My wife has recently mentioned to me that the water heater for the sleeping quarters of the house has begun making some rather loud pinging/banging noises, and she convinced me to call a plumber to replace it. It needs to go- installed in '94, had a 5 year warranty, so is now18 years old. Considering my propensity for things in the house going downhill quick and costing more for reactive vs proactive repair/replacement, I'm going to have the work done this week. Using a reputable recommendation, I was quoted $900- this includes removal of old heater, installation and plumb of new Rheem 9 year gas heater (included in price), and flush/fail line to outside that is currently not there, from what I can tell. Is this a reasonable rate?
I asked my usual independent plumber for a quote on a water heater with installation, and he said he couldn't match the price or warranty of Home Depot or Lowes. These big boxes hire local plumbing contractors, stand behind the work, and have the best prices. He had worked for one of the HD contractors for years and said the deal couldn't be beat. So that's what I did, and I didn't have any issues at all.
$900 to supply and install, run a discharge to the outside and it's a Rheem? 9 year? Phenomenal price. Lowe's and HD would beat $900 on face but if they had to run a T&P or pan line to the outside they'd rape you on it because the contractor - who they don't really screen - will try to make up money. Sorta like with Home Warranty's. I'd go with the $900 from the contractor you had out.
Thanks, Trusted. The contractor comes by way of my friends' mother, a licensed interior remodeler/designer whom said that they were her top tier guys. They'll have one master plumber and another plumber on site with him. They mentioned an option for me to choose a Bradford White instead of a Rheem. Any opinion on that?
Yeah, that $ 900.00 is an excellent price, especially for a Rheem. The better units @ Home Depot are G.E. & that's not really one of the better HWH's available (top 50%, but still not as good as the Rheem). Have you considered a tankless unit? The price you have is almost 1/2 that of a Rinnai (provisioned you are on gas for your HWH). Makes for a much better investment, IMO.