Cost to replace kitchen faucet?

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Cost to replace kitchen faucet?

Josh V.
Excelsior, MN · Member since 2016 · 52 posts · 27 votes

One of my rental properties in Kansas City is managed by a property manager.  My recent monthly owner statement included a $443 charge for replacing a kitchen faucet.  Seemed excessive to me so I got a breakdown of the cost.  

$105 to repair/replace

$85 minimum charge for first 30 minutes of labor

$10 fuel surcharge

$243 new faucet, supply lines, plumbers grease

$443 Total

Would like to hear others thoughts on the cost of this.  Do you feel this is high or inline with what you have experienced?

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Dan Krupa
Real Estate Broker · Phoenix, AZ · Member since 2013 · 749 posts · 399 votes
6y

@Josh V. that is an outlandish amount of money. You got ripped off brother. So many things wrong here. Faucets are not that expensive. There is a cost to go buy a faucet but 15% is the normal mark up. Labor is labor, the cost doesn't increase. Next, what idiot is taking more than 30 to 60 minutes to replace it? Even a complicated one that is weighted and has a single manifold doesn't take that long. I typically pay my contractors $50 to install a sink faucet.  Fuel charge is BS, that is built into the labor and the upcharge on the faucet.  A good master plumber charges $100 an hour, I highly doubt they called a master plumber in.  PM me if you need help man, I am here local in KC and hate seeing people get ripped off. 

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  • JD MartinBusiness Member
    Moderator
    Rock Star Extraordinaire · Northeast, TN · Member since 2015 · 10k+ posts · 16k+ votes
    6y

    Depends on what kind of faucet it is. $185 labor is not out of line with what we see around here. No one around here adds a fuel surcharge, that's part of the plumbing service call. But $240 for a faucet in a rental is pretty steep unless it's a really high-end rental. A good standard Delta kitchen faucet can be had for under $100 retail. I'd ask for model number and purchase location on the faucet for sure. 

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  • Bjorn AhlbladPro Member
    Investor · Shelton, WA · Member since 2017 · 6k+ posts · 6k+ votes
    6y

    My PM wanted 1645.00 dollars to have 2 wall heaters installed. After she was no more I contacted the same outfit. The same installer installed the same heaters for 530 dollars! True story! I know PM's have to eat too. Sometimes it just goes too far.

    6Reply
  • Tamara Deering
    Real Estate Agent · Austin, TX · Member since 2019 · 235 posts · 194 votes
    6y

    For a done for you solution this is in the ballpark, I had a client tell me they received a $400 quote for a plumber to replace their faucet.  The last faucet I replaced had a really tricky location, it was up against a raised bar and we couldn't get a wrench on it.  It ended up taking two hours to get the faucet out, then another hour to get it in.  Supply lines cost about $10 each, faucets start at $79, but the name brand current styles are between $149 and $199 so you're looking at a minimum of $99 but more likely $169 for materials before mark up.  What you are paying for is the convenience of your property manager saying "get it done" which equals less hassle but more money.

    3Reply
  • Jeff Willis
    CA & NV · Member since 2019 · 215 posts · 378 votes
    6y

    I agree with @JD Martin, the cost of the faucet seems a bit high. I do have a question about:

    $105 to repair/replace
    $85 minimum charge for first 30 minutes of labor

    you are being charged labor $105 to R&R and labor again $85 for what? 

    Either charge me the $105 (flat rate) for R&R OR charge me $85 for 30 minutes, not both.

    As to the fuel surcharge - that is part of the cost of doing business, so I would tell hin to ESAD!

    FYI: Plumbing rates on So Calif are about 100-125 hr.

    5Reply
  • Dan Krupa
    Real Estate Broker · Phoenix, AZ · Member since 2013 · 749 posts · 399 votes
    6y

    @Josh V. that is an outlandish amount of money. You got ripped off brother. So many things wrong here. Faucets are not that expensive. There is a cost to go buy a faucet but 15% is the normal mark up. Labor is labor, the cost doesn't increase. Next, what idiot is taking more than 30 to 60 minutes to replace it? Even a complicated one that is weighted and has a single manifold doesn't take that long. I typically pay my contractors $50 to install a sink faucet.  Fuel charge is BS, that is built into the labor and the upcharge on the faucet.  A good master plumber charges $100 an hour, I highly doubt they called a master plumber in.  PM me if you need help man, I am here local in KC and hate seeing people get ripped off. 

