Plumbing

A bit of water was dripping through the ceiling right below the toilet. No water on the bathroom floor...so I decided that I better replace the wax seal.

It looked pretty bad but replacing it did not cure the leak.

Before I got too far...the wife /insisted/ that I call a plumber and because this looked like a major PITA job did as I was told.

Figured I was going to waste at least $500 or more but I did not feel like doing a major plumbing job.

They got out here fast and inspected everything and found a leak in the toilet itself that I had missed.

They said they could put in a new toilet for $2000 !!!!!

There were some less expensive options that were still five times higher than I could have imagined...so I figured I better cut my loss and just pay them the $80 for a service call and send them on their way.

A few hours later and an $80 Home Depot toilet and the leak is fixed.

Since my water bill has been going up recently, maybe the low water use toilet will pay for itself before too long.

$2000 for a new toilet.

Beyond belief.

Reply to
philo 
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They saw you were taking directions from your wife. You should Yelp them, and warn others.

Reply to
Pico Rico

Hi, They quoted all automatic, with heated seat? Put in a new water saver one at least, the dual flush type? City gives 75.00 if we put in dual flush one and show them pictures.

Reply to
Tony Hwang

Was this a local plumber or an outfit with a big ad in the Yellow Pages? I tend to stay away from them and use the little guy.

Depending on the toilet, $500 would be more in line. A good toilet with elongated bowl, comfort height, slow close seat, you will pay $300 to $400. Add about $100 to $150 for the install.

Reply to
Ed Pawlowski

Thanks for the replies.

Yep. Part of me caved in to my wife...the part of me that did not want to deal with a toilet.

Yep, this was one of those well advertised plumbers. For the $80 I paid them I think I got a good lesson.

Should I ever need a plumber again I'll stick with the small guy with good recommendations.

I was willing to over-pay a bit for fast service...they got here in less than an hour...but I just never could have dreamed they'd charge that much...it was almost as much as the electrician who spent three days here doing hard labor!

Reply to
philo 

That incentive was just removed here after over 20 years.

Reply to
clare

Had all my toilets replaced and while it has been a few years, price was $300 each. I was afraid to do it diy because in repairing a toilet once I overtightened the bolts cracking the porcelain.

I have a plumber I trust and have him do all the stuff I can't do.

Reply to
Frank

A friend of mine lived in an apartment designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and I replaced a broken toilet seat for him. When the owner of the building came by to pay me back for the seat, he told me the toilet was original and I should have let him do it. I would have been in serious trouble if I broke it.

Anyway I told him I have the hands of a brain surgeon and we all had a good laugh.

That was a long time ago and the seat was $7.00

The cheap SOB gave me $5 saying that I was over charging him.

Reply to
philo 

I can barely believe it myself.

That was worth 60 at least. 40 for knowing, and 20 more for knowing right away. If you look at it the other way, how much compared to putting in a new wax ring and having it leak for 2 or 3 more days, then having to work on it again, it's worth more than the whole 80.

They came in less than an hour! What day of the week was this?

On vacation in Central America, I broke my leg in Guatamala, when I was

  1. I hated to tell my mother, but the extra time meant I was running out of money. I wrote, and my older brother called somehow, and wanted

-- because my mother said to -- to come down to Guatamala to get me.

I told him that for the price of his ticket, I could be carried to the airport in a sedan chair by bearers.

(It was actually a good place for a broken leg, because 5 diners and 4 movie theatres in hobbling distance.)

Reply to
micky

It was yesterday...Saturday

On the phone I figured the place would be reasonable when they said the service call would be $80 and if I opted to let them do the work, the $80 fee would be dropped.

When I was still working for Enersys...our minimum service call billing was something like $225 no matter what. About $100 for travel and $125 for the first hour of labor.

The only time I'd charge less would be for companies within 3 miles of the shop.

Otoh: My average total bill was usually $500 or less.

Bummer to have something like that happen on vacation...sounds like you were OK though.

I still recall when one of my co-workers came back from vacation he asked the boss if he could have one more day because he was sick one day when he was on vacation and wanted to take that as a sick day (after the fact).

The danged boss OKed it.

sheesh, they sure don't make bosses like that any more

Reply to
philo 

On Sun, 12 Oct 2014 11:15:52 -0500, philo  wrote in

Where was it actually leaking from?

Reply to
CRNG

The leak was in the seal between the tank and the bowl. More than likely, the process of me removing the toilet to put in a new wax seal disturbed it.

I was going to repair it but everything inside the the toilet...seals and mechanism looked so bad that I deemed the 30 year old toilet not worth repairing.

Since my water bill has been on the rise , figured I'd be better off with a low water use toilet anyway.

Reply to
philo 

On Mon, 13 Oct 2014 02:55:25 -0500, philo  wrote in

Yes, I would say that was a wise decision.

Reply to
CRNG

My normal bills are about $150 per quarter

but my last bill was $200

Since I live right near Lake Michigan, water is not a scarcity here and I'm sure it's less than it would be if I lived in Arizona.

Reply to
philo 

I had an electrician come out to my rental house when the old 100 amp box with screw in fuses started frying the main breaker. He told me replacing the box would cost $4000. Said the main breaker for the new box would cost $900 alone. Waved goodbye to him....

Reply to
Ashton Crusher

Oh, was that you!

- . Christopher A. Young Learn about Jesus

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Reply to
Stormin Mormon

I'd want to know what the $2000 covered. Some plumbers would just replace the toilet; some home repair contractors (one I deal with now calls his place the home mechanics) would also repair the damage done by the leak. Perhaps that would include carpentry, plastering, and painting. I could see that extent of service costing $2000. Think of that if the ceiling falls.

Reply to
No name

You should hope not. The c0^ksuc&er also cut the wires off the other breakers (it wasn't screw in fuses, I was thinking of a different house) so when he left the house had no electric service remaining. And for a few of those wires it made them VERY short to try and reconnect to at least keep a couple lights on for the side of the buss that still worked.

Reply to
Ashton Crusher

Not my style. I respect others property, would never do that.

. Christopher A. Young Learn about Jesus

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Reply to
Stormin Mormon

? 2014?10?12???? UT C+8??10:27:29?Pico Rico???

Yelp is very good.But there is one thing:You can't find much feedback,remar ks about a plumbers work. I guess Yelp is cheating us by delet those feedbacks.

Reply to
Adams Tony

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