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

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.


well home depot has to make some money and the guy they get to install
them makes some money.. if you do it yourself then you save big time....
it cost me about$12 to install mine.. had alot of parts and supplies and
the labor was free(me)....

"Walleye" wrote in
.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!

There's no reason why installation should depend on the size of the
heater. Installation involves plumbing/vent connections being made, etc.;
that's the same whatever the heater size/price.

Home Depot's prices are higher for most things; they are charging for the
brand name even though they use local contractors to do the work. Also
it's higher because HD takes a cut and then the actual installation
contractor has to make a profit. Finally they may be allowing a safety
margin in case they encounter problems. That's one of the risks of
quoting a fixed price. Vendors who quote lower prices will often qualify
it by saying that they will quote a final price after they arrive and
allow you the option to refuse.

The GE water heaters are actually made by Rheem, GE just adds their name.
They are the same as the Rheem Fury (I think). Call local installers
directly for lower prices, but make sure they confirm the price before
doing any work.

If you are replacing an existing unit, it's not particularly difficult.
They
also make bolt on flex pipe for the supply & return, if sweating copper is
a
problem.

The more I think about it I want to try and replace it myself.
I did see the flex pipe available at the Depot also although I have no
problem with sweating copper pipe.
The only thing I can think of that *might* cause me a problem is the gas
line connection/hookup - everything else seems pretty straight forward.

Any do this before that can give me some pointers?

Thanks,
Walter

"Clark W. Griswold, Jr." wrote in message
...
"Walleye" wrote:

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.

The only thing I can think of is if they feel they need to cover the cost
of
bringing an older install up to code. This can involved a raised platform,
improved venting (for a gas install) and an overflow that discharges
outside the
building (and not on the floor) in some communities, depending on code.


Too bad I can't install these myself....

If you are replacing an existing unit, it's not particularly difficult.
They
also make bolt on flex pipe for the supply & return, if sweating copper is
a
problem.

"Walleye" wrote in message v.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

$255 for installation is a huge ripoff. Typical Home Despot:
subcontract it to the low bidder, charge a premium rate, and pocket
the difference. If you can't do it yourself, but you know a good
plumber, ask him.

If you can handle a water heater (they are cumbersome, but not heavy,
easy two-man job), it isn't difficult. It helps if you know how to use
a brazing torch, in case you have to redo the water fittings or the
overflow pipe, and how to hook up a gas line -- or have a friend who
knows these things.

Some places may require a building permit, and many places require an
earthquake strap.

--
Chris Green

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

Damn! I'd call that high! Near as I can tell the standard
HD installation fee is about what it would cost for a new
gas heater installation when replacing an electric water
heater. That's about what I paid for the water heater part
for a replacement package--electric to gas furnace and water
heater which include gas installation from the curb. If you
already have a gas heater installed, a replacement
installation should be (but apparently isn't) a lot less.
Was your upgraded flue due to purchase of a higher
efficiency heater? If so, maybe you should have bought the
cheaper water heater. My gas water heater, installed about
2 years ago, uses 3 inch flue and my furnace uses a 3-1/2
inch flue. And why would you need a plumbing permit for a
replacement? I sure wouldn't get a building permit for
anything I was just replacing. Do you guys need a building
permit to replace carpet, a stove, a garbage disposal, a
light fixture?

Every place is different and has different rules but I'm
glad I don't live on the east coast. Disposal fees here are
low or non existent (a Goodwill type store picked up my
electric one as a donation--5 years old with a 10 year
guarantee and worked perfectly).

I replaced my original electric water heater after being in
the house for 20 years (the one mentioned above) and changed
only the flexible connectors for a cost of about $20. And,
it only took about 1 hour for me to go buy the heater, put
in in my pickup and bring it home. After draining the old
heater it took about 1 hour to install and that included
moving the washing machine out of the way, cleaning the
floor, etc. A neighbor was taking a load to the dump so he
just took my old electric heater too because it wouldn't
increase his dump fee any. If I ever replace my current gas
water heater, I doubt that it would cost me more than $35
and take more than 2 hours including buying and bring the
new heater home and installing it. Thank God, I don't live
on the east coast!

Intrigued wrote:

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

"George E. Cawthon" wrote in message
...
Damn! I'd call that high! Near as I can tell the standard

It's a lot of money, but it's actually less then several plumbers quoted for
the same job, but with a 10 year warranty "regular efficiency" heater
instead of the high efficiency 12 year heater from Home Depot. No question,
though, that doing it yourself is a big money saver if you have the skills
to do it right.

HD installation fee is about what it would cost for a new
gas heater installation when replacing an electric water
heater. That's about what I paid for the water heater part
for a replacement package--electric to gas furnace and water
heater which include gas installation from the curb. If you
already have a gas heater installed, a replacement
installation should be (but apparently isn't) a lot less.
Was your upgraded flue due to purchase of a higher
efficiency heater?

The county that I live in requires a 4" flue on all new and replacement gas
water heater installations. (When my house was built, they required only a
3" flue.) For the permit to be approved, I had to upgrade the flue. And
for Home Depot (and any plumber who wants to keep his license) to install a
water heater, a permit is required. Checking around, though, $150 for a
flue upgrade in this area is very competitive. Actually, of all of the
items in the job, I was most shocked by the cost of the flue upgrade. The
plumber even admitted that it was a lot of money, and jokingly said "it
costs that much so that plumbers can have steak dinners".

