CanDoGal

After a long wait, the plumbing’s finally in. This wasn’t a job I was prepared to tackle myself, what with all the rerouting and setting angles to code, so I called in the Water Guns. The pros. Am I glad I did.

Much to my surprise, 2 guys showed up. I wouldn’t have thought this was a 2-man job. Once they got started, I heard sounds that were as foreign to me as a Magpie’s bird calls: lots of welding and sawing. I most certainly would have botched that one. They added wooden slats to support the sink’s bowl, and roughed in the correct pipes for the narrow pedestal. I was bummed to learn that the hot and cold supply valves would be visible, but it does make sense to have easy access to them in the future. It’s that same dang argument of form vs function.

On the other hand, the Porcher photo of the sink shows no visible valves, so WTF?

Anyway, the plumbing project is estimated at $585, a whopping $185 more than I jotted down in my original budget plan. Granted, I took a wild guess then, but the prices I get quoted for this sort of stuff keep shocking me.

Before we found these guys, again on Angie’s List, we got several other estimates:

1. For the first estimate I was curious to see what it would cost for more than just the plumbing. I called in the same dude that did my brother’s dental office remodel, and asked for a number that would include the plumbling, changing the outlet to GFCI, and routing in a light for the adjoining closet, installing the 4 panels of drywall, popping in the trim, and getting in some new doors to replace the 3 doors in that immediate vicinity. I asked him NOT to include, the tiling, painting, and floor installation. I nearly dropped my donut when his email came in. Wait for it… wait for it… $5800!!!! For a half bath! There’s not even a tub! And not even for the complete job! Were the new doors going to be gold-encrusted? Would the drywall have some sort of diamond technology? How can it be so much? If I’d go with him, this half bath would end up costing 10 thou, a sum to make the angels weep.

2. Once it became clear that I would, indeed, be doing most of the work myself, I called in a local company that quoted $700 for just the plumbing.

3. I also called the fella who hooked up our dryer, but since he lives about an hour’s drive from here, he didn’t want to make the trip for a quote unless I was willing to have him do the work right then, once we agreed on a price. He did say the second part of the installation, where he’d hook up the toilet and hang the sink, would be $350. I didn’t want to be stuck in a situation where I was forced to hire someone on the spot, so that was a no go.

4. And, of course, the last estimate was the one above for $585, from Visentin Plumbing in North Jersey. So far so good with them, though I’ll have a more thorough assessment when they’re fully done.

They’ll install the appliances once the walls and floor are all set.