"Shortwave Sportfishing" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 22 Feb 2006 15:52:14 GMT, "Doug Kanter"
wrote:

I'm calling around for labor estimates to have my 3-knob bath faucet
replaced with a single handle Moen. I'm explaining that on the other side
of
the wall, there's an access panel that was designed in heaven. 4' wide,
runs
from floor to ceiling. It's as if you were looking at just the framing in
a
half-built house. It's on the first floor. Pipes are also totally
accessible
from below. Matter of fact, there's a 6" x 4' slot in the floor. You can
reach right up from the basement, if you needed to.

I've called three plumbers who live within 5-10 minutes of my home. Take a
guess at the estimates. Labor only.

Somewhere in the vicinity of $400 plus or minus $25.

Plumbing is sometimes a PITA but I have always done the work myself.

"basskisser" wrote in message
oups.com...

Doug Kanter wrote:
"basskisser" wrote in message
ups.com...

Doug Kanter wrote:
I'm calling around for labor estimates to have my 3-knob bath faucet
replaced with a single handle Moen. I'm explaining that on the other
side
of
the wall, there's an access panel that was designed in heaven. 4'
wide,
runs
from floor to ceiling. It's as if you were looking at just the framing
in
a
half-built house. It's on the first floor. Pipes are also totally
accessible
from below. Matter of fact, there's a 6" x 4' slot in the floor. You
can
reach right up from the basement, if you needed to.

I've called three plumbers who live within 5-10 minutes of my home.
Take
a
guess at the estimates. Labor only.

I do all of my house maintenence, remodeling, etc myself! Here in the
Atlanta area, plumbers are around $125 for the first half hour, and
$125 per hour thereafter.


I do most of it, too. But, my pipe soldering skills aren't up to my own
high
standards. This faucet is leaking enough to be expensive. The valve
seat's
worn to the point where it's chewing up a new washer every week. The
internal surfaces were stripped by whoever removed it before, so the seat
removal tool's got nothing to grip. I figure that if the whole brass
thing
in the wall's gotta be replaced, I may as well get what I really want: A
single-handle Moen.

Have you seen the compression fittings that will go from copper, to
butyl, etc? I had a leak at the hot water tank one time at a copper
sweat fitting, went to get a new fitting to sweat in, and actually ran
into a Home Depot worker that showed me those. That was ten years ago,
and it hasn't leaked yet. So you could use a butyl piece into the the
faucet, cut the copper pipe where it's not corroded, etc., and use this
compressioin union to fasten the butyl to the copper. THAT is if you
don't want to solder. I'd solder it myself.....


Well, I *was* sort of wondering about the metal-clad flex hoses you use for
water supply under sinks, too. I could solder, since there's a wide opening
in the floor, right to a clear spot in the basement. Stick a trash can under
there....if it leaks, I'll know right away and no harm's done.

Doug Kanter wrote:
"basskisser" wrote in message
oups.com...

Doug Kanter wrote:
"basskisser" wrote in message
ups.com...

Doug Kanter wrote:
I'm calling around for labor estimates to have my 3-knob bath faucet
replaced with a single handle Moen. I'm explaining that on the other
side
of
the wall, there's an access panel that was designed in heaven. 4'
wide,
runs
from floor to ceiling. It's as if you were looking at just the framing
in
a
half-built house. It's on the first floor. Pipes are also totally
accessible
from below. Matter of fact, there's a 6" x 4' slot in the floor. You
can
reach right up from the basement, if you needed to.

I've called three plumbers who live within 5-10 minutes of my home.
Take
a
guess at the estimates. Labor only.

I do all of my house maintenence, remodeling, etc myself! Here in the
Atlanta area, plumbers are around $125 for the first half hour, and
$125 per hour thereafter.


I do most of it, too. But, my pipe soldering skills aren't up to my own
high
standards. This faucet is leaking enough to be expensive. The valve
seat's
worn to the point where it's chewing up a new washer every week. The
internal surfaces were stripped by whoever removed it before, so the seat
removal tool's got nothing to grip. I figure that if the whole brass
thing
in the wall's gotta be replaced, I may as well get what I really want: A
single-handle Moen.

