Water heater installation cost in mtn west

[HighUintas]

What do you guys see for water heater installation cost in the mountain west?

I'm in Utah and was just quoted $1600 for labor. That seems crazy

I'm sure I could do it myself but don't know the codes, live in a city, would have to pull permit from city, and plan to sell in a couple years. So I figure I should probably have it professionally done.

 

[Gseith]

Wish you were closer I’d do it for a pizza plus material.
It’s not that hard. It takes longer to drain the old than installing the new. It’s really not that hard. And that price seems high, but I’ve installed more than a few and never paid anyone.
I’ve also never heard of needing a permit for just replacement.

 

[CorbLand]

I duck hunt with a guy that is a plumber. My water heater is from 1996 but still going but I asked him one day if we had to replace it, what he would charge. He said 1600-1800 depending on location. I cant remember if that was just labor or if it included a new water heater.

 

[5MilesBack]

We bought a water heater from Lowes right before Covid for under $800, and installation was included......including the permit that is required here. For $1600, I'd be doing it myself.

 

[rideold]

I've done a few myself. The labor cost to install is insane for a job that often times takes less than an hour but you're paying for their expertise as well.

 

[butcherboy]

I’ve never heard of pulling a permit to replace a water heater either. A lot of plumbers have gone from charging by the hour to just a flat charge. It might take them 1 1/2 hours to replace a water heater but will still charge the $1600. I replaced mine a few years ago and it took me longer to drain the tank than anything. Most new installations also have fittings that you don’t need to sweat them on. A few years before I replaced it I had to replace the drain valve because it was plastic and it cracked. Had to saw it into 3 pieces and then pull each piece out with pliers. Replaced it with a brass valve then the whole water heater a few years later.

 

[displacedtexan]

You're paying for expertise and warranty.

 

[Shō[t]gun]

Depends on what generation UPC/local codes they enforce. New UPC requirement is that it has to be installed or replaced by a licensed plumber up to current codes. That changed around 2007 so low chance they haven’t been enforcing it.

It pays to be outside city limits!

 

[BeaverHunter]

I just paid $1900 less than 2 weeks ago for a 50 gallon installed by a professional in southeast Idaho. Was the cheapest out of 3 places I called. No permits. Would have done it myself and saved $1000 but it was at my rental house and I couldn’t make the renters be without hot water for 5 days until I had time to do it.

 

[TaperPin]

$800 for labor is common. It’s expensive, but usually covers more than just replacing the heater. More than once the plumber I used on a remodel swapped heaters and junk in the lines plugged up faucets - which was on his dime to fix.

Fast forward to my own house and a simple hot water heater swap - every faucet and shower valve in the house got crap in it. It took a couple hours to back flush faucets and take apart shower valves, but the kitchen faucet wouldn’t back flush the crud out so it had to be replaced. I should have flushed the lines out a hose faucet before letting the crud make its way throughout the house. Lol

The new ceramic valves don’t take much to put out of commission.

I have heard plumbers say they don’t fix faucets as part of their bid if they plug up on a heater replacement so be careful.

 

[HighUintas]

It does pay to be outside city limits!

I'm in Sandy. I can do it myself, but have to get a permit for it and i then have to schedule an inspector to come out and inspect.

I can definitely bubba it myself but by the time I research the codes to make sure it would pass, I'd be a week without hot water!

If I wasn't planning on selling it in a couple years I'd just do it without a permit and inspection and do it to code as best as I could figure out

 

[HighUintas]

And $95 permit fee

 

[pacoalcracker]

always make sure you have a plumber, a carpenter and an electrician in your "friend" circle. always. if i were you, just look for a handyman in your area. they will get it done at a lot less cost than the "pro" and you will never see any difference...and they can pull a permit just as well. thats why they exist!

 

[mattferg84]

I just had my gas hot water heater replaced on Wednesday. $2044 total and the labor costs were $1055. That also included the cost of the permit. I called Home Depot at 9am and they had someone out to replace it by noon. They have several companies that contract for them. We used our Home Depot card - 0% financing which was nice. Our hot water heater was really old and the new buyer of our house wanted it replaced so we went ahead and did it for them.

I'm on the front range in Colorado where everything is crazy expensive so it may be cheaper where youre at if you go with them.

 

[Shō[t]gun]

always make sure you have a plumber, a carpenter and an electrician in your "friend" circle. always. if i were you, just look for a handyman in your area. they will get it done at a lot less cost than the "pro" and you will never see any difference...and they can pull a permit just as well. thats why they exist!

Handymen don’t carry a plumbing license required by code. Outside city tho, not a problem.

 

[Cameron.25]

We mostly do tankless installs, but the last 50gal one we did for a customer we had to charge 1200 for labor cause we had to run a new power wire. That seems high for labor only on a run of mill install, and I'm in portland OR so not a cheap area by any means. I just replaced my uncles and had him drain the old one before I got there, I was in and out in 30 mins lol

 

[Shō[t]gun]

I have heard plumbers say they don’t fix faucets as part of their bid if they plug up on a heater replacement so be careful.

Solid point. Either remove your faucet aerator caps till the system is done flushing out, or plan on replacing them. Banging around old pipes releases a ton of mineral deposits, especially if they’re flexible.

 

[HighUintas]

Man the prices you guys list kill me. I even went through home depot's service thinking it would be cheaper. They quoted me $3100 for the whole thing, which includes the 6 year warranty tanktank. That's still got to be $2000 in labor.

Forgot to mention it also requires an expansion tank install, but that's not hard.

 

[mattferg84]

Wow thats crazy. They installed an expansion tank too and our new one is a 9 year 40 gallon. How big is your home and what size tank did they quote you?

 

[BadDogPSD]

We needed a new water heater a few months ago. Got a quote for a gas tankless... $13,500. I laughed at him. Ended up going with a 50 gallon gas for $2000.