21,000 Plumming Code

Had a fire in Sept 2011 Hired a contractor from my insurance companies list, 21,000 was charged for the plumbing. Is this way over for adding cooper? In general what should I get for that price on Kitchen, 1 small bath. What code up grades would require this amount?

Without seeing your project and it's specs, one could only guess.

You need to get several estimates for different plumbing contractors that can come to your home and examine the job. No one can give you even a ballpark guess without being on site and seeing what will be involved. In addition, labor costs vary a great deal from place to place.

Your insurance company could do the hiring, taking care of it all, the only thing, is the check, the payment will be sent to the contractors by them. You will not see that check. (So, if you are trying to save money by hiring on your own sometimes, that is really a hard thing to do unless, you are really knowledgeable of trades.) But, your house will be taken care of, and if you trust your insurance company, and if you never did this before, in making large repairs, I think, it can be the easiest route for you to take. One additional thing, if something is not going right you can talk to the insurance company; and, they deal with the contractor and that, can be a blessing at times. It takes a lot off of your shoulders, and can give you peace of mind. They will be responsible for the repairs being done satisfactory.

So far as the updates, what caused the fire? The contractors, will tell you, what needs to be done. If any updates are to be made, unless, you were familiar with your home to that degree, you probably, wouldn't know the difference unless, it is big; and it will be better for you to have it done. It really is not a matter of choice for you. They have to do things to the codes, and to the terms/specs of your existing insurance policy, or your insurance policy may not be renewed.

How old was the house? Many insurance policies have a rider to cover repair/rebuild to current codes.
Unless your house was ancient, there are really no code updates on plumbing which would account for very much of that $21,000. Labor at say $200 an hour for a plumber and helper...that adds up pretty quick.
Did the insurance company pick up the tab? What's the problem??

$21,000.00 would do a pretty hefty plumbing job, but since we do not know the extent of the job, we have absolutely no idea whether it was overpriced, but it probably was. If your description of the house is accurate, however, then $4,000.00 might even have been overpriced. The time to question a price is BEFORE it is done, NOT afterwards.

I was thinking perhaps, she misunderstood and was adding on electrical codes, etc, and costs. Plumbing didn't obviously, start the fire, lol. I hope

quote; Plumbing didn't obviously, start the fire, lol.

Maybe not, but the plumber is usually blamed for it, even if the fire occurred the day after he was there. How many times has a plumber soldered lines in the morning, and a half hour after everyone leaves the site, it is fully engulfed in flames. "The plumber did it". As a side bar, the project is often in financial problems and a good fire cures them.