On Mar 24, 9:38 pm, "jay-n-123" wrote:
Due to problems with one of the older crank-style washing machine valves,
I'm looking to have a single handle ball valve installed. Someone gave me a
price of $350 over the phone. Seems like a lot. Is that reasonable price?
If not, then what should this job cost? I live in Northern NJ.

No. Assuming that there's access, it shouldn't take more than an hour
to swap out. The valve is around 20 or 30 bucks.

Prices over the phone fall into three categories. Throwing out a high
number to see if you'll bite, throwing out a low number to see if
you'll bite and they'll make it up on the extras they couldn't
anticipate over the phone, and the contractors who feel giving a price
sight unseen is pointless and potentially damaging.

Take a digital picture of the existing setup, print it out and bring
it by a local plumber's shop. Bring coffee. Tell them that you
didn't want to waste their time coming out to your house for an
estimate on such a small project when you could just as easily come to
them. You'll show you're real - as opposed to a guy just shopping the
work around on the phone, willing to expend a bit of effort, and
considerate of their time. You'll get about as good a price from that
particular guy as you're going to get.

R

Due to problems with one of the older crank-style washing machine valves,
I'm looking to have a single handle ball valve installed. Someone gave me a
price of $350 over the phone. Seems like a lot. Is that reasonable price?
If not, then what should this job cost? I live in Northern NJ.

Thanks,

J.

Here is what I believe you want installed it should take a plumber about one
hour

http://www.plumbersurplus.com/Prod/W...)/6293/Cat/241


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"jay-n-123" wrote in message
news:zokNh.3299$8l2.3103@trnddc01...
Due to problems with one of the older crank-style washing machine valves,
I'm looking to have a single handle ball valve installed. Someone gave me
a price of $350 over the phone. Seems like a lot. Is that reasonable
price? If not, then what should this job cost? I live in Northern NJ.

Thanks,

J.

BTW, the existing valves look like they are soldered onto copper pipes that
protrude horizontally out of the wall. There is round aluminum circular
disk around each pipe where it meets the wall and roughly 3/4" of exposed
copper pipe sticking out beyond the circular disk before the beginning of
the solder connection.

The existing two pipes are around 9" horizontally apart from with one of
them mounted around 3/4" higher than the other.

Is it problematic the way the pipes are 9" apart and protruding out of the
wall (with one of them about 3/4" higher than the other), or will the
plumber simply be able to cut off the old valves and fit some angular
attachments to get a single handle valve installed without having to cut
into any drywall?

Thanks,

J.

"jay-n-123" wrote:

Due to problems with one of the older crank-style washing machine valves,
I'm looking to have a single handle ball valve installed. Someone gave me a
price of $350 over the phone. Seems like a lot. Is that reasonable price?
If not, then what should this job cost? I live in Northern NJ.

Let's see.... Tear the wall open, cut or sweat off the existing valve, replace
the valve, repair the wall including paint. Sounds about right to me...

On Sun, 25 Mar 2007 01:38:39 GMT, "jay-n-123"
wrote:

Due to problems with one of the older crank-style washing machine valves,
I'm looking to have a single handle ball valve installed. Someone gave me a
price of $350 over the phone. Seems like a lot. Is that reasonable price?
If not, then what should this job cost? I live in Northern NJ.

Thanks,

J.



I have a one lever valve that turns both hot and cold water off to the
washing machine, mostly made of brass about $20 at HD. I had to get
an adapter to get it to fit right, about $3. Installed it myself with
just a couple tools in less than 5 minutes. I painted the lever to
show Red for OFF, green for ON--works very well. If you call a
plumber expect to pay at least $150+ just for the visit (gasoline is
not cheap anymore).

"jay-n-123" wrote:

Is it problematic the way the pipes are 9" apart and protruding out of the
wall (with one of them about 3/4" higher than the other), or will the
plumber simply be able to cut off the old valves and fit some angular
attachments to get a single handle valve installed without having to cut
into any drywall?

Anything can be custom built, but most prefab washer boxes I've seen expect the
copper to come up from the bottom. Hard to see how you'd do that without cutting
into the wall...

On Mar 24, 11:11 pm, Phisherman wrote:
On Sun, 25 Mar 2007 01:38:39 GMT, "jay-n-123"
wrote:

Due to problems with one of the older crank-style washing machine valves,
I'm looking to have a single handle ball valve installed. Someone gave me a
price of $350 over the phone. Seems like a lot. Is that reasonable price?
If not, then what should this job cost? I live in Northern NJ.

Thanks,

J.

I have a one lever valve that turns both hot and cold water off to the
washing machine, mostly made of brass about $20 at HD. I had to get
an adapter to get it to fit right, about $3. Installed it myself with
just a couple tools in less than 5 minutes. I painted the lever to
show Red for OFF, green for ON--works very well. If you call a
plumber expect to pay at least $150+ just for the visit (gasoline is
not cheap anymore).


This is one of those jobs that could be simple or not, depending on
what you want it to look like. Jay apparently has existing hot and
cold valves, 9" apart, coming out of the wall with escucheons behind
them. The other wrinkle is one is 3/4 higher than the other.

If you can live with it looking half assed, then the existing valves
can be unsoldered, some quick plumbing added to bring the lines closer
and line them up with the new valve. That should cost a lot less
than the $350, but it leaves ugly and mis-aligned pipes exposed, which
may or may not matter to you.

If you want it done right, that would be to open the wall and put in a
valve box. For that $350 may be about right.

On Sun, 25 Mar 2007 06:43:59 -0600, Rick Blaine
wrote:

"jay-n-123" wrote:

Is it problematic the way the pipes are 9" apart and protruding out of the
wall (with one of them about 3/4" higher than the other), or will the
plumber simply be able to cut off the old valves and fit some angular
attachments to get a single handle valve installed without having to cut
into any drywall?

Anything can be custom built, but most prefab washer boxes I've seen expect the
copper to come up from the bottom. Hard to see how you'd do that without cutting
into the wall...

Barbarrow's url gave a device and one picture showed three models of
it. It seemed like maybe the expected angle was different, but I
couldn't see well enough. Maybe calling them and asking would help,
and maybe telling them to put in a better picture would help the next
guy too. They have a pdf file but I don't like pdf so I didn't look
at it.

Thanks to everyone for the replies.

If cutting into the wall is going to leave an ugly opening, then I suppose I
could live with the ugly added plumbing needed to install the single lever
valve, or I could always just go with two individual ball valves if that
would look better and avoid cutting into the wall.

Too bad I wasted time saturday afternoon trying to fix the drip in the
existing crank-style valve by attempting replace the packing, but something
is very peculiar about the existing one in which the packing nut, no matter
what I did, always seemed to go back onto the threaded cylinder piece at an
angle. The nut does stays on, but since it goes on at an angle I don't like
that I can't tighten beyond a certain point without fear of stripping the
threads....don't know if it was me that did something wrong or there is just
something peculiar about this valve already. I guess I'm better off
getting it replaced by a professional rather than wasting more time with it.

If you can live with it looking half assed, then the existing valves
can be unsoldered, some quick plumbing added to bring the lines closer
and line them up with the new valve. That should cost a lot less
than the $350, but it leaves ugly and mis-aligned pipes exposed, which
may or may not matter to you.

If you want it done right, that would be to open the wall and put in a
valve box. For that $350 may be about right.