How much did your hot water tank cost?

[rc2002]

After my last post, I started wondering what you guys paid for your hot water tank replacement.

I had a Bradford White 75 gallon hot water tank installed in July of this year. It was a M-I-75S6BN model which looks like it costs ~$950 on the Bradford website.

Including install, I paid $2730 (including gst). This included the install of the 75 gallon tank, removal of the old two 40 gallon tanks, and a bit of cleanup of existing piping. The total job was under 3 hours.

Just curious how my mileage varied compared to others?

[prosh]

RfZqvSwswlM

[C_Dave45]

I bought a new BW tank for $420 and installed it myself in about an hour:

http://forums.beyond.ca/st/333364/water-heater-blew/

[bleu]

We recently replaced a tank in one of our investments and it was around 700. We installed it ourselves.

[speedog]

Originally posted by richardchan2002
After my last post, I started wondering what you guys paid for your hot water tank replacement.

I had a Bradford White 75 gallon hot water tank installed in July of this year. It was a M-I-75S6BN model which looks like it costs ~$950 on the Bradford website.

Including install, I paid $2730 (including gst). This included the install of the 75 gallon tank, removal of the old two 40 gallon tanks, and a bit of cleanup of existing piping. The total job was under 3 hours.

Just curious how my mileage varied compared to others?
So around another $1,800 for three hours of work and some minor clean-up? Sounds pretty steep.

[redblack]

Originally posted by richardchan2002
After my last post, I started wondering what you guys paid for your hot water tank replacement.

I had a Bradford White 75 gallon hot water tank installed in July of this year. It was a M-I-75S6BN model which looks like it costs ~$950 on the Bradford website.

Including install, I paid $2730 (including gst). This included the install of the 75 gallon tank, removal of the old two 40 gallon tanks, and a bit of cleanup of existing piping. The total job was under 3 hours.

Just curious how my mileage varied compared to others?

What company was this so i know to avoid them for any type of plumbing repairs?

[AndyL]

650$ - clearance at Lowes (scratched... Oh my... I needed a un scratched hot water heater, after all everyone sees it!?!?!)

Kicked the plumber out and did it myself... I wasn't gonna have pex put in my all copper house. Gas fitter cost a case of beer to connect and inspect...

[codetrap]

.

[speedog]

Originally posted by redblack


What company was this so i know to avoid them for any type of plumbing repairs? Silcraft per richardchan2002's post in this thread (http://forums.beyond.ca/st/364172/plumber-water-softener-install-quotes/).

[shutterbug_art8]

R&R a 40 gallon for $850 by a plumber.

[AE92_TreunoSC]

I spent 400$ on my 50 gallon, I moved into a 11 year old house and replaced it the first week. I installed it with a plumber buddy. (parts discount and free install :D )

I had one burst once and now I'm set on changing them before they burst. 10 years its working at shit efficiency anyways, get rid of it and save yourself a huge fucking bill.

[BMDUBS]

To all the guys that replaced them yourselves, how did you handle the gas? I know gas fitting seems simple with the correct teflon and pipe dope but how do you test for leaks etc? Is there anything special that had to be done?

[AndyL]

I brought in a friend of a friend, it's easy but not worth the risk of leaks... I and I needed a funky length of black pipe threaded...

[AE92_TreunoSC]

I was told soapy water works, we used industrial teflon and my friend had done it many times.

I have caught 3 natural gas leaks with my nose, all out doors. I've been told by Atco that I detected a leak that his meter could barely pick up lol.

If you're really worried then call in the gas company after to check on it. I know you can do that with furnaces.

[BMDUBS]

Cool thanks guys!

[Aleks]

40Gal BW $950 installed by a plumber and they dispossed of the old one. Have two of them. First two lasted 14 years.

[C_Dave45]

Originally posted by BMDUBS
To all the guys that replaced them yourselves, how did you handle the gas? I know gas fitting seems simple with the correct teflon and pipe dope but how do you test for leaks etc? Is there anything special that had to be done?

Can you hook up a propane tank to a bbq? Then you can hook up the gas to a hot water tank.

$6 can of pipe dope and soap and water. You don't even need soap and water. You'll smell any gas leak immediately. Soap and water just to put your mind at ease.

[ZenOps]

Pete is $715 for a 40 gallon.

I went with ARPI's, they seem to be standard at $755. I unfortunately got a veteran who was mentoring a newbie, and I'm pretty sure it took a little bit longer than normal.

[Seth1968]

Can you legally do your own gas connection?

If you do and the connection causes a fire/explosion, I doubt insurance will cover that.

[KISS_ME]

I think $800 for a 60 US GAL general electrics from home depot. Plus another $200 for install I think?? Looking back I'm questioning if I should have just forked out the extra cash and went with water on demand. I hear you save quite a bit without having to keep the tank heated constantly

[C_Dave45]

Originally posted by KISS_ME
I think $800 for a 60 US GAL general electrics from home depot. Plus another $200 for install I think?? Looking back I'm questioning if I should have just forked out the extra cash and went with water on demand. I hear you save quite a bit without having to keep the tank heated constantly

This will go off on a tangent....it does every time.