Have you seen the compression fittings that will go from copper, to
butyl, etc? I had a leak at the hot water tank one time at a copper
sweat fitting, went to get a new fitting to sweat in, and actually ran
into a Home Depot worker that showed me those. That was ten years ago,
and it hasn't leaked yet. So you could use a butyl piece into the the
faucet, cut the copper pipe where it's not corroded, etc., and use this
compressioin union to fasten the butyl to the copper. THAT is if you
don't want to solder. I'd solder it myself.....


Well, I *was* sort of wondering about the metal-clad flex hoses you use for
water supply under sinks, too. I could solder, since there's a wide opening
in the floor, right to a clear spot in the basement. Stick a trash can under
there....if it leaks, I'll know right away and no harm's done.

Yeah, that sounds like a winner!

"basskisser" wrote in message
ups.com...

Doug Kanter wrote:
"basskisser" wrote in message
oups.com...

Doug Kanter wrote:
"basskisser" wrote in message
ups.com...

Doug Kanter wrote:
I'm calling around for labor estimates to have my 3-knob bath
faucet
replaced with a single handle Moen. I'm explaining that on the
other
side
of
the wall, there's an access panel that was designed in heaven. 4'
wide,
runs
from floor to ceiling. It's as if you were looking at just the
framing
in
a
half-built house. It's on the first floor. Pipes are also totally
accessible
from below. Matter of fact, there's a 6" x 4' slot in the floor.
You
can
reach right up from the basement, if you needed to.

I've called three plumbers who live within 5-10 minutes of my home.
Take
a
guess at the estimates. Labor only.

I do all of my house maintenence, remodeling, etc myself! Here in
the
Atlanta area, plumbers are around $125 for the first half hour, and
$125 per hour thereafter.


I do most of it, too. But, my pipe soldering skills aren't up to my
own
high
standards. This faucet is leaking enough to be expensive. The valve
seat's
worn to the point where it's chewing up a new washer every week. The
internal surfaces were stripped by whoever removed it before, so the
seat
removal tool's got nothing to grip. I figure that if the whole brass
thing
in the wall's gotta be replaced, I may as well get what I really want:
A
single-handle Moen.

Have you seen the compression fittings that will go from copper, to
butyl, etc? I had a leak at the hot water tank one time at a copper
sweat fitting, went to get a new fitting to sweat in, and actually ran
into a Home Depot worker that showed me those. That was ten years ago,
and it hasn't leaked yet. So you could use a butyl piece into the the
faucet, cut the copper pipe where it's not corroded, etc., and use this
compressioin union to fasten the butyl to the copper. THAT is if you
don't want to solder. I'd solder it myself.....


Well, I *was* sort of wondering about the metal-clad flex hoses you use
for
water supply under sinks, too. I could solder, since there's a wide
opening
in the floor, right to a clear spot in the basement. Stick a trash can
under
there....if it leaks, I'll know right away and no harm's done.

Yeah, that sounds like a winner!


Good. Get over here. I have beer and propane.

Shortwave Sportfishing wrote:
On Wed, 22 Feb 2006 16:44:30 GMT, "Doug Kanter"
wrote:


"Harry Krause" wrote in message
...

Shortwave Sportfishing wrote:

On Wed, 22 Feb 2006 11:14:31 -0500, Harry Krause
wrote:


I try to hire union retirees to handle my plumbing or electrical work.

I knew that was coming. :)

Hey...I want experienced, *licensed* journeymen on the more difficult
projects, or supervised apprentices on the simpler ones. When I have a
union mechanic on my property, I don't have to worry about him screwing up
the job, nor do I have to wonder what he was doing on his last job.

IIRC, I once called the local union to ask about finding a plumber. The
retard on the phone made like I was asking how much Jupiter weighed.


ROTFL!!!

Last year I helped a friend of mine set up at a hunting/fishing/boat
show and the convention center was "union". We set up the booth and
were working on the lighting for the boats when along comes a union
steward who told us that we needed to have a union electrician inspect
the lighting rack. That in and of itself wasn't a problem - we paid
the hour electrician's fee, the guy inspected the lighting, passed it
as "good" and charged us and additional fee to plug in the extension
cord - I kid you not.

Guess how much the plugging in of the extension cord cost?

