Easy as it might be, I don't do gas repairs, so I gave the job to Home
Depot. My heater was installed in April 2003, so based on your post, it
sounds like prices have changed since then.

Here's what the charges we

50 Gallon Rheem Water Heater (best heater sold by Home Depot) (12 year
warranty 40K BTU) $298.00
Basic installation (includes delivery of new heater and disposal of old
heater and draining of old heater if needed) $169.00
New inlet valve (it definitely needed replacing) - this was paid
directly to plumber and the price is set by the plumber but quoted in advanc
$45 (parts and labor)
Upgrade flue to 4" as required by code - this was paid directly to plumber
and the price is set by the plumber but quoted in advance $150 (parts and
labor)
Plumbing permit (paid directly to local gov't) $30

It took the plumber and his assistant 90 minutes to remove the old water
heater and install and activate the new water heater. The plumber then
left and had 2 sheet metal guys come the next day to install the new flue,
which took another hour.

The plumber probably spent another hour picking up the new water heater,
disposing of the old water heater, and driving to my house.

The plumbing inspector came a couple of days after installation and approved
the installation. (The water heater was operational immediately after
installation, of course.)

In the somewhat expensive east coast urban area where I live, I consider
this a bargain. The workmanship, by the way, was top notch, although
there's no guarantee that another plumber subcontracted by Home Depot would
do as good of a job.


"Walleye" wrote in message
.net...
Why does it seem so expensive to install a gas hot water heater?
I priced them at Home Depot (GE models) and they want $255 for
installation
no matter what the size of water heater. Some of the models cost less
than
the installation charge!
I'm just wondering what is involved with the typical installation - at
least
for Home Depot.

I still want to price some at Sears but I assume the installation would be
comparable.
Too bad I can't install these myself....

Walter