It will take you about 20 years to recoup the extra cost of a tankless system, which by then, will need to be replaced. Add in the yearly maintenance costs, and financially it's not worth it at all. A larger tank, or even two 40 gal tanks, and that's all any family will ever need for hot water.

[Zorac]

Originally posted by AE92_TreunoSC

I have caught 3 natural gas leaks with my nose, all out doors. I've been told by Atco that I detected a leak that his meter could barely pick up lol.


i ran into that too, had to get them back 3 times before they found the leak with their sniffer. turns out the leak was before the meter, so at least i wasn't paying!

at other have said the black pipe dope works well, yellow teflon tape works fine too. dont use the white teflon though! with the flex connects you can buy now, its pretty easy to hook up.

[C_Dave45]

Originally posted by Seth1968
Can you legally do your own gas connection?

If you do and the connection causes a fire/explosion, I doubt insurance will cover that.

You need a license, and inspection when installing gas lines. But not to just replace the hot water tank with existing lines.

Whats the difference between that and improperly attaching a tank to your BBQ, causing a fire/explosion? Same risks. No "permit" or "license" needed, and insurance covers that.

[Darell_n]

Originally posted by Zorac

at other have said the black pipe dope works well, yellow teflon tape works fine too. dont use the white teflon though! with the flex connects you can buy now, its pretty easy to hook up.

Yellow teflon is just thicker white teflon. All teflon tape is terrible. Pipe dope or nothing for me. (at work, home, and especially cars)

[AE92_TreunoSC]

Ya I bought yellow teflon with my heater from Bartle and Gibson. I'll try pipe dope if I see it.

White is only good for shower heads lol

[spike98]

I worked as a fitter for a oilfield construction company for 2 years and white teflon is the way to go. Plenty of dope, and some snoop (or soapy water) after and you are good to go.

[del-lude]

Originally posted by richardchan2002
After my last post, I started wondering what you guys paid for your hot water tank replacement.

I had a Bradford White 75 gallon hot water tank installed in July of this year. It was a M-I-75S6BN model which looks like it costs ~$950 on the Bradford website.

Including install, I paid $2730 (including gst). This included the install of the 75 gallon tank, removal of the old two 40 gallon tanks, and a bit of cleanup of existing piping. The total job was under 3 hours.

Just curious how my mileage varied compared to others?


You got bent over good!
I paid $900 installed for a 60 Gallon tank with new water lines installed.

[max_boost]

Yea sorry RC2002 but you got hosed on this one and Beyond isn't gonna make you feel better either lol

[blitz]

I think I went with a 60 gallon, and it was $930 installed including removal of the old tank.

[bituerbo]

$500 installed 40 gal NG 5yr

[Recca168]

$700 for a Bradford white 40 gal tank. Removed the old tank and redid some of the piping as well.

Did you go with clearview plumbing? I got a quote from them it was somewhere in the 2500 range

[kevie88]

Oh shit Richard! Brent Morrison started his own plumbing gig and would have hooked you up large.. I'm sworn to secrecy on my price but if someone needs a good price, and a VERY METICULOUS install, call Brent ( bremorr on beyond) at Bremworks. 403-863-0926.

[C_Dave45]

Originally posted by bituerbo
$500 installed 40 gal NG 5yr

I doubt anyone would get it cheaper than this.

Wholesale cost of a 40 gal NG is just under $400. Only $100 for a plumbers time?

Good score!!

[88CRX]

Speaking of hot water tanks, how long should a 70 gallon tank last for? I'm barely getting 12-13 minutes of hot shower water (multiple showers back to back).

[C_Dave45]

Originally posted by 88CRX
Speaking of hot water tanks, how long should a 70 gallon tank last for? I'm barely getting 12-13 minutes of hot shower water (multiple showers back to back).
check your dip tube. My 40 gallon will last 2 or 3 showers back to back, no problem.

[89coupe]

I have dual HI 50 gallons, but have never had to tap into the 2nd one yet. I can run hot water all day long and never run out. They heat the water that fast.

[DustanS]

.

[rc2002]

Originally posted by max_boost
Yea sorry RC2002 but you got hosed on this one and Beyond isn't gonna make you feel better either lol

Haha. Thanks. I guess $600-700/hour isn't the going rate for hot water tank installation.

I posted this thread because I can usually count on beyond for honest responses, especially on subjects I'm not very knowledgeable about.

Most recommendations I've gotten here on beyond have been fantastic. I got complacent this time and probably should've done more homework first.



Originally posted by kevie88
Oh shit Richard! Brent Morrison started his own plumbing gig and would have hooked you up large.. I'm sworn to secrecy on my price but if someone needs a good price, and a VERY METICULOUS install, call Brent ( bremorr on beyond) at Bremworks. 403-863-0926.