$50.00

Doug Kanter wrote:
I'm calling around for labor estimates to have my 3-knob bath faucet
replaced with a single handle Moen. I'm explaining that on the other side of
the wall, there's an access panel that was designed in heaven. 4' wide, runs
from floor to ceiling. It's as if you were looking at just the framing in a
half-built house. It's on the first floor. Pipes are also totally accessible
from below. Matter of fact, there's a 6" x 4' slot in the floor. You can
reach right up from the basement, if you needed to.

I've called three plumbers who live within 5-10 minutes of my home. Take a
guess at the estimates. Labor only.



I did my own conversion about 8-10 years ago.
Since my copper pipe soldering is hit & miss, I converted to plastic
pipe and used the compression fittings to join plastic to original
copper. If I was doing it now, I'd use what my plumber uses... assuming
he'd lend me his connector plier.

Doug Kanter wrote:
"Harry Krause" wrote in message
. ..

Doug Kanter wrote:

"Harry Krause" wrote in message
om...

Doug Kanter wrote:

I'm calling around for labor estimates to have my 3-knob bath faucet
replaced with a single handle Moen. I'm explaining that on the other
side of the wall, there's an access panel that was designed in heaven.
4' wide, runs from floor to ceiling. It's as if you were looking at
just the framing in a half-built house. It's on the first floor. Pipes
are also totally accessible from below. Matter of fact, there's a 6" x
4' slot in the floor. You can reach right up from the basement, if you
needed to.

I've called three plumbers who live within 5-10 minutes of my home.
Take a guess at the estimates. Labor only.

$150.00

Nope. Let's wait for a few more guesses.


I try to hire union retirees to handle my plumbing or electrical work. The
plumber I call now is a retired steamfitter. There's nothing in the way of
household plumbing he can't handle. He usually charges me $50 to $100 plus
materials for a simple job, such as adding service to a privacy wall in my
basement. He cut into existing supply and drain lines, and set me up to
connect a future sink. $110, plus about $20 in PVC pipe and fittings.


I don't mind paying good people, especially plumbers. I have a thing for
shiny, new pipes, and knowing I won't have to spend a day dealing with a
flooded basement, which would probably be the result of my own soldering
adventures. But the prices I'm getting....holy ****!

Some of these guys are insane. Example: In my previous house, there was a
problem with the water heater, covered by the manufacturer due to a class
action suit. It required that consumers use one of 10 designated plumbers in
this area. When the guy was done, I pointed out the ancient iron pipes under
my kitchen, said they tended to clog often, and asked what it would cost to
convert them all to PVC. $350.00. I said "Wanna do it right now?". 90
minutes. Done.

3 months ago, I called the same guy to have the same thing done in my
current house. He stopped by and gave me an estimate of $1500.00. More space
to work in, better light, less pipes & bends to deal with. His explanation?
"Travel charges - I was already at your other house". WTF? The guy lives 5
minutes away and works from his home!



Should have offered to go pick him up and return his lazy ass.
When they give you an estimate like that..it means they have lots of
work on the books & he doesn't really care to do your job.

Doug Kanter wrote:
"Shortwave Sportfishing" wrote in message
...

On Wed, 22 Feb 2006 17:20:58 GMT, "Doug Kanter"
wrote:


"Dan J.S." wrote in message
...

"Doug Kanter" wrote in message
...

I'm calling around for labor estimates to have my 3-knob bath faucet
replaced with a single handle Moen. I'm explaining that on the other
side
of the wall, there's an access panel that was designed in heaven. 4'
wide, runs from floor to ceiling. It's as if you were looking at just
the
framing in a half-built house. It's on the first floor. Pipes are also
totally accessible from below. Matter of fact, there's a 6" x 4' slot
in
the floor. You can reach right up from the basement, if you needed to.

I've called three plumbers who live within 5-10 minutes of my home.
Take
a guess at the estimates. Labor only.


Yeah, thats why if anyone one says economy is bad, I tell them about
stuff
like this. I tried to get an electrician, took me months. Everyone is
doing commercial jobs. I also wanted my curb cut, and I can't get anyone
either. I am willing to pay, no one wants to bother with a small job.

