Posted on 06/23/2018 11:27:20 AM PDT by Catmom
Apparently this is standard price for the install, sales taxes, labor, disposal fee, "code upgrades," etc. My next door neighbor paid the same amount last year.
Sucks to be a homeowner w/o construction skills in a blue state.
I half think people in the trades push for code upgrades to make everything cost more. And they seemed shocked that I would question their prices. Got a 10% discount FWIW.
Interesting approach ... though most times I don’t spend money til I have to spend it. But with such low savings interest rates, maybe investing in WH inventory isn’t a bad idea.
Paid 1200 6 months ago.
800 + labor.
Not from these guys.
They’d get a knee in the nuts.
Who did it?
I called Ben Franklin the Plumber and a few others around here and was quoted obscene rates like you paid.
I went to Home Chepo and bought the same one I had in there for 250 and got a handy man to swap it out for 100 bucks.
Realtor recommended him to me as he does odd jobs for the realty firm. Retired plumber.
I had it drained and ready to go for him when he arrived.
Some stuff ya got to shop and the local handy man types are good to know.
Find one and keep him on your Roledex
The anode rod (usually a separate rod) should be inspected and replaced when it warrants it, plus draining the heater at prescribed intervals, will add to the life of the heater. Note: The anode rods are often UNBELIEVABLY tight when installed at factory...I should have loosened it *before* having my heater installed. I decided to have it replaced on the early side (two years in) and had to get a plumber to remove the rod and replace in with a segmented anode rod (easier for when you have limited room above heater). I will do the future replacements myself now that the torque needed to remove it isn’t like it was for the plumber.
I also have a water leak alarm next to the heater(as well as many other places in house) and remember to replace batteries every year.
I was looking to replace my current Rheem DV. I bought and replaced my original Rheem with my current Rheem, back in 2003. Rheem cost for a new DV now is about 1800 for the unit. That is equivalent to a Rheem tankless heater. I remember changing out standard water heaters for about 200$, years ago. I was shocked to spend $700 on the Rheem in 2003. And now THIS?
Will you tell me the model of which you speak?
Impact Wrench required
Are you in WA?
They’re called Hart’s Services and they’re in Tacoma. Very highly reviewed.
“Just where in commie USA do you live ??!”
Wakulla county, Florida. I just got caught replacing the siding on a rental I own. Because I was on their radar, I decided and I had to hire a contractor anyway, I had him replace the roof with 18 ga metal. I’d already bought all the materials for both jobs. It ended up costing me an extra $5000. Every politician complains that there isn’t enough “affordable” housing. Well, that caused me to have to raise the rent $50 per month and it moved the payout two years. On top of that, the code inspector really ran me through the wringer. The contractor said, “Yeah, I know this guy is an asshole, but I’ve never seen him acting this badly.” I had to pay for additional inspections, as he kept finding things. (Three missing screws out of about 2000, for example.) But the best one was the bright lime green permit, which he found every time, was hanging in a bag by a nail. The wind had turned it over. He sited me for not properly displaying it and put the failure notice in the bag with the permit card. As Mark Twain said, “No power is exercised with more fervor than small power.”
Same here! Had to replace one in the other house. Took longer to drain the old one and unpack the new one that it did to install the new one. Threw the old one in the back of the truck and took it to the salvage yard, they give 35 dollars for old water heaters, I guess they strip the components and resale them. I built my outside deep fryer using the burner from an old water heater. I hate seeing how some get taken to the cleaners and how some states and municipalities encourage it. I live out in the county, there are no rules. OK maybe a few like don’t shoot cows or the neighbors, although I wish they’d wave that neighbor thing. I’ve got one down the road needs tuning up a little.
If you are hard up, flush it and swap in a new anode. Could last much longer.
Agreed. I have replaced a few in my life and generally they are pretty easy. It can be rough if you are required to strap them to the wall and have an old house. The old studs can be a tad on the hard side.
It is for this reason that we turn the water off when we go on vacation. I never want to return to a disaster if I can help it.
Leaving aside the easy straight line, you can drill pilot holes and use screws.
>>Crap shoot hiring installs from big box stores. We see a lot of those. My husband owns his own HVAC biz.
Calling a “professional” in the phone book is every bit as much a crap shoot. I’m an electrician so I know quite a bit about various things and I’ve caught every HVAC guy I’ve ever called out lying about something electrical. Or they are ignorant. Either way, you really can’t depend on the person showing up to know what they are doing and to be honest businessmen, regardless of the name on the truck. I’m sure your husband is knowledgeable and honest and so are all of his employees, but the rest...geez!
For the record though, the HD installer was a private contractor, but he had to answer to HD for bad installs. So, he was more motivated to do it right than any guy who can just refuse to answer my calls when his “warranty” work starts to cut into his bottom line.
One of my aunts learned about code enforcement while renovating a house she inherited.
Concur. If you use a plumber the joints should be sweated, but as a DIYer, Sharkbite works fantastic. I have done both with equal success.
My experience - I recently installed a hybrid water heater, which uses heat pump technology (essentially an air conditioner run in reverse) to heat the water, with backup electrodes in case of not enough heat differential to run the heat pump. Since I live in Florida, not a problem, and the more recent engineering advances have made the heat pump much quieter that earlier models. But the electric bill - dropped by $20 per month. Price with installation, abut $2,500 through Home Depot, using their contract installer. And there was a limited eleven-year warranty on the tank and installation.
Of course, there is no way of knowing if that was of particularly much value.
Can the Anode Rod be striped and decontminated and put back in effectively ?
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