Thanks Kevin. This is what I was looking for in the first place here on beyond. I haven't talked to Brent in a while, but I know how meticulous he is, and I'll definitely give him a shout (or reference) next time!

[eglove]

Holy fuck. Why did you spam every single plumbing thread.

[Tik-Tok]

Originally posted by eglove
Holy fuck. Why did you spam every single plumbing thread.

Seriously. I think he just bumped every pluming thread in the past 2 years, lol.

edit: make that 5 years :nut:

[Strider]

Originally posted by eglove
Holy fuck. Why did you spam every single plumbing thread.

Not every plumbing thread.

Just every plumbing thread where SilCraft has gotten a free unsponsored plug.

And reading the first post in this thread, I can see why.

[lint]

wow, sputnik's been plugging his father in law for free for a long time!

[max_boost]

Lol rc2002 is definitely not happy with his hot water tank install haha

[DustanS]

.

[Weapon_R]

Just last week, the city pipe burst and our hot water tank ran dry and burnt out the bottom.

Total cost was $550 for a 50gal from Home Depot, $200 for install from a private plumber.

[speedog]

Originally posted by max_boost
Lol rc2002 is definitely not happy with his hot water tank install haha Yeah, but going through the forums and bumping 5 year old threads is so uncool. If he's unhappy with what he paid, then he should first talk to Silcraft about it but he also needs to remember that he was the one called Silcraft up in the first place.

Certainly if I was in his situation and it became apparent to me that my impatience or ignorance led me to paying an inflated price for a service, then I'd probably tuck my tail between my legs and consider it a lesson learned. At best, I'd be having a discussion with Silcraft looking for some explanation of why their costs were what they were and maybe, just maybe, hope that some wiggle room might be able to be negotiated for what I might consider to be a fairer price but at the same time, Silcraft already has RC2002's monies and doesn't owe him a thing.

Bumping old threads now with the hope that RC2002 might be negatively impacting Silcraft is somewhat dumb and in fact, it just brings more attention to RC2002 and the bad deal he appears to have made.

[TomcoPDR]

Most Beyonders aren't even old enough to go through 1 water tank change, though the onus should be on the consumer, however, the price charged in RC2002's case might even be something the fair trade act could get involved.

http://www.servicealberta.ca/562.cfm


These 2 would most likely fit best
http://www.servicealberta.gov.ab.ca/pdf/tipsheets/Unfair_Practices_the_Fair_Trading_Act.pdf

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r95/Tomcompany/Past%20repairs/Random/FTA_zps866eb0fb.jpg

[max_boost]

Wonder what Sputnik has to say about this one lol

[spikerS]

Originally posted by TomcoPDR
Most Beyonders aren't even old enough to go through 1 water tank change, though the onus should be on the consumer, however, the price charged in RC2002's case might even be something the fair trade act could get involved.

http://www.servicealberta.ca/562.cfm


These 2 would most likely fit best
http://www.servicealberta.gov.ab.ca/pdf/tipsheets/Unfair_Practices_the_Fair_Trading_Act.pdf

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r95/Tomcompany/Past%20repairs/Random/FTA_zps866eb0fb.jpg

I was just going to bring that up, and that RC should get those guys involved. Who knows how many others Silcraft has done this to, or how many more they will do it to in the future.

[sputnik]

Originally posted by max_boost
Wonder what Sputnik has to say about this one lol

At the end of the day. Two parties agreed on a price.

They could have been very busy and not wanted to deal with it so they threw out a high bid over the phone thinking they wouldn't get it, but Richard still accepted it.

Also one thing that should be mentioned 75 gallon B/W will run you about $1400-1600 retail in Canada depending on the model. Is it a power/direct vented high efficiency tank?

Then there was the fact that he was changing over from two 40 gallon tanks. So there was definitely more work than just a single tank replacement. There are gas lines to be capped (and potentially moved) and rerouting of plumbing lines. It also sounds like they removed his old water softener as well. As a result he had two people working switching stuff over.

Did he pay more than he had to? Probably. However you really can't compare prices to a simple 40 gallon tank install.

The real questions that should be asked are, why didn't you talk to them to get and explanation on their pricing and why didn't you get more than one quote?

From the sounds of it, its not like you had a basement filled with water. How hard is it to get a price from 2-3 plumbers?

For the most part, I am very careful not "advertising" for them in plumbing threads. I throw down their name and number and leave it at that. I also don't create threads about them. If you look through the threads I leave the comments to those that have had work done by them (including rage2 and other OGs). I was also hesitant to respond to this thread (since I don't work for SilCraft nor do I understand the complexities behind this particular job) but I figured that perhaps there is more to the story than RC2002 is letting on.

[EK69]

Mental note, ask beyond for opinions and quotes before "buying" a plumber :nut:

[spikerS]

Originally posted by sputnik


At the end of the day. Two parties agreed on a price.

