DerbyDad03 wrote:
On Mar 22, 11:02 am, Steve Kraus
wrote:
Here's Mom's new kitchen faucet:

http://i246.photobucket.com/albums/g...un/faucet1.jpg

It's an American Standard. Existing sink, no change in configuration
or anything. She needs a new backsplash but I digress. I bought the
faucet online and Mom called a plumbing company to install it.

Here's underneath:

http://i246.photobucket.com/albums/g...un/faucet2.jpg

Previously it was copper all the way up. No flexes and perviously
there were no shutoffs. So the new installation included those
shutoffs and the chrome plated lines you see. Quality of the
installation workmanship seems fine.

Is $482.00 a fair price for this install (including the shutoffs and
short bits of tubing)?

Parts and labor are not broken out but the invoice says $336.00 for
the faucet installation and $146.00 for the shutoff valve
installation. Was this fair or did a senior get taken taken to the
proverbial cleaners? I am aware that skilled labor and a truck and
shop filled with parts don't come cheap but it seems outrageous to
me but then maybe I am just out of touch.

This is suburban Chicago if it matters.

$146 for the shutoff install - Are they platinum?

As far as I can tell from the pictures, he cut the copper pipes and
installed the shutoffs and then the risers (the fill tubes)Since the
copper pipe is bigger than the riser he would have had to install
adaptors anyway - exact same labor as installing the shutoffs. So in
reality, the only extra Mom should have paid for is the cost of the
shutoffs themselves.

Unless they are made of platinum, or are perhaps remote controlled, I
can't imagine 2 shutoffs costing $146. You can buy shutoffs *and*
risers as a set for under $20 and there should have been no additional
labor cost for the install.

$336 for the faucet install - - $482 total

As noted above, the risers and shutoffs are really cheap. - we're
talking maybe $60 for all parts. OK, let's call it $82 to make the
math easy. That means he charged at least $400 for labor.

How long was he there? Was he in and out in an hour or did he have to
remove Mom's knick-knacks from the back of the sink and the dishwasher
soap, sponges and plastic grocery bags from underneath? Time is money,
so if he had to waste time doing things other than plumbing, he
wouldn't have done it for free.

All that said, if it was as simple a job as it appears it should have
been, Mom was taken advantage of and it's time to make some phone
calls.

Quite frankly what you folks *should* complain about are the high costs
associated with oil production executives. Why or how would anyone in a
years' time be worth millions of dollars is beyond me. [Figure there's 2,000
working hours at best in a year, for a CEO to earn millions a year.] But
it's easier to bitch about a hard working plumber who not only has a shop to
support but a family as well.

--
Zyp