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Plumbing and venting costs girisharora 07-31-2006
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Posted by on July 31, 2006, 4:52 pm
Hi,

I am in the process of building a new home and had to fire the plumber
because of the terrible job he was doing. By the time he was fired, he
had put in most of the drains and vents in the house. The new plumber
is suggesting that all the drains and the vents be taken out. The
house has three full baths, with the following fixtures:

One bath with tub/shower combo, a sink and a toilet.
Second bath has two sinks, a tub/shower combo and a toilet
The master bath has two sinks, an air tub, a toilet and a shower

There is a kitchen with two sinks.

There are two additional half baths contining a sink and a toilet each
that are vented through the second bath using an 11/2" vent pipes. In
addition, the old plumber used 90 degree angles for drains which are
apparently a no no in Connecticut. Instead of replacing the drains
with 45 degree joints to make longer sweep, the new plumber wants to
replace all the drains. In addition he thinks that the vent pipe
described above is too small to handle all the fixtures vented through
it. He is asking $6,500 to remove everything and replace with
appropriate sized drains and vents. Two questions:

* Can anyone of the Pros that frequent this forum provide any
guidelines as to what is the best way to go. Try and fix the existing
vents and drains or completely start anew.
* Given the number and type of fixtures described, is the cost too much
or right for this work.

Any feedback is greatly appreciated.


Posted by marson on July 31, 2006, 7:29 pm

girisharora@mail.com wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I am in the process of building a new home and had to fire the plumber
> because of the terrible job he was doing. By the time he was fired, he
> had put in most of the drains and vents in the house. The new plumber
> is suggesting that all the drains and the vents be taken out. The
> house has three full baths, with the following fixtures:
>
> One bath with tub/shower combo, a sink and a toilet.
> Second bath has two sinks, a tub/shower combo and a toilet
> The master bath has two sinks, an air tub, a toilet and a shower
>
> There is a kitchen with two sinks.
>
> There are two additional half baths contining a sink and a toilet each
> that are vented through the second bath using an 11/2" vent pipes. In
> addition, the old plumber used 90 degree angles for drains which are
> apparently a no no in Connecticut. Instead of replacing the drains
> with 45 degree joints to make longer sweep, the new plumber wants to
> replace all the drains. In addition he thinks that the vent pipe
> described above is too small to handle all the fixtures vented through
> it. He is asking $6,500 to remove everything and replace with
> appropriate sized drains and vents. Two questions:
>
> * Can anyone of the Pros that frequent this forum provide any
> guidelines as to what is the best way to go. Try and fix the existing
> vents and drains or completely start anew.
> * Given the number and type of fixtures described, is the cost too much
> or right for this work.
>
> Any feedback is greatly appreciated.

I have heard plumbers ballpark of 700 per fixture to rough in. so 6500
doesn't sound bad. i'd have to see it, but i think you should let
plumber #2 replace everything. you want his guarantee, which you won't
get if he reuses the old. also, the labor involved in repairing junk
almost always outweighs the cost savings you might get.


Posted by on July 31, 2006, 7:37 pm
I would agree that $700 per fixture is a good price but he is charging
this money just for drains and vent. Does that sound right?

marson wrote:
> girisharora@mail.com wrote:
> > Hi,
> >
> > I am in the process of building a new home and had to fire the plumber
> > because of the terrible job he was doing. By the time he was fired, he
> > had put in most of the drains and vents in the house. The new plumber
> > is suggesting that all the drains and the vents be taken out. The
> > house has three full baths, with the following fixtures:
> >
> > One bath with tub/shower combo, a sink and a toilet.
> > Second bath has two sinks, a tub/shower combo and a toilet
> > The master bath has two sinks, an air tub, a toilet and a shower
> >
> > There is a kitchen with two sinks.
> >
> > There are two additional half baths contining a sink and a toilet each
> > that are vented through the second bath using an 11/2" vent pipes. In
> > addition, the old plumber used 90 degree angles for drains which are
> > apparently a no no in Connecticut. Instead of replacing the drains
> > with 45 degree joints to make longer sweep, the new plumber wants to
> > replace all the drains. In addition he thinks that the vent pipe
> > described above is too small to handle all the fixtures vented through
> > it. He is asking $6,500 to remove everything and replace with
> > appropriate sized drains and vents. Two questions:
> >
> > * Can anyone of the Pros that frequent this forum provide any
> > guidelines as to what is the best way to go. Try and fix the existing
> > vents and drains or completely start anew.
> > * Given the number and type of fixtures described, is the cost too much
> > or right for this work.
> >
> > Any feedback is greatly appreciated.
>
> I have heard plumbers ballpark of 700 per fixture to rough in. so 6500
> doesn't sound bad. i'd have to see it, but i think you should let
> plumber #2 replace everything. you want his guarantee, which you won't
> get if he reuses the old. also, the labor involved in repairing junk
> almost always outweighs the cost savings you might get.


Posted by marson on July 31, 2006, 9:19 pm

girisharora@mail.com wrote:
> I would agree that $700 per fixture is a good price but he is charging
> this money just for drains and vent. Does that sound right?
>
> well, that $700 number is about 5 years old and will of course very by region.
also, you are asking someone to come in and fix someone elses mess, for which
you will likely get charged a premium. also, running the water lines is a small
percentage of the rough in--the DWV is the thing that takes time. in the end it
always depends on the market conditions in your area. sometimes, you are lucky
to get a plumber to call you back, let alone give you a rock bottom price for
tearing out someone elses mess and redoing it. if that's the case, then jump on
this guy's proposal. on the other hand, if things are slow, then get some bids.

don't forget to look at it from the contractors perspective. if
someone called me, and said a previous contractor's work wasn't good
enough for me (red flag--might be picky) and i want to get some bids on
redoing it (red flag--might be cheap) i would be very wary. not saying
plumber 1's work isn't crap--just saying that that is how i would
perceive things if i got a call like that. and if i had plenty of work
(which any craftsmen who does good work should have) i might be
inclined to turn it down.


Posted by on July 31, 2006, 10:06 pm
I appreciate your help and prompt response on this matter. I am
willing to have him change the drains and compensate him for that but I
would like to keep the vent. His concern is that the 2" inch vent pipe
in the second bathroom described below will not be able to handle the
one full bath and 2 half baths to which I say really? I thought a 2"
pipe could carry 64 DFUs and we are nowhere close to that in this case.

Thanks again for your help.

marson wrote:
> girisharora@mail.com wrote:
> > I would agree that $700 per fixture is a good price but he is charging
> > this money just for drains and vent. Does that sound right?
> >
> > well, that $700 number is about 5 years old and will of course very by
region. also, you are asking someone to come in and fix someone elses mess, for
which you will likely get charged a premium. also, running the water lines is a
small percentage of the rough in--the DWV is the thing that takes time. in the
end it always depends on the market conditions in your area. sometimes, you are
lucky to get a plumber to call you back, let alone give you a rock bottom price
for tearing out someone elses mess and redoing it. if that's the case, then
jump on this guy's proposal. on the other hand, if things are slow, then get
some bids.
>
> don't forget to look at it from the contractors perspective. if
> someone called me, and said a previous contractor's work wasn't good
> enough for me (red flag--might be picky) and i want to get some bids on
> redoing it (red flag--might be cheap) i would be very wary. not saying
> plumber 1's work isn't crap--just saying that that is how i would
> perceive things if i got a call like that. and if i had plenty of work
> (which any craftsmen who does good work should have) i might be
> inclined to turn it down.


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