installing a kitchen sink cost?
- Thread starter ILOVETHIS
- Start date
If there was a pre-existing sink, then it should be moderate difficulty level only. No soldering needed, just wrenching, glueing and teflon taping. The trap would be the hardest part I guess, or perhaps silicone for the new sink is a bit tricky, I'd assume it is undermount
I never find plumbing easy, as I always get little leaks and buy the wrong fitments for pipes so it's 2-3 trips to Home Depot every time
Come to think of it, $120 might be worth saving two hours of your time and headache
I never find plumbing easy, as I always get little leaks and buy the wrong fitments for pipes so it's 2-3 trips to Home Depot every time
Come to think of it, $120 might be worth saving two hours of your time and headache
Without knowing how skilled you are $120 sounds like a fair price. Imagine how much time and money you will lose by going to Home Depot and trying to do it yourself. Listen to Tiny.
I'm pretty skilled. I changed leaky valves and pipes. The only thing is that currently its a drop in sink, so they will install an undermount sink. The only thing I'm worried about is if the new sink tail doesn't line up.
They would be installing a faucet also, but I already have the parts for that. They said 60 for parts and 60 for labour.
I always get a pro for electrical and plumbing. I can change light switches, faucets etc. But installation like that? Pay the 120. Save the hassle.
$60 for parts is way too much, should only be about $10 - $20 depending if dishwasher adapter is needed. Labour seems high too since they're already there, but if you don't pay them, you'll pay someone else lots more to do it, if you can find someone to tackle such a small job.
If in the end you are paying $120 you are paying the minimum. I met up with a old school mate that became a plumber. He was telling me that if he got a call to change a U trap under a sink. ( unscrew and screw a new one on ) he has to charge a minimum of 3 hours to to justify sending a guy, his truck and all the equipment.
You're putting in a quality counter top, if you screw it up, you're out a lot of coin. The plumber should have insurance to cover any damage. You're in a lot for the counter, another $120 shouldn't hurt for peace of mind.
Having owned mid-size plumbing/heating/contracting businesses let me tell you this. If your problem can be dealt with for 120 bucks parts/labour consider it a gift. In the GTA a standard truck charge just to show up to inspect is close to that. The OP talking about the cost of materials being too high is clueless. Standard mark-up is minimum 30%. If you want to supply your own parts do it/warranty it yourself.
There is also an implied warranty if you ae dealing with a good company. So for clarity, I should send a licensed and insured plumber who I pay $28 bucks an hour x 2 hours + materials while overhead is 28% = I do the job for free? Thank goodness the gas to get there was free and that insurance is free. Also the company truck was free as well, thank goodness the DVP was clear so I wasn't paying for 45 minutes while he/she was stuck there idling. So many things are free when you run a business. Oh and wait, I need dispatch a second visit b/c there was a dab of caulking you didn't like.
Rant over. Massage booked.
There is also an implied warranty if you ae dealing with a good company. So for clarity, I should send a licensed and insured plumber who I pay $28 bucks an hour x 2 hours + materials while overhead is 28% = I do the job for free? Thank goodness the gas to get there was free and that insurance is free. Also the company truck was free as well, thank goodness the DVP was clear so I wasn't paying for 45 minutes while he/she was stuck there idling. So many things are free when you run a business. Oh and wait, I need dispatch a second visit b/c there was a dab of caulking you didn't like.
Rant over. Massage booked.
If the counter guys have hung the sink and drilled the holes, your DIY risks are small and out of sight. But I'd still factor the $120 as a percentage of the job, and ask if the aggro of working on your back in a confined, unlit space is worth it. As has been said, that's an excellent rate for the market. But if you'll be happier looking at your own contribution and spending the money elsewhere, all you're doing is connecting stuff, and you can re-connect it if it isn't perfect.
My mistake, I should've made the said plumbing for the sink.