They could have been very busy and not wanted to deal with it so they threw out a high bid over the phone thinking they wouldn't get it, but Richard still accepted it.

Also one thing that should be mentioned 75 gallon B/W will run you about $1400-1600 retail in Canada depending on the model. Is it a power/direct vented high efficiency tank?

Then there was the fact that he was changing over from two 40 gallon tanks. So there was definitely more work than just a single tank replacement. There are gas lines to be capped (and potentially moved) and rerouting of plumbing lines. It also sounds like they removed his old water softener as well. As a result he had two people working switching stuff over.

Did he pay more than he had to? Probably. However you really can't compare prices to a simple 40 gallon tank install.

The real questions that should be asked are, why didn't you talk to them to get and explanation on their pricing and why didn't you get more than one quote?

From the sounds of it, its not like you had a basement filled with water. How hard is it to get a price from 2-3 plumbers?

For the most part, I am very careful not "advertising" for them in plumbing threads. I throw down their name and number and leave it at that. I also don't create threads about them. If you look through the threads I leave the comments to those that have had work done by them (including rage2 and other OGs). I was also hesitant to respond to this thread (since I don't work for SilCraft nor do I understand the complexities behind this particular job) but I figured that perhaps there is more to the story than RC2002 is letting on.

It also should not be hard to get an honest trades person.

[sputnik]

Originally posted by spikers
It also should not be hard to get an honest trades person.

If I know my father-in-law well enough his invoice will be pretty detailed.

Let RC2002 scan it and post it here.

[89coupe]

Beyond is full of cheap whiney fucks. What a bunch of turds.:rofl:

[FraserB]

I'd ike to see what $350-$450/hr labor rate gets you as well lol.

I bet there is some huge BS charge on there for "disposal", even if they charged $100/hr labor that is only $1700-$1900, assuming the retail price posted above is what he paid.

[spikerS]

Originally posted by 89coupe
Beyond is full of cheap whiney fucks. What a bunch of turds.:rofl:

you know man, I keep out of your I am so much better than you because I have so much money and all that other crap, but you must have a lot of mental crap going on to feel the need to keep reminding everyone just what you have. You are the definition of an attention whore, suffering from insecurity and needing validation, and you seek it from an internet forum.

You are full of rich win! What I have seen of your life, I would not trade it for any amount of money.

[89coupe]

HAHA, I'm not rich. I'm just pointing out an observation on beyond, it's full of cheap whiney bitches. HAHA

Boo fucking hoo

[max_boost]

The whole unfair trade practice thing won't apply to RC2002.

1. He's not a fob
2. He's not a dummy

He said so himself, he was complacent, didn't price shop and just went with Silcraft based on Beyond recommendations. Now no one has questioned the work, it's just the pricing and sputnik offered a pretty good explanation. It is what it is. RC2002 is torn inside and it's just eating him up knowing he could have saved anywhere from $500 to $1000, I hope the guy isn't losing sleep at night. :rofl:

I once sold a 12 pack of pop for $18+GST. I don't care that you can walk down to Sobey's and buy it for $4.99.

[89coupe]

Originally posted by max_boost
The whole unfair trade practice thing won't apply to RC2002.

1. He's not a fob
2. He's not a dummy

He said so himself, he was complacent, didn't price shop and just went with Silcraft based on Beyond recommendations. Now no one has questioned the work, it's just the pricing and sputnik offered a pretty good explanation. It is what it is. RC2002 is torn inside and it's just eating him up knowing he could have saved anywhere from $500 to $1000, I hope the guy isn't losing sleep at night. :rofl:

I once sold a 12 pack of pop for $18+GST. I don't care that you can walk down to Sobey's and buy it for $4.99.


Exactly

[C_Dave45]

Originally posted by 89coupe
HAHA, I'm not rich. I'm just pointing out an observation on beyond, it's full of cheap whiney bitches. HAHA

Boo fucking hoo

says the man who asked me for a price for a steam shower and then complained it was too much and decided to look for a cheaper way around it.

I completely agree with Spikers comment.

[OU812]

+1

[max_boost]

Beyond celeb boxing I wonder how many people would want to take down 89coupe. :D

[spikerS]

Originally posted by max_boost
Beyond celeb boxing I wonder how many people would want to take down 89coupe. :D

or you for that matter.

And I am down for it.

[TomcoPDR]

Originally posted by FraserB
I'd ike to see what $350-$450/hr labor rate gets you as well lol.

I bet there is some huge BS charge on there for "disposal", even if they charged $100/hr labor that is only $1700-$1900, assuming the retail price posted above is what he paid.

Unless the install came as a 2 pack and the extra water tank got accidentally thrown out with the cardboard box.