    11Reply
  • Anthony Wick
    Rental Property Investor · Ankeny, IA · Member since 2017 · 2k+ posts · 3k+ votes
    6y

    @Josh V.  I'd be looking for a new PM. You can literally get that done yourself for like $80, so how are they justifying these high of prices? Shouldn't the $85 minimum charge be included in the labor to replace? $10 fuel charge? For what?! That's what, 4 gallons of gas. Where did they drive from, Des Moines?! And why are you spending almost $250 on a new faucet? I replaced my faucet and sink for cheaper than that. Do you have a cap that they can spend without alerting you first? 

    5Reply
  • Dennis M.
    Rental Property Investor · Erie, PA · Member since 2018 · 6k+ posts · 9k+ votes
    6y

    This is crack head high . I feel bad for you guys with pms .. geez ! I would not pay my handyman more than 50 bucks to do that for the labor . Must be a real swanky piece for a faucet for 250 bucks . I usually get the 28$ budget ones at Walmart

    6Reply
  • Josh V.
    OP
    Excelsior, MN · Member since 2016 · 52 posts · 27 votes
    6y

    Thank you for the responses everyone.  This has confirmed my suspicion that I have gotten raked over the coals on this one.  There have been a couple other issues similar to this that seemed way high for what the repair needed to be.  

    6Reply
  • Syed H.
    Developer · NY/NJ/PA · Member since 2018 · 758 posts · 935 votes
    6y

    $50 labor for a handyman to do that, $100-$150 for a plumber. Fuel Charge? Wow, hell no. $99 max for the faucet for a regular rental. & if he’s a PM of any scale, he shouldn’t be paying retail for anything. He should pass on some savings to u. 

    0Reply
  • Pat L.
    Rental Property Investor · Upstate, NY · Member since 2012 · 3k+ posts · 3k+ votes
    6y

    You got smoked...My old guy installed a new in-frame interior door trimmed & painted, charged me $50. I refuse to climb under vanities anymore so he tore out a bad bathroom Moen faucet (12 months old) & it's mate, then put in two Kohlers plus new HW feeds (one was leaking) for $45, (Moen finally sent a free replacement for $25 handling so we have 2 Moens as spares). He then took down a 45ft old ash tree for $25 as long as he could keep the wood. He then put up 70 ft of new gutters & 4 downspouts for $75. He just spent a day trouble shooting a bad electrical circuit he found in the attic & told me I owe him a dinner.

    I'll have to give him a better Xmas bonus. 

    10Reply
  • Lee Bell
    Real Estate Appraiser · Isabella lake, CA · Member since 2018 · 628 posts · 491 votes
    6y

    Wow. Good bonus in order for sure.

    0Reply
  • Max T.
    Investor · Philadelphia, PA · Member since 2015 · 3k+ posts · 3k+ votes
    6y

    I do my own PM but pay handymen/subs for most maintenance like this.

    Last one cost me 125 plus the cost of the faucet. All in under 300 IIRC.

    0Reply
  • Andrew Craft
    Specialist · Cleveland, OH · Member since 2019 · 11 posts · 5 votes
    6y

    Out of curiosity, did you get several quotes, or work with someone you've used in the past? The charge seems to be very high. Sorry, I don't have anything else to add. 

    2Reply
  • August Olgren
    Flipper/Rehabber · Colorado Springs, CO · Member since 2018 · 34 posts · 27 votes
    6y

    @Josh V. The pm obviously used a plumber. I did handyman work for a pm company and faucets were on the list, my charge for labor was 50 to 75 depending on difficulty. Faucets as mentioned are about 100, unless y the ur going high end.

    What you were charged was straight up union plumber rates.

    Fyi, my own customers I charge 25 an hour to include travel and can usually chang out a faucet in 30 minutes to an hour

    3Reply
  • Benjamin Tighe
    Medford Oregon · Member since 2019 · 85 posts · 65 votes
    6y

    Knowing how many "handymen" work, be happy you paid for a licensed plumber. The potential for problems down the road, especially with water, simply arent worth the risk. In some states a contractors insurance wont cover claims on plumbing unless the work was done by a licensed plumber. A flooring installer friend of mine learned that the hard way setting toilets. Price for the faucet sounds ridiculous. I would ask them to show cost break down and make them justify why such an expensive part was used. Might have been justified.

    2Reply
  • Syed H.
    