Hi... I want to have a new toilet installed in my bathroom.. Already has plumbing, just want a new toilet.. Also I want to change the fixtures on my pedestal ..So I will need the plumber to change the old plumbing fixtures on the pedestal (they were bronze, need to be brushed) They quoted me, 500-700 to do the work.. I am providing the toilet and fixtures.. Is that expensive ?
Umm, yeah. I'm not a plumber, and I've done all of that myself, quite a few times, and it should take less than 3 hours. Perhaps (usually) there will be a side trip to the plumbing store for some random part/pipe/tool, but if it takes you longer than 5 hours, you might not want to do it yourself. Still, $500+ is WAAAAY high. The last toilet I changed out took less than an hour. Faucets are so simple I let my husband do them :)
My concern with the faucets- remember I already have faucets in the pedestal.. How do I change the shut off valves?? Right now they are brass... The new faucets will be brushed- so I will have brushed shut off valves-- If I could find instructions on how to change the shut off valves, then I could do it myself
Mine wouldn't shut off when I had to change the fill valve...
Also since they are visible I could understand wanting to change them for a finish matching the rest of the bathroom fixtures.
There's quarter turn ball valves available now which are nice as well, although in reality the valve probably gets shut off less than 5 times during its life
That depends..Is a permit required ?? If so how much is it ?? Here in Maine a plumbing permit is 150 bucks though I don't think one is required in my town for a simple replacement but in the cities it MIGHT be a much different story..There is also a difference between say Belfast , Maine and Boston , Mass..Prices vary ALOT..LOL..HTH..
That's good. If you wanted it installed in your living room you would incur additional costs to have the plumbing extended. And it might negatively affect the resale value of the house.
My concern with the faucets- remember I already have faucets in the pedestal.. How do I change the shut off valves?? Right now they are brass... The new faucets will be brushed- so I will have brushed shut off valves-- If I could find instructions on how to change the shut off valves, then I could do it myself
Most shut off valves are threaded on to a pipe coming out of the wall.
Assuming you have that kind of set up, you:
1] Shut off the water at the main valve to your house.
2] Unscrew the old valve from the pipe with a wrench.
3] Apply pipe dope or Teflon tape to the pipe nipple
4] Screw on the new valve and tighten it with a wrench.
The second kind of attachment would be a compression fitting. This kind of fitting is used on copper pipe, and requires no torch or solder. A nut is placed over the pipe with the threads facing outwards. Next a metal ring (ferrule)is placed over the pipe. The valve is then placed on the pipe and the nut is screwed on to the valve body and the ferrule is compressed between them, snugging everything tight and effecting a seal.
The third type is soldered on to the pipe coming out of the wall. Changing these out requires a bit of skill and since you are asking the question you probably should hire the job out.
You might find good do it yourself books at hardware stores or home improvement centers, or just borrow them from the local library.
Plumbers are not the only people to call for this kind of work however, you might want to find a handyman for this job. probably save you over half of what a plumber would charge you.
On Wed, 24 Mar 2010 15:19:07 -0700 (PDT), KOS wrote Re Question on plumbing average cost- location New England...For new toilet and change pedestal plumbing:
Seems like it to me too but keep in mind the toilet is heavy and this is often a 2 person job because of that. Also, time is money and that includes travel time. All we see here is 'New England'. We don't know if he lives out in the boonies, at a 2 hour drive or something from the plummers.
Are the bolts corroded? Will they have to drill them out? If so this takes a bit of time. 50$ an hour is not that far off the rate of a good tradesman.
2hoursx4 (both ways)x 2 (2 people)= $400 + 1 hour work at site = $500
Now he's probably not that far away but thats all part of how it works. Also, he probably included 'haul away' of old unit which costs time as they have to drive it to the local dump.
Umm, no, neither do we know that "on a pedestal sink they WILL be exposed". I've never seen a pedestal sink where the shut off valves are exposed, hence my question on why would you need to change the fittings. However, there must be some like that, or your panties wouldn't be in such a bunch.
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here.
All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.