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r95/Tomcompany/Past%20repairs/Random/2pack_zps6db1d692.jpg

[AndyL]

Originally posted by sputnik


They could have been very busy and not wanted to deal with it so they threw out a high bid over the phone thinking they wouldn't get it, but Richard still accepted it.

fuck I hate this method of quoting...

beyond story..
When we bought our house, there was a stucco issue to address. Inrich was the recommendation here...

I'll be the first to say - he pissed me off with his answer... "not worth coming out there for a couple grand repair, call me when you want to do elastomeric on the whole house" - what he didn't know or ask, was we were expecting elastomeric paint on the whole house as part of the permanent fix.

I've had 8 contractors out, 2 paid, rest "free" quotes... all were pretty clear to me - they had the same idea, but were wasting my time with these insane $ quotes.

So after loosing a whole season and getting pissed off at more contractors... guess who's getting a phone call and probably gonna be at my place for a big hunk of next summer (once we get our shit together, know exactly what we want, and replace a couple windows/doors in preparation)

I have way more respect for someone who'll say I'm not interested/too busy, than to these douche canoes who throw out stupid high quotes as a "polite" way of refusing the work...

[DustanS]

.

[G-ZUS]

Originally posted by 89coupe
Beyond is full of cheap whiney fucks. What a bunch of turds.:rofl:



Originally posted by 89coupe
HAHA, I'm not rich. I'm just pointing out an observation on beyond, it's full of cheap whiney bitches. HAHA

Boo fucking hoo



Originally posted by C_Dave45


says the man who asked me for a price for a steam shower and then complained it was too much and decided to look for a cheaper way around it.

I completely agree with Spikers comment.


holler Baller shot caller

[Maxt]

Originally posted by DustanS

Tankless systems are a great option for those who know better. Don't buy them for the "savings" as much as the on demand hot water, no storage, and the little space they normally take up. These are getting much more cost efficient for the average joe now, so you'll start seeing more and more on the market. There is a huge piece of pie to be had with these things.

.
I just saw a perfect tankless situation, 2 people, small house with a super oversized soaker tub in the basement, they want to use once a week. The spec to fill that tub is 50 gallon tank minumum. The house has a 30 gallon that is easily enough except for when the tub is used. It makes no sense to have a 50 gallon tank in that house, the mech room is to small for 50 gallon tank, the venting that runs with the furnace is to small.. Tankless is perfect for it, meets the demands either when tub is in use or not. Bang in the new direct vent, right through the wall, when the furnace bites the dust run the new furnace pvc vent through the old b-vent.

[Maxt]

Originally posted by TomcoPDR


Unless the install came as a 2 pack and the extra water tank got accidentally thrown out with the cardboard box.

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r95/Tomcompany/Past%20repairs/Random/2pack_zps6db1d692.jpg
You can't use internet pricing especially American internet pricing. Those tanks don't have the cost of doing business in Canada attached to them yet.. Some of the prices on that particular site are cheaper than my Wholesale cost from local wholesalers.
Occasionally the hardware stores have tanks that are cheaper than I can buy wholesale, but the devil is in the details when it comes to tank warranty.

[DustanS]

.

[TomcoPDR]

Originally posted by AndyL

fuck I hate this method of quoting...

beyond story..
When we bought our house, there was a stucco issue to address. Inrich was the recommendation here...

I'll be the first to say - he pissed me off with his answer... "not worth coming out there for a couple grand repair, call me when you want to do elastomeric on the whole house" - what he didn't know or ask, was we were expecting elastomeric paint on the whole house as part of the permanent fix.

I've had 8 contractors out, 2 paid, rest "free" quotes... all were pretty clear to me - they had the same idea, but were wasting my time with these insane $ quotes.

So after loosing a whole season and getting pissed off at more contractors... guess who's getting a phone call and probably gonna be at my place for a big hunk of next summer (once we get our shit together, know exactly what we want, and replace a couple windows/doors in preparation)

I have way more respect for someone who'll say I'm not interested/too busy, than to these douche canoes who throw out stupid high quotes as a "polite" way of refusing the work...

I politely agree and disagree.

I can relate to InRich on this one... sometimes saying too busy will straight out get a reply of "Oh, I'll wait for you to be avaliable" (which would then spin into a category of negative feedback for ignoring "customers"; remember that Beyonder that offered Carbon Fibre service and took deposits but took forever)

So the business (espeically a reputable owner/operator one man team will still have to end up dedicating their time investigating; I'm not using the word "wasting" if it's legit customer who's not fishing or lowballing a legit owner operator)... Time, to a quality and proven small business or 1-man operators is very valuable and non-replenishable.

Though InRich could be rough around the edges, but in this example there's no other way to turn the job away, AS A BUSINESS CHOICE. Ok, someone can sugar coat it with a smile using the sentence: "well Andy, it's got to be worth my while to send my crew there, if I do the patching, I got to get the job for painting the whole house too... if you're ok with that, I'll come out to take a look"

So then this concept spins off to another complain of upselling or upcharging, lol...