If I was flush right now, I'd take the cheapest quote (which has been
about
$350) and just do it. But, I simply can't part with money like it's water
right now. I'm still recovering from divorce proceedings, buying
furniture,
etc. Guess what's next? The roof. First quote, from a guy who came highly
recommended by 5 different people, was $8500.00, and this is a small
house.
It's a tear-off, and the guy's an unbelievable perfectionist, but
still....I
may blow a vacation week doing it myself.

Get another quote - that seems extreme to me.

And while roofing isn't rocket science, doing it yourself isn't a
great idea.


I did a gorgeous job on the freestanding garage at my previous house, and it
had some truly bizarre angles. But, that was also 17 years ago, which could
factor into how my knees will complain after a week on a roof.


For me, it depends on the slope and how high off the ground.
We quickly did my mom's roof on her 14' x 18' extension a couple of
years ago and I've done an add on garage to my former Cape Cod style
house. Once I get up on a steep 9 in 12 ratio two story roof, I get
nervous.

"Doug Kanter" wrote in message
...

"Calif Bill" wrote in message
nk.net...

"Doug Kanter" wrote in message
...

"basskisser" wrote in message
ups.com...

Doug Kanter wrote:
I'm calling around for labor estimates to have my 3-knob bath faucet
replaced with a single handle Moen. I'm explaining that on the other
side of
the wall, there's an access panel that was designed in heaven. 4'
wide, runs
from floor to ceiling. It's as if you were looking at just the framing
in a
half-built house. It's on the first floor. Pipes are also totally
accessible
from below. Matter of fact, there's a 6" x 4' slot in the floor. You
can
reach right up from the basement, if you needed to.

I've called three plumbers who live within 5-10 minutes of my home.
Take a
guess at the estimates. Labor only.

I do all of my house maintenence, remodeling, etc myself! Here in the
Atlanta area, plumbers are around $125 for the first half hour, and
$125 per hour thereafter.


I do most of it, too. But, my pipe soldering skills aren't up to my own
high standards. This faucet is leaking enough to be expensive. The valve
seat's worn to the point where it's chewing up a new washer every week.
The internal surfaces were stripped by whoever removed it before, so the
seat removal tool's got nothing to grip. I figure that if the whole
brass thing in the wall's gotta be replaced, I may as well get what I
really want: A single-handle Moen.


Get a PVC riser removal tool. Is a tapered tool for removing broken
risers. May be too big for a seat, but look at one. They are about $5 at
most hardware stores. Looking at new handles for the PF 3 handle in the
tub. $11 each for plastic chunk they have been making for years? Found a
remodel set for the PF three handle. $70 at Home Depot. Includes new
seats, stems, and ceramic handles.


What's a PVC riser?


The piece that comes up and the sprinkler head attaches to. They break when
you step on them at times, or hit with the lawnmower. Is similar to an
easy-out.

"Shortwave Sportfishing" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 23 Feb 2006 01:14:47 GMT, Dan Krueger
wrote:

Shortwave Sportfishing wrote:
On Wed, 22 Feb 2006 16:44:30 GMT, "Doug Kanter"
wrote:


"Harry Krause" wrote in message
...

Shortwave Sportfishing wrote:

On Wed, 22 Feb 2006 11:14:31 -0500, Harry Krause
wrote:


I try to hire union retirees to handle my plumbing or electrical
work.

I knew that was coming. :)

Hey...I want experienced, *licensed* journeymen on the more difficult
projects, or supervised apprentices on the simpler ones. When I have a
union mechanic on my property, I don't have to worry about him screwing
up
the job, nor do I have to wonder what he was doing on his last job.

IIRC, I once called the local union to ask about finding a plumber. The
retard on the phone made like I was asking how much Jupiter weighed.


ROTFL!!!

Last year I helped a friend of mine set up at a hunting/fishing/boat
show and the convention center was "union". We set up the booth and
were working on the lighting for the boats when along comes a union
steward who told us that we needed to have a union electrician inspect
the lighting rack. That in and of itself wasn't a problem - we paid
the hour electrician's fee, the guy inspected the lighting, passed it
as "good" and charged us and additional fee to plug in the extension
cord - I kid you not.

Guess how much the plugging in of the extension cord cost?

$50.00

$175.

Damn. From now on, I'm charging my son $100 every time I put a can of ginger
ale in the refrigerator for him.