If so, maybe you should have bought the
cheaper water heater. My gas water heater, installed about
2 years ago, uses 3 inch flue and my furnace uses a 3-1/2
inch flue. And why would you need a plumbing permit for a
replacement?

The plumbing permit is required by the local government. It's not Home
Depot's rule.

I sure wouldn't get a building permit for
anything I was just replacing. Do you guys need a building
permit to replace carpet, a stove, a garbage disposal, a
light fixture?

No permit needed here to replace any of those items, at least not yet.
However, a permit is needed to erect a fence, build a shed, repave the
driveway apron area, replace any major component in the HVAC system (or
replace the entire system), and lots of other things. (Actually, to repave
the driveway apron area, they require not only a permit, but also about
$2500 bond to be posted until the job is approved.)

Every place is different and has different rules but I'm
glad I don't live on the east coast. Disposal fees here are
low or non existent (a Goodwill type store picked up my
electric one as a donation--5 years old with a 10 year
guarantee and worked perfectly).

I replaced my original electric water heater after being in
the house for 20 years (the one mentioned above) and changed
only the flexible connectors for a cost of about $20. And,
it only took about 1 hour for me to go buy the heater, put
in in my pickup and bring it home. After draining the old
heater it took about 1 hour to install and that included
moving the washing machine out of the way, cleaning the
floor, etc. A neighbor was taking a load to the dump so he
just took my old electric heater too because it wouldn't
increase his dump fee any. If I ever replace my current gas
water heater, I doubt that it would cost me more than $35
and take more than 2 hours including buying and bring the
new heater home and installing it. Thank God, I don't live
on the east coast!

Yes, some of these government fees and rules are outragious here. I could
tell you some amazing stories, but I'd be drifting too far off topic.

Intrigued wrote:

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

Ok, some extra stuff I found out.....

The info I could gather at Home Depot from the outside of the boax as
well as an info packet out in the open mentions I could use flexible
gas connector only if code allows. Also it mentions a 'garage' stand
which looks like just the pegs under the water heater to elevate it
about 2 inches off the floor - again it says 'if code requires'.

Not sure about the code in my town. My current water heater has black
gas pipe and also has the water heater stand/pegs.

Who do I call to find out about code for these in my town?

HD also sells a connecting kit for gas heaters. $19 for 2 flex water
connectors, dialective nipples, and compression adapters (as my water
connections are not threaded). For $27 they also include the flexible
gas connector in another pack.

I still want to do this myself as I believe I have enough info and the
skills to tackle it.

Thanks to all who have replied.

Walter

"Intrigued" wrote in message ...
"George E. Cawthon" wrote in message
...
Damn! I'd call that high! Near as I can tell the standard

It's a lot of money, but it's actually less then several plumbers quoted for
the same job, but with a 10 year warranty "regular efficiency" heater
instead of the high efficiency 12 year heater from Home Depot. No question,
though, that doing it yourself is a big money saver if you have the skills
to do it right.

HD installation fee is about what it would cost for a new
gas heater installation when replacing an electric water
heater. That's about what I paid for the water heater part
for a replacement package--electric to gas furnace and water
heater which include gas installation from the curb. If you
already have a gas heater installed, a replacement
installation should be (but apparently isn't) a lot less.
Was your upgraded flue due to purchase of a higher
efficiency heater?

The county that I live in requires a 4" flue on all new and replacement gas
water heater installations. (When my house was built, they required only a
3" flue.) For the permit to be approved, I had to upgrade the flue. And
for Home Depot (and any plumber who wants to keep his license) to install a
water heater, a permit is required. Checking around, though, $150 for a
flue upgrade in this area is very competitive. Actually, of all of the
items in the job, I was most shocked by the cost of the flue upgrade. The
plumber even admitted that it was a lot of money, and jokingly said "it
costs that much so that plumbers can have steak dinners".

If so, maybe you should have bought the
cheaper water heater. My gas water heater, installed about
2 years ago, uses 3 inch flue and my furnace uses a 3-1/2
inch flue. And why would you need a plumbing permit for a
replacement?

The plumbing permit is required by the local government. It's not Home
Depot's rule.

I sure wouldn't get a building permit for
anything I was just replacing. Do you guys need a building
permit to replace carpet, a stove, a garbage disposal, a
light fixture?

No permit needed here to replace any of those items, at least not yet.
However, a permit is needed to erect a fence, build a shed, repave the
driveway apron area, replace any major component in the HVAC system (or
replace the entire system), and lots of other things. (Actually, to repave
the driveway apron area, they require not only a permit, but also about
$2500 bond to be posted until the job is approved.)

Every place is different and has different rules but I'm
glad I don't live on the east coast. Disposal fees here are
low or non existent (a Goodwill type store picked up my
electric one as a donation--5 years old with a 10 year
guarantee and worked perfectly).

I replaced my original electric water heater after being in
the house for 20 years (the one mentioned above) and changed
only the flexible connectors for a cost of about $20. And,
it only took about 1 hour for me to go buy the heater, put
in in my pickup and bring it home. After draining the old
heater it took about 1 hour to install and that included
moving the washing machine out of the way, cleaning the
floor, etc. A neighbor was taking a load to the dump so he
just took my old electric heater too because it wouldn't
increase his dump fee any. If I ever replace my current gas
water heater, I doubt that it would cost me more than $35
and take more than 2 hours including buying and bring the
new heater home and installing it. Thank God, I don't live
on the east coast!

Yes, some of these government fees and rules are outragious here. I could
tell you some amazing stories, but I'd be drifting too far off topic.

Intrigued wrote:

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