$47,000 for a Complete Repipe???

[ebnash]

So my wife and I are buying our first home. We are in contract to purchase a small mountain just 10 minutes from town. I will try to give as much detail as I can, but I am just floored at the quote we received to repipe this house. I do not believe the place needs the repipe right now, but it is 70 years old and it will need attention at some point...

Our house: 1100 square feet, two bathrooms, kitchen, on a hillside about 30 yards from the road, where the main is located...


Our quote included...
Copper pipe from Main to all fixtures, new water heater, 2 new shower valves, 2 new toilets, 2 new faucets for the bathrooms, drywall patching, new water pressure regulator, and shut-off. 25 year warranty...

The house is tiny, but it is down a 30 yard sloped hill from the road, where the main/meter is located. I could see this being a big job as it needs a long run down to the house. Water supply is from mutual water company in our community.

The house originally had one bathroom and someone added a 2nd one about 4-5 years ago and connected copper straight the original galvanized main line without dielectric. I believe the all the galvanized is original, but it does have amazing pressure and no signs of leaking. It is also a mountain property so a bit of mountain man engineering already exists.

Am I nuts, or is this just way too much money for a $490,000 house on an acre lot.

 

[Caduceus]

Costs are all relative to different areas. With the addition of drywall patching and no on site inspection or familiarity of what local codes will require for the work, it's hard to say if $47,000 is fair or not. The best advice would be for you to get three or more quotes and have a detailed description of all work to be performed. A vague contract go hurt one or both parties involved.
To put things in perspective my house is in the suburbs of Pittsburgh built in 1915, two story A frame. It's 1,075 square feet on a 40' x 100' lot. 6 rooms (3 of which are bedrooms), one bathroom and a full unfinished basement. 6 ft. privacy fence and deck on back. Had the above ground removed since original purchase. I bought my house for $76,000.
If I were to bid the work for my own house to have a new water service 30' from curb, water heater, regulator (don't forget the thermal expansion tank), one shower valve, one faucet and one toilet as well as a copper repipe it would be around $11,200. The most recent plumbing company that I worked for would be around $8,800 and the company that I bid for before them would be around $18,100. That is with standard materials and fixtures with no upgrades. Homes comparable to what you have would sell for around $110,000-$135,000 in my area depending on how much is updated.

Even if you need 5 quotes to feel comfortable, get 5. Get details of every aspect of the work to be performed. Every company has different costs to do business, so now you can see how bids vary from region to region and business to business.
Hope this was helpful.

 

[ebnash]

Thanks for the advice. I have set up a couple more quotes so we will see what happens.

I contacted the company who provided the original quote this morning and they would not write up a detailed quote for me. I am wondering if they either don't really want the job or they are having a hard time itemizing everything because added a ton of mark up for excess profit. I actually spoke with the owner of the company and he had no interest in having his guy detail the quote...

Hopefully I will receive some more reasonable offers in the coming week. Unfortunately now, I will probably end up closing on the house before I have this information...

 

[MasterDan]

I would also choose a reputable shop. Do your homework on this because in the end, you have a chance on being extremely unhappy with the results. Be insured that the contractor will be on site at all times. Know that the contractor is well educated and experienced in your given situation. Good luck.