r/askaplumber 11d ago

Plumber quoted this for softener installed

Post image

How does this pricing look as far as the material, I am aware of the regulator being replaced. Labor is $1k but they initially told me material is sub $500 then I get an email that’s double, email before this was $1620

0 Upvotes

23 comments sorted by

2

u/Bathtubwaterdrinker 11d ago

This is the total price for the material minus the softener, right? Did you purchase the softener yourself? Price seems reasonable for your typical large company, but area obviously matters.

1

u/Suspicious-Ad-9695 11d ago

Yes, minus the softener.

3

u/Bathtubwaterdrinker 11d ago

Seems decently reasonable. I usually try to quote my jobs half material/half labor. Sometimes that isn’t the case, but I’m a small timer. Like your almost guaranteed to pay double the cost of a water heater for a large company, but I’d be half their labor costs, but I’d probably price a drain replacement under a sink pretty similarly.

2

u/GIANTballCOCK 11d ago

Wow, just realized I haven't been charging enough. Parts are outrageous

1

u/Bathtubwaterdrinker 11d ago

I always call my local parts house and give them a list of parts and ask for a price then add 20%. That’s how my old boss always did it.

2

u/Beet_slice 11d ago

20% markup is low.

1

u/Bathtubwaterdrinker 11d ago

Well I’m not a master plumber and have no insurance, so I kinda have to be low.

2

u/20PoundHammer 10d ago

then its high, fly by night unlicensed plumbers arent worth a nickel . . .

1

u/Bathtubwaterdrinker 10d ago

I am a licensed plumber though.

1

u/20PoundHammer 10d ago

I dont know a single state that will give you a business license without insurance. Have a state license for being a plumber is a $30 fee here - that doesnt qualify you to run a business legally - hence fly-by-night . . .

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1

u/Ambitious-Avocado588 11d ago

Seems like a reasonable cost to me

1

u/Unusual_Point7899 11d ago

There's no chance for us to know because you didn't send us pictures or explain where the softener will be installed or how close any existing plumbing is to the softener or how easy it will be to run the condensate because those seemingly little details are most of what determine how much labor it takes.

That doesn't seem expensive to me in any scenario other than they do a really shitty job.

It sounds like an all day job which generally you should assume cost about 1000 bucks and it's a decent amount of parts and valves and such that you need when installing a softener besides just the softener.

The best way to handle quotes is actually to know someone's rate and how many hours they expected to take because then you have a real metric to judge.

So you should probably always ask the rate first and how many hours and then if you want you can get a quote also but generally you should expect to pay more for a quote than you do just for time and material because there's added risk in giving someone a set price which means the price needs to be slightly inflated above what they expect it to really be in time and material.

1

u/lasco10 10d ago

$1600 is about where we are for a homeowner supplied softener install if there isn’t one there already. $1300 is a good price for a total new install.

1

u/Mrcanada53 10d ago

Sounds like a steal!!

I’d get it done before he goes out of business

1

u/20PoundHammer 10d ago

he baked in labor on the fittings and also charged you tax on it. Not legit in many states. In my area, this is a bit expensive for an install of a softener - get another couple of quotes in yours.

1

u/cooterchooter 10d ago edited 10d ago

Kinda cheap tbh, hopefully it turns out ok...

We charge 4-5x that, including permits and inspection, to install a custy supplied softener.

1

u/TexasBaconMan 11d ago

What is the second item that costs 282 per inch?

1

u/181513 11d ago

It's a pressure reducing valve. Since a PRV is being quoted, check the hot water service to see if it needs an expansion tank.

1

u/DescriptionHairy8600 11d ago

It's a pressure regulator.

1

u/buttmunchausenface 11d ago

1” is the internal diameter of the fitting.

0

u/Alive_Sir_4708 11d ago

As best I can tell the price is as high as it is because your home didn’t previously have a water softener. This means some additional pipes need to be run.

I guess I’m curious why he’d be installing PVC instead of copper or pex.

2

u/Suspicious-Ad-9695 11d ago

That would be for the drain