$ 20,000 for a new drain?

So, we spoke with our trusted helper at Home Depot, Bonnie. She looked at us very sadly after we told her about the galvanized pipe drain from bath #3 going bad and an unknown leak between the two bathroom walls that will lead to demo to the studs of one and now possibly both bathrooms. She said that was not our biggest expense. The biggest one will be to have a real plumbing replace all those drains to the septic tank. ALL. Because they have 50 year life span, we have had 60. She said given our horribly hard water here, that is a good long time.

UNDER THE CONCRETE SLAB. Digging out. Replacing. Slopes. Codes. And probably around 20,000.00. So after I choked back tears, I thought I would ask you guys. Twenty grand? Seriously? We know the ABS is cheap, so this is going to be the cost of labor.

I am going to start calling to get estimates. But are hoping to do as much as we can ourselves to keep the costs down. Our demo skills are improving, slowly. No way will we dig into our home's foundation. So, walking into the bathrooms down to the studs. About 20 feet to septic tank. Still thinking that many thousands?

I have learned from you to make sure plumber is licensed. Check the BBB for complaints. Ask to speak to 3 customers ( how am I sure they are not his cousins?). Any other suggestions? ( besides moving?)

First bit of advice. Don't ask anyone at HD or Lowes for estimates, they tend to mislead people rather than help.

$20K seems extremely high, extremely. Get multiple quotes and investigate as much as you can about the contractors. Try to make sure they've been around your area for quite awhile. Ask for references and stay on top of them, I'm not saying to ride the contractor, just stay involved in the project. Don't go away for a week hoping it'll be done while your gone. Ask for copies of the permits and don't let yourself be bullied. There's alot of good contractors, unfortunately the bad ones can make them all look bad.

Unless you have a very difficult situation there I'd be thinking half that.

Tom

I'm glad I don't even bother with jobs like these

Owning an old house with aged mechanicals should always have a placement of a fund to cover the expenses of replacement.

Otherwise the condition of that piping will be an ongoing bandaid situation that nickels and dimes you to death.

I worked for a customer yesterday that refused to acknowledge that 120 pounds of pressure was horribly wrong and dangerous.

Also refused to admit that her 30 year old crane 3 handle faucet which has been worked on 10 times over the span will NOT take a rebuild now because the body of the valve is wore out. Both of the above situations involves over $1000 worth of work to correct/replace the problem and the woman started crying that "it can't be true"

Realistically? It was true and I cannot offer any quick/cheap fixes. There are none as they are impossible. More than likely she was using an angle to get me to drop my rates. That's not why I'm in business.

There was no point trying to explain because they are so used to handyman and relatives charging nearly nothing to fix it all those years before...only to have it screw up a couple months later and leak constantly.

If the $20 grand covers complete replacement and expense to put everything back (floors/walls/paint) and anything else that comes up as a surprise....that's a bargain.

Ask to speak to 3 customers

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I'd see nothing wrong with this....but I don't know if I would want to bother my good clientell if I didn't have a signed contract to do work with the one calling.

Even with my good reputation in this profession I would shell the call away for the reason that someone else would better serve their needs. Being careful is one thing but if all my customers had to be questioned by potential new ones? I'd lose my customer base relatively quick.

I would not attack the underground unless I knew that the underground had failed.

The underground sewer piping of 60 years ago was usually vitrified tile. That stuff will last for 2000 years. The Romans used it and it is still around.

You have to start by exposing the parts that are known to have failed so you can replace them. You can connect new plastic drain pipes to old iron with special rubber couplings. You can replace drywall and even tile.

Start by attacking the leak and trace the pipe to where you can fix it.

Don't tear out what is not broken until you know how you are going to fix it. You are not required to tear out working plumbing to bring it to code, but if you do tear it out it should be replaced to code.

If you do the demolition to expose the problem area (don't tear out the pipes yet) you can get a better and usually lower estimate for the job if you aren't going to do it yourself.

HD + Loews experts

How did HD get involved?

How did they determine the drains in the
concrete need to be changed out????

Most of those people get about 12
per hour and stay at the job around a year...
so I dont think I would take the word of one
of those "experts"

In my honest opinion,
you are being hosed..hosed hosed.....


call a family owned plumbing company
and get a real legitimate estimate.....

Home Depot

Actually, the home depot person, so far has been a great help as we learn to install ABS, solder pipe etc. We had told her that when we finished my bathroom, we had to gut Bath #3 b/c a leak somewhere and lack of ventilation led to a mold/mildew problem We planned to take out all the walls etc and rid the place of mold. ( Yeah, we know what a big job that will end up being) We mentioned it started with Dorothy trying to unclog the sink, which in turn led to the drain pipe disintegrating in her hands. The plan was to replace the sink and shower, leading to more plumbing discussions about leaks, roots and disintegrating galvanized.

