Plumbing and venting costs

[girisharora]

Hi,

I am in the process of building a new home and had to fire the plumber because of the terrible job he was doing. By the time he was fired, he had put in most of the drains and vents in the house. The new plumber is suggesting that all the drains and the vents be taken out. The house has three full baths, with the following fixtures:

One bath with tub/shower combo, a sink and a toilet. Second bath has two sinks, a tub/shower combo and a toilet The master bath has two sinks, an air tub, a toilet and a shower

There is a kitchen with two sinks.

There are two additional half baths contining a sink and a toilet each that are vented through the second bath using an 11/2" vent pipes. In addition, the old plumber used 90 degree angles for drains which are apparently a no no in Connecticut. Instead of replacing the drains with 45 degree joints to make longer sweep, the new plumber wants to replace all the drains. In addition he thinks that the vent pipe described above is too small to handle all the fixtures vented through it. He is asking $6,500 to remove everything and replace with appropriate sized drains and vents. Two questions:

• Can anyone of the Pros that frequent this forum provide any guidelines as to what is the best way to go. Try and fix the existing vents and drains or completely start anew.

• Given the number and type of fixtures described, is the cost too much or right for this work.

Any feedback is greatly appreciated.

[marson]

I have heard plumbers ballpark of 700 per fixture to rough in. so 6500 doesn't sound bad. i'd have to see it, but i think you should let plumber #2 replace everything. you want his guarantee, which you won't get if he reuses the old. also, the labor involved in repairing junk almost always outweighs the cost savings you might get.

[girisharora]

[marson]

also, you are asking someone to come in and fix someone elses mess, for which you will likely get charged a premium. also, running the water lines is a small percentage of the rough in--the DWV is the thing that takes time. in the end it always depends on the market conditions in your area. sometimes, you are lucky to get a plumber to call you back, let alone give you a rock bottom price for tearing out someone elses mess and redoing it. if that's the case, then jump on this guy's proposal. on the other hand, if things are slow, then get some bids.

don't forget to look at it from the contractors perspective. if someone called me, and said a previous contractor's work wasn't good enough for me (red flag--might be picky) and i want to get some bids on redoing it (red flag--might be cheap) i would be very wary. not saying plumber 1's work isn't crap--just saying that that is how i would perceive things if i got a call like that. and if i had plenty of work (which any craftsmen who does good work should have) i might be inclined to turn it down.

[girisharora]

I appreciate your help and prompt response on this matter. I am willing to have him change the drains and compensate him for that but I would like to keep the vent. His concern is that the 2" inch vent pipe in the second bathroom described below will not be able to handle the one full bath and 2 half baths to which I say really? I thought a 2" pipe could carry 64 DFUs and we are nowhere close to that in this case.

Thanks aga> [e-mail] wrote:

region. also, you are asking someone to come in and fix someone elses mess, for which you will likely get charged a premium. also, running the water lines is a small percentage of the rough in--the DWV is the thing that takes time. in the end it always depends on the market conditions in your area. sometimes, you are lucky to get a plumber to call you back, let alone give you a rock bottom price for tearing out someone elses mess and redoing it. if that's the case, then jump on this guy's proposal. on the other hand, if things are slow, then get some bids.

[mcse3456]

Has this first plumber no fear of your contractor's board or of the building department? Is he licensed? Is he bonded and insured?

Did you fire him without trying to force him to fix it? Unless he isn't licensed and doesn't know his stuff, I'd call his bonding company. That info should be available from the contractor's board.

A bond isn't easy to get and can be lost. The board can fine him. The building department might have something to say.