Were we just ripped off for a water heater replacement?
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
. . . . I mean maybe my plumber quoted me on the high side. He,s a friend of a friend, so I tend to believe his quote.
"Friends" sometimes overcharge - because you won't ask for other quotes. In my experience, when a friend says, "I can get you a good price," they often mean a good price for themselves.
I guess it depends on what your definition of friend is. My beloved spouse (BS) often says, "Trust, but verify. "
If the warranty company covered the tank (and probably some couplers) and the installation to install it then the plumber is the one who padded the bill. Get an itemization.
I've never heard of a county inspector coming out to inspect a home for a replacement water heater. So this having to do it to new code is just a way to upcharge you .
The only way I could see the warranty company hosing you is for them to pay for a ultra low cost heater. But I dont see them saving much. If you go into Lowes/Home Depot the tank (12 year), the labor, and removal of the old tank would have been under $900.
We had an inspector out to look at the installation of our new tankless water heater. He made the plumbers redo some work. We paid far more for our new tankless than the OP did. We replaced an old tankless. Changing to regular hot water heater would have required changing plumbing. I agree to ask for itemized bill from plumber.
If you make a claim on your home insurance, and your repair work was not properly permitted, you might not be covered for that item. That’s what we understand. You might not need a permit for replacement of regular electric water heater. Ours is a gas, tankless water heater.
I like most do not believe a Home Warranty policy is good for me. The example I use to rationalize this is in my HVAC system. They will replace the part that has failed but do not care about efficiency since I pay the Electric bill for AC or gas bill for heating use.
This thread has been a great illustration of more issues with a home warranty.
OP might be ready to install their next new water heater by this time.
I had a new gas water heater installed a year ago and it was very close to $1,000. It took two plumbers a couple of hours to do the install and plumbers aren't cheap. I don't think it is a difficult job, but it does take time.
I know gas heaters costs more than electric, but all of the plumbing was there and up to code so it was just a swap-out for a new heater the same size.
One of the more common home owner insurance claims is damage caused by a water heater leaking. So there is an advantage to having the heater installed by licensed people and done with proper permits. You never want to give the insurance company an excuse to not pay.
My personal opinion is that the home warranty policies are not worth the cost to own them. I know a lot of people who have been dissatisfied with their service.
We had an inspector out to look at the installation of our new tankless water heater. He made the plumbers redo some work. We paid far more for our new tankless than the OP did. We replaced an old tankless. Changing to regular hot water heater would have required changing plumbing. I agree to ask for itemized bill from plumber.
A couple of people in this thread have said to ask the plumber to itemize his bill. Well, I did that 2 plumbers ago, and the plumber left in the middle of the job "to go get parts" and didn't come back -- I finally texted him something like 2 hours later to see what the heck was going on, and he said he'd had an "emergency." (Yeah, right, and it happened right after you left my house "to get parts"? And somehow you couldn't let me know? Really? ) Then he sent me an email that same night saying because I asked him to itemize his bill, clearly I "wasn't comfortable" with his pricing and so he wasn't coming back.
I was flabbergasted at the utter lack of professionalism. He was supposed to finish the job the day he left "to get parts" and KNEW that I had other contractors coming the next day to do more work. (I'd used him before and found him somewhat odd but his work seemed to be OK.)
Oh, and I'd asked him to start itemizing because the last bill I'd gotten had a charge of something like $200 for parts (I could only figure that out by subtracting the labor charge from the total), when as far as I know all he needed was a p-trap.
Some workers simply don't want to itemize. I really don't get it, as I'm not asking them to tell me every nail or screw they used or what their mark-up is -- I don't need to know that level of detail. But telling me how a p-trap cost $200, yes, I'd like to understand that, please.
A couple of people in this thread have said to ask the plumber to itemize his bill. Well, I did that 2 plumbers ago, and the plumber left in the middle of the job "to go get parts" and didn't come back -- I finally texted him something like 2 hours later to see what the heck was going on, and he said he'd had an "emergency." (Yeah, right, and it happened right after you left my house "to get parts"? And somehow you couldn't let me know? Really? ) Then he sent me an email that same night saying because I asked him to itemize his bill, clearly I "wasn't comfortable" with his pricing and so he wasn't coming back.
I was flabbergasted at the utter lack of professionalism. He was supposed to finish the job the day he left "to get parts" and KNEW that I had other contractors coming the next day to do more work. (I'd used him before and found him somewhat odd but his work seemed to be OK.)
Oh, and I'd asked him to start itemizing because the last bill I'd gotten had a charge of something like $200 for parts (I could only figure that out by subtracting the labor charge from the total), when as far as I know all he needed was a p-trap.
Some workers simply don't want to itemize. I really don't get it, as I'm not asking them to tell me every nail or screw they used or what their mark-up is -- I don't need to know that level of detail. But telling me how a p-trap cost $200, yes, I'd like to understand that, please.
Anyway, I found another plumber!
The plumber who left the site without completing the job was a jerk. Sheesh.
The plumber who left the site without completing the job was a jerk. Sheesh.
Yeah, no kidding! I hope she made a negative yelp review on this "plumber."
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
) Then he sent me an email that same night saying because I asked him to itemize his bill, clearly I "wasn't comfortable" with his pricing and so he wasn't coming back. 