I agree with the (brutal truth term) "charge high, in accordance to supply/demand"... however, let's sugar coat it for though without a thick skin... "I charge what I have to for this job, for what's required of this job; YOU ARE MORE THAN WELCOME TO SHOP AROUND, IN FACT I WANT TO YOU COMPARE before you are willing to purchase my product/service under your free will" (same concept, different ways in saying it)

With that said, as a self elected Beyond panel judge. I second the motion of Sputnik and interested to see the detailed invoice. With these type of trades, also the specific situation how the install took place. (was it on Christmas eve, 3am, 80% of Calgary plumbers at the time were on holidays or at a plumber association year end banquet, RC2002 actually said the words: "I don't care how much it cost or where you are or where you have to pickup the tank from the distributor, I just want the job done NOW" etc... etc...)

[00redLUDE]

I was in the same situation as OP recently. Dec. 27, 2012 evening go down to the mechanical room to grab something and saw a large pool of water from one of the water tanks! WTF?! Call my property manager to see who he uses, gives me a name. Call him up and says he can come over tomorrow and gives me a cash price quote over the phone of $800. Done! Dec. 28, 2012, I'm at work and wife meets this guy. Comes and says that we had a different type of hot water tank than he thought and will have to go and return the one he brought and get another one. Fair enough. The final CASH price goes from $800 to $2500!!! I get home to look at the break down and it goes like this: Wolseley water tank price of $1486.79 + 25% mark up from this guy. ~$200 for other supplies. Here's where he kills me! Two guys there working for 3 hours each (6 hours labour total) and they charge me $120/hr CASH price!!!! $720 cash for labour! My butt hurt SOOOO much after that! Not blaming anyone but MYSELF for this one. Going to ask for their hourly rate for now on. Was in such a hurry to get it fixed to get hot water that I would have never have guessed that they would charge me $120/hr CASH price!! Lesson learned!!

[00redLUDE]

Originally posted by C_Dave45


says the man who asked me for a price for a steam shower and then complained it was too much and decided to look for a cheaper way around it.

I completely agree with Spikers comment.

BURN!!! I remember you telling me about this story. So interesting to see how different people are on the internet than in real life!

[AndyL]

Originally posted by TomcoPDR


I politely agree and disagree.


fuck tom who are you talking to here? Lol

Like I said, after dealing with others, he's gonna get dragged out, and I was more appreciative of a "not for that little repair" answer over him coming out and throwing a stupid number at me.

I don't deny anyone the right to make a living, but I still take issue with stupid expensive quotes. It doesn't look good on the issuer. I haven't done it personally, don't intend to start, I'd rather say "I'm not the guy your looking for" than take on something I'm not wanting to do.

[89coupe]

Originally posted by C_Dave45


says the man who asked me for a price for a steam shower and then complained it was too much and decided to look for a cheaper way around it.

I completely agree with Spikers comment.

Uhhh, it wasn't a steam shower and you quoted me more then builder ;)

[Tik-Tok]

Originally posted by 89coupe


Uhhh, it wasn't a steam shower

It was a bidet wasn't it.

[89coupe]

Originally posted by Tik-Tok


It was a bidet wasn't it.

Absolutely

[Maxt]

Originally posted by Tik-Tok


It was a bidet wasn't it.

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[AndyL]

Originally posted by 89coupe


Uhhh, it wasn't a steam shower and you quoted me more then builder ;)
:rofl: I'm sure the quality of workmanship, and materials were identical too :)

[lauphman]

I would also like to see the invoice cause that's way too steep.
I charge a standard rate with no add-Ons doing a tank which includes anything that needs to be done to bring up the installation to code if there was something wrong. 750 for a 40gal, 950 for 50gal which includes disposal. Upgrading to different sizes or going power vent would require a qoute. For 2730$ id repipe all the water lines in your house lol. But usually no one gets a second qoute on jobs and its how they get away with it lol, for instance changing out the fill valve in a toilet for 320$. Part is 14.99 and Max 15minutes of work lol.

They get away with it all the time charging as much as a doctor to unplug your drain, or rough in a basement bathroom.

[89coupe]

Originally posted by AndyL

:rofl: I'm sure the quality of workmanship, and materials were identical too :)

HAHA, I love when all the sheep arrive.

[spikerS]

Originally posted by 89coupe


Uhhh, it wasn't a steam shower and you quoted me more then builder ;)

fucking whiney broke ass lowballing beyonder right there.

[89coupe]

Originally posted by spikers


fucking whiney broke ass lowballing beyonder right there.


:rofl:

[TomcoPDR]

Originally posted by AndyL


fuck tom who are you talking to here? Lol

Like I said, after dealing with others, he's gonna get dragged out, and I was more appreciative of a "not for that little repair" answer over him coming out and throwing a stupid number at me.

I don't deny anyone the right to make a living, but I still take issue with stupid expensive quotes. It doesn't look good on the issuer. I haven't done it personally, don't intend to start, I'd rather say "I'm not the guy your looking for" than take on something I'm not wanting to do.