Her thought was that we would have to replace it all at once as long as we were gutting the bathroom. All pipes lead under the concrete slab. She said tearing up the concrete to replace pipes will be wicked expensive. And said it could be 20 grand to dig it all up. It would be unwise to do one bath and not the one that ajoins it, considering the age of the pipe is the same.

I agree that Home Depot folks aren't always the best advice people. Especially for big jobs like it looks the galvanized problem may turn out to be. We have to wait until we get some plumbers out here to see. We are going to wait until bathroom is done with demo first. That should make it easier. She agrees that getting as much demo as we can Safely do, should make diagnosis and treatment of the problem easier.

But for today, getting out that darn tub is priority.

hi nurse

the job that they get trained to do at HD is to give you confidence. These are the kind of people who get hired, and who stay. When they are wrong, it doesn't matter. You felt you could do it, and you got started, and you got the job done, whether you brought in professionals at some point or not. That is great, in one way of thinking.

Forget whatever the nice person told you who hasn't seen the situation. Post here a floor plan, in a new thread. It'll be your project thread.

BobNH and Jimbo said real good things. All the other people posting said real good things. I'd listen to all that. Forget the nice person who has a good rapport with you.

A licensed professional has a body of knowledge and that is the key thing you want to tap into instead of asking for references. You already know enough to know what sounds right and wrong. What they pro says to you can be rewritten here so you can get a few immediate views confirming what you were probably told.

David

geniescience said:

A licensed professional has a body of knowledge and that is the key thing you want to tap into

Click to expand...

And that comes with a charge, of course.

Internet > free

IRL > costs

RUGGED said:

....Internet > free....

Click to expand...

it is charged, too. In the near future. One day soon, people will donate money to have a team like what they get here, to keep them company as they make their moves.

david

That might work futuristicly.......but the masses on the internet offer free advice like this one.

Of course Terry pays for this site, runs it and dedicates time to the cause which all has a value. But I'm sure it pays him back 10-fold in local business revenue I'm sure.

Remember that nothing beats free in this world...just have to understand that homeowners are driven by the dollar first, then the accuracy of the info given/quality of the product second.

^^^ That last statement sums up about 98% of the consumer, including me most times.

Rugged....everything is supposed to free in this world,

Hey RUGGED , I think that the full moon this week has
really brought the nuts out of the woodwork.....
might have something to do with the Lunar Eclipse..??

I have had 3 very squirley people argueing with me over
my "free estiamtes" and why I wont drive 45 miles to
take a "look see" at their problems....
at their convienance...like at 7.30 this evening


one fellow last night could not understand why I would not
come out to his home (20 miles away) to look at a leaking 13 yr old hose bib.....

I told him 85 bucks to replace the washer...no warranty
155 to replace the whole faucet...with cutting a panel on the wall..

he said...in your ad it says you give FREE ESTIMATES

I told him that I just GAVE YOU A FREE ESTIMATE......LOL


I finally had to hang up on him.....when he asked how much the washer cost me........LOL


dont even ask about the other two squirrles
I dealt with on Wednesday.

MPM, what's the old story about the machine repairman and the $800 bill?

Manager: 800 dollars! but all you did was hit it with a hammer!

Repairman: Ok, here's a new bill

Tapping machine with hammer: $1.00
Knowing that a tap would fix it and where to tap: $799.00

Pretty much the same in your case. You've got all possible needed tools and parts in your truck and the customer is worried about the least significant detail.


I've got a test design problem today where the client specified "no chance of someone coming along after the fact and asking why something wasn't done" Argggh. I need 20/20 foresight...

Been that route before.

re; 20,000 drain work


[/B

I wish i could advertise to do medical work in my home "not" that i am qulifyted but i have seen many doctors & nurses over the years to be able to help people!!
OFF topic but i always wanted to say that to a medical person

#1 you need to have a plumber give you a price; c they would be able to determine exactly how much of your piping needs to be replaced,
#2 their is a way to reline all your under ground out to septic tank "WITHOUT" breaking concrete!!!
#3 get est. as above with you doing demo and repair work thats the best way to save money and get a good job,
that way you can sleep better at night knowing you won't get sick from leaking pipes in the walls or other proplems

JERRYMAC MASTERPLUMBER & MASTER DRAINMAN:

So sorry to see you trust info from anyone at H.D

Of course She is a very nice gal . Lets give Her a little trade knowledge test.

How many drain units on a 4' drain .upc? Whats Max trap arm length on a 2" sink drain? What does aggregate vent size mean? $20,000 is a W A G
Wild a$$ guess. Find a real plumber. Good luck

drain

IF she knew what she was talking about, she would be out in the field making a good living, rather than working at HD. The only advice HD people should give you is to tell you which aisle the parts are located at. And sometimes they don't even know that.

hj said:

The only advice HD people should give you is to tell you which aisle the parts are located at. And sometimes they don't even know that.

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Only sometimes?