Thoughts on $1,600+ for a kitchen sink and basement pipe rework?

I had a similar situation last year when we switched to a deep Blanco Silgranit sink. The quote I got in Southern Ontario was around $1,500, so your $1,675 isn't out of the ballpark, expecially with basement work involved. Once they start cutting into 2-inch ABS and rerouting lines to meet modern code, the hours add up fast. I tried doing the shut-off valves myself with some cheap SharkBites once, but I ended up with a slow drip that ruined the cabinet base before I even noticed it.

Having one guy handle the whole stack from the basket strainer down to the basement stack saves you a massive headache. If somethig leaks at the P-trap, you have one person to call instead of wondering if your DIY transition to the main line caused the backup. These days, a journeyman’s hourly rate plus the overhead for a service van and insurance is steep. I’d rather pay the $1,600 now than spend $5,000 on mold remediation later becasue a joint wasn't primed right. It sounds like alot, but for a full rework, it is pretty standard for quality work in Canada right now.

Honestly, $1,675 feels like you're paying a big-box plumbing franchise premium. I just had a similar project in Winnipeg where I needed to move the drain line for a double-bowl stainless sink. Instead of one massive quote, I bought the supplies myself—mostly 1.5-inch PVC and a few Fernco couplings—and hired a local journeyman who works for himself. He charged me an hourly rate plus a service call fee, and the whole thing came in under $900. The basement work often sounds more complex than it is. If you're just replacing a P-trap and some horizontal runs, alot of that is basic labor. You can save hundreds by clearing the workspace and maybe even removing the old sink and disposal yourself before they show up. proffesional shops have huge overhead for those wrapped vans and dispatchers, wich is why you're seeing that four-figure price tag for what usually amounts to half a day of actual labor.

That price is steep but not crazy if they are doing it right. If you want to make sure the job actualy lasts and doesn't leak after the guy leaves, tell him you want Oatey Dearborn brass for the tubular parts under the sink instead of the thin plastic stuff. Most guys will default to cheap polypro unless you ask. Since you're paying for a pro to go down into the basement anyway, having them install a real Oatey p-trap kit ensures you aren't dealing with cracked plastic in five years. Better to spend the money on premium parts if you're alredy paying that much for labor.

Spot on. That price is definitly the going rate for a full rework. One thing most people forget to check is the venting. If they’re allready tearing into the stack in the basement, ask them to verify the AAV or check if the original vent line is still clear. If you’re upgrading the sink and trap but the old vent is clogged or undersized, you’ll deal with slow drains no matter how much you pay for the new pipe work.

This is all super helpful. I'm definitely a total novice with this stuff, so I didn't even think about the venting or the material types. One thing I'm worried about is the 'shut-off valves' mentioned earlier—is that something that ussually gets replaced by default during a job like this, or is that another extra I need to ask for? I'd hate to spend all this money on basement pipes and then have an old valve under the sink fail. Also, for someone who doesn't know much, how can I tell if they're acutally using that better brass hardware instead of the cheap plastic once they start working?

Listen, if you’re alredy paying for a full rework, don't let them leave those crusty old multi-turn valves in there. Back in my day, we’d sweat on a pair of solid brass stops and they’d last thirty years. These days, most guys just want to slap on a compression fitting and call it a day. If those old valves haven't been touched in a decade, they’ll prolly leak the second you try to shut 'em off anyway. For $1,600, they better be swapping those out for some decent quarter-turn ball valves. It’s cheap insurance compared to a flooded kitchen because a 40-cent washer crumbled inside the wall.