Due to problems with one of the older crank-style washing machine valves, I'm looking to have a single handle ball valve installed. Someone gave me a price of $350 over the phone. Seems like a lot. Is that reasonable price? If not, then what should this job cost? I live in Northern NJ.
Thanks,
J.
Here is what I believe you want installed it should take a plumber about one hour
I have a one lever valve that turns both hot and cold water off to the washing machine, mostly made of brass about $20 at HD. I had to get an adapter to get it to fit right, about $3. Installed it myself with just a couple tools in less than 5 minutes. I painted the lever to show Red for OFF, green for ON--works very well. If you call a plumber expect to pay at least $150+ just for the visit (gasoline is not cheap anymore).
Anything can be custom built, but most prefab washer boxes I've seen expect the copper to come up from the bottom. Hard to see how you'd do that without cutting into the wall...
This is one of those jobs that could be simple or not, depending on what you want it to look like. Jay apparently has existing hot and cold valves, 9" apart, coming out of the wall with escucheons behind them. The other wrinkle is one is 3/4 higher than the other.
If you can live with it looking half assed, then the existing valves can be unsoldered, some quick plumbing added to bring the lines closer and line them up with the new valve. That should cost a lot less than the $350, but it leaves ugly and mis-aligned pipes exposed, which may or may not matter to you.
If you want it done right, that would be to open the wall and put in a valve box. For that $350 may be about right.
Barbarrow's url gave a device and one picture showed three models of it. It seemed like maybe the expected angle was different, but I couldn't see well enough. Maybe calling them and asking would help, and maybe telling them to put in a better picture would help the next guy too. They have a pdf file but I don't like pdf so I didn't look at it.
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