I'm saying InRich, it'll be hard for him to win either way... He did tell you, "sorry bud, not worth my time just for the repair" (and you said that pissed you off)

But I'm saying is that while its said in a rough way (don't forget; me, you, Rich... we're all in the hand's-on industry, we're not exactly boardroom material; tho yes, Rich is more of a sales guy now than a tech when his company first started out, so he should had said it with a smile I suppose)


So now what's going to happen is this, Rich sees this review (that people doesn't like him just being honest by saying he doesn't take on small jobs with his time)... so instead of saying: "not worth my time" and risking another complaint... So from here on in, he'll just quote (market rate $100), he'll just quote $250 let's say... "take it or leave it". Hey, if you take it based on liking his business/reputation/his crew's responsiblity/quality, then perfect, he'll schedule you in for $250 and his crew will devote their time to do the job (properly, as per his and his company's reputation and quality standards)... If the customer doesn't like the quote of $250, well they can find someone else for $100-$160 off the yellow pages, kijiji, etc... That's fine, it ain't Rich's problem anymore.


Totally not trying to sound mean here Andy, I'm just saying either method he wouldn't win. And I did explain earlier, the business simply just can't say "I'm busy" (cuz then customer can turn around and say "what, I'm not good enough for you" :nut: )

[rc2002]

Originally posted by sputnik

At the end of the day. Two parties agreed on a price.

They could have been very busy and not wanted to deal with it so they threw out a high bid over the phone thinking they wouldn't get it, but Richard still accepted it.


No argument there. There was a contract and two parties agreed to it.



Also one thing that should be mentioned 75 gallon B/W will run you about $1400-1600 retail in Canada depending on the model. Is it a power/direct vented high efficiency tank?


I actually posted the model number in the original post to avoid confusion. It is not a power vented model, nor is it a high efficiency model.

It sounds like DustanS may be able to actually pull up Canadian pricing information and hopefully he can post the info here.




Then there was the fact that he was changing over from two 40 gallon tanks. So there was definitely more work than just a single tank replacement. There are gas lines to be capped (and potentially moved) and rerouting of plumbing lines. It also sounds like they removed his old water softener as well. As a result he had two people working switching stuff over.

Did he pay more than he had to? Probably. However you really can't compare prices to a simple 40 gallon tank install.



Agreed, it would take more work to replace two 40 gallon tanks with a 75 gallon tank than simply replacing a 40 gallon tank. I would assume that's why it took 2.5 hours when an easier job might be a 1 hour job. To help save time I actually made sure both tanks were drained before they arrived to expedite the removal.

That said, it worked out well that the new tank was able to be placed in the exact same location as one of the old ones that was removed. The existing copper pipe coming from the old hot water tank did not need to be moved - it was just shortened and reused. This probably saved some time as well.

They did not remove my old softener. It was already removed and out of service and sitting in the corner of my basement. They asked it they could take it and recycle it/sell it for scrap.




The real questions that should be asked are, why didn't you talk to them to get and explanation on their pricing and why didn't you get more than one quote?

From the sounds of it, its not like you had a basement filled with water. How hard is it to get a price from 2-3 plumbers?


As you can tell, I don't know anything about hot water tank pricing (hence this thread). I just assumed that what I paid was average for a hot water tank install and it could still be for all I know.

Agreed, I probably should have gotten other quotes. I've been lucky with beyond recommendations in the past and I figured I'd be ok with pulling the trigger on just the one quote.




For the most part, I am very careful not "advertising" for them in plumbing threads. I throw down their name and number and leave it at that. I also don't create threads about them. If you look through the threads I leave the comments to those that have had work done by them (including rage2 and other OGs). I was also hesitant to respond to this thread (since I don't work for SilCraft nor do I understand the complexities behind this particular job) but I figured that perhaps there is more to the story than RC2002 is letting on.

I think the comments from other beyond members are fair. Silcraft was very professional, and I have no doubt they did good work for those other beyond members.

I can't comment on those jobs, but maybe they were smaller jobs? There probably isn't a lot of spread on quotes from various companies on small jobs?



Originally posted by sputnik


If I know my father-in-law well enough his invoice will be pretty detailed.

Let RC2002 scan it and post it here.

I just dug it up and there aren't too many details.I will post it tomorrow when I have access to a scanner. There is only one line that says "1 Bradford White + Misc Materials 75 Gal."

[rc2002]

At the end of the day I (and many people I know) rely on beyond for recommendations for a number of services. The archived threads have a lot of value, which is why I posted in them.

Black_2.5RS is one of my friends. If sharing my experience helps my friends (and other beyond members) make a more informed decision then I'll do it. I know I would appreciate the same.

[max_boost]

You only posted in them because you feel you got screwed lol to be fair if you saved a lot of money you wouldn't have bumped all those threads with your experience. This is probably your way of "getting back" at them. Rc2002, you are a chill guy but c'mon bra.

