've said that, I'll admit that I always replace them with up-to-date 1/4 turn valves and braided flex connectors. I like some of the new manifolded pex installations that have shut offs and supply lines to each fixture.
Unfortunately, most suplly valves you see don't get used and they leak as soon as you do use them. The ball valves are much more reliable but aren't standard issue. Of course, all the valves typically need is new packing wound around the stem to fix them but don't look for plumbers to tell you that $2 fix is better than a $100 valve replacement charge.
The problem with the typical globe-style shutoff valve is not that they leak around the stem but that they don't shut off. After 30 years of water flowing through them the valve seat is eroded and, no matter how tight you turn the knob, they still dribble. This isn't so bad if you can get in and out in 10 minutes, but if the job takes two hours because of some other problem then you end up having to shut off water to the house.
Might as well get it over with and replace the valve first.
Thanks all for the helpful advice. There are shut offs and the new trim kits were specked out by the supply house so they are compatible. - the cabinets are empty and cleaned out underneath -
Through a recommendation from the supply house they put me in touch with a plumber whom they highly recommended. He came over one morning with a helper and got the helper started but he had to go to another job. The 2 sinks took the helper 5-1/2 hours and I got a bill for 4 hours @ $ 140.00 / hour. The rate was high when I think this isn't cutting threads in black pipe or breaking cement - this was the type of job that I'd call nice work - I also wanted to do the shower - he put on the handles, spout, and shower head but could not complete becasue I need a gerber tube waste for the drain. The charges and time needed seem crazy - I will try to talk to him again and hopefully work it out -
SA
I've used the quarter turns, thought they were pretty nifty when they first became available. But the Counter Man at my plumbing supply house told me they don't stock them for their plumbing professionals, because they can't be re-built in place like the old style valves. Not long after, I had the need / opportnity to repair a valve, and I realized right away what he meant.
Remove the stem and washer assembly from the body of the old valve, replace with a new stem, washer, and bonnet from a new unit, and you're done. No interruption in the lines leading into and out of the valve body.