The counter guys obviously are mounting the sink and drilling the hole for the faucet.
so basically 120 to hook up the sink and faucet. The counter guys will be doing this, not a plumber. I know they aren't licensed, but have done a lot of hookups.
If they are doing all of the drilling of holes and mounting of sink, the rest of the job is easy.
Three connections: hot, cold, drain.
Connect the hot and cold pipes to your existing shutoffs with teflon tape and tighten (don't over do it). Takes 5 mins on your back if they've already installed the supply lines on the faucet for you before they put the countertop in (so the lines are hanging down under the countertop already). This is the easiest way.
Take a before and after pic of your p-trap/drain piping. Go to home depot and show them. They'll sell you the right parts and it won't be expensive. I think the last time I bought a p-trap "kit" for under $15 that had an assortment of parts to fit most cases. You may need a hacksaw to cut a pipe. If you get lucky in a lot of cases, you can unscrew the p-trap (it has a hand tightened nut on one end) and then install a new assembly from the sink up to that same point (new p-trap and nut). Just unscrew and screw on the new one and you're finished.
Last sink/faucet swap I did (no countertop change) I preassembled the sink and faucet and dropped it in (it was an overmount, not undermount). From that point it took me 10 mins max to hook up the drain/hot/cold. No special tools other than a hacksaw (rare case where I needed one) and an adjustable wrench.
Having said this, there is a $100 difference between buying parts and doing it yourself, and having it just "done" for you. Decide if saving the $100 is worth an hour max of your time. Some people it is, for me it would have been a waste of $100!
The guys at HD will need to know if you have a dishwasher since it drains into the drain pipe. The kit I had included a pipe ("y pipe?") that had a port for the dishwasher to drain into. It also came with a plug in case you didn't have a dishwasher. So if you buy the 'kit' it works for all situations.
Three connections: hot, cold, drain.
Connect the hot and cold pipes to your existing shutoffs with teflon tape and tighten (don't over do it). Takes 5 mins on your back if they've already installed the supply lines on the faucet for you before they put the countertop in (so the lines are hanging down under the countertop already). This is the easiest way.
Take a before and after pic of your p-trap/drain piping. Go to home depot and show them. They'll sell you the right parts and it won't be expensive. I think the last time I bought a p-trap "kit" for under $15 that had an assortment of parts to fit most cases. You may need a hacksaw to cut a pipe. If you get lucky in a lot of cases, you can unscrew the p-trap (it has a hand tightened nut on one end) and then install a new assembly from the sink up to that same point (new p-trap and nut). Just unscrew and screw on the new one and you're finished.
Last sink/faucet swap I did (no countertop change) I preassembled the sink and faucet and dropped it in (it was an overmount, not undermount). From that point it took me 10 mins max to hook up the drain/hot/cold. No special tools other than a hacksaw (rare case where I needed one) and an adjustable wrench.
Having said this, there is a $100 difference between buying parts and doing it yourself, and having it just "done" for you. Decide if saving the $100 is worth an hour max of your time. Some people it is, for me it would have been a waste of $100!
The guys at HD will need to know if you have a dishwasher since it drains into the drain pipe. The kit I had included a pipe ("y pipe?") that had a port for the dishwasher to drain into. It also came with a plug in case you didn't have a dishwasher. So if you buy the 'kit' it works for all situations.
I agree.
120 is way too low in my experience for installing a sink.
I'm going to assume that the counter guy is going to glue the sink to the underside of the countertop.
120 to tie in the drains and mount the faucet is still too low.
Too many people watch too many Holmes on Homes like shows and figure that a sink can be installed in 3 minutes (complete with lame music).
You need to mount the sink.
Then you need to cut all the ABS to form the drain, put in the trap, etc. Then mount and connect the faucets.
120 is a gift.
One caveat.....gluing the sink to the underside of the counter is prone to failure. Especially if the sink is over sized and there is a lot of pots and pans and water in there. It's always best to frame some sort of support system out of steel or aluminum plus the glue.