[78si]

I'm glad Richard made this thread. After renovating my main floor, I grew tired of mediocre trades people who thought they could charge what ever they wanted! At the end of the day the customer should be satisfied/happy.

[codetrap]

.

[rage2]

Originally posted by sputnik
For the most part, I am very careful not "advertising" for them in plumbing threads. I throw down their name and number and leave it at that. I also don't create threads about them. If you look through the threads I leave the comments to those that have had work done by them (including rage2 and other OGs).
SilCraft has done a bunch of work for me, and I've been happy with the work. Definately top notch workmanship. In regards to the price, the jobs I had done were slightly higher than other quotes, but I don't mind paying a little more for quality work.

The last time I spoke with SilCraft however, I didn't end up going with him for the work. One of our faucets in the house broke, and we decided to upgrade all of them to keep things consistent throughout the house. I spoke with Silcraft, and they suggested Grohe or Moen. We had our minds set on the Delta Touch2O faucets, found them on Home Depot site, and sent the link to Silcraft. They even had a kitchen one too, so I went and picked one up, and installed it myself and we loved it. We couldn't do the washroom ones, because the drainage had to be replumbed.

This is where it got interesting. The quote from them on the faucets was double what was advertised by Home Depot. Sil told me that Home Depot are knock off Deltas and that's why they're cheaper. If I wanted warranty for the work, I'd have to buy the double priced one, plus the parts for the plumbing, etc. I needed the work done real quick as I had family staying over for 2 weeks. Sil needed more time to pick them up, so I bought one of the faucets from Home Depot and had Sil come over to install it. Unfortunately, the sink was one of those that was fused to the wall, and it wasn't going to be an easy job. So with that, Sil fixed the problem on that sink for free, and I returned the faucet.

So ya, good and bad, quote was astronomical for what I wanted done, but Sil saved me money by doing a free housecall and fixed my problem for free so I didn't need the other stuff done. In the end, one of my brother's friends was over and my brother told him about the ordeal, he just started out as a plumber so he picked up all the faucets I wanted while I was on vacation and installed them all for free. I ended up paying just for the parts, so it cost 1/4 of the quote that Sil gave me. Win.

[Tik-Tok]

Originally posted by rage2

Sil told me that Home Depot are knock off Deltas and that's why they're cheaper.

Well, that certainly is interesting... someone should tell Delta to stop selling their own knock-offs to Home Depot :rofl:


http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/TykTauk/delta_zpsda5e36aa.png

[FraserB]

Haha, HD doesn't sell knock off Delta.

Just an FYI for people who are looking at Delta, the US price is going to be about 1/2 of the Canadian. The fixtures for the bathroom reno were about $4,000 in Canada; came to just over $2,000 with gas, shipping and brokerage picking up from the US.

[78si]

I bought a lot of my fixtures from faucet depot.com. They have excellent customer service, and their prices are way less than "wholesale" trade price in Calgary. Shipping was only $100!

[rc2002]

Originally posted by max_boost
You only posted in them because you feel you got screwed lol to be fair if you saved a lot of money you wouldn't have bumped all those threads with your experience. This is probably your way of "getting back" at them. Rc2002, you are a chill guy but c'mon bra.

Haha. You're right, this entire discussion wouldn't exist if I didn't happen to stumble on the cost of the hot water tank. I also wouldn't have bumped any of those other threads either.

Posting in those other threads doesn't really help me - my money's already gone. But others might turn up those threads in a search and I might be able to help others save some money (or at least make smarter decisions than me).

[DustanS]

.

[a social dsease]

For those who installed there own hot water tanks, where did you dispose of the old one? dump?

[DustanS]

.

[s_havinga]

I paid $2000 for my 75 GAL power vented water heater. this included removal of the original 50 GAL and install of the new unit. I did zero shopping around as I was on a time crunch so I have no idea if it was a good or bad deal.

As for SilCraft, they didn't do my water heater but I have another small job I am trying to get done and after 2 promises to call me back and 2 promises to come out and not bother showing up, I will never be contacting them for any plumbing needs going forward.

[rc2002]

As promised, here's the invoice that sputnik had requested. Like I mentioned it's pretty simple.

An explanation of the two notes on the invoice:

1.) Near the start of the job, Sil told me that if he had time, he may be able to move my existing water softener into the spot where one of my old water heaters was. At the end of the job he said he would need a backflow valve (which he didn't have with him) so he wouldn't be able to do it. However he did offer to come back the following week and do it for me for $250.

I ended up buying the valve, 2 meters of PEX, some fittings and did it myself for ~$20.

2.) Sil and I talked a bit about method of payment and he mentioned that he does take CC but the merchant fees were steep. I thought the points on my CC woudl be nice (I would've gotten 1.5% back or ~$40) however I decided to pay it forward and pay via cheque to save him some money.

[FraserB]

At least there is a lifetime parts and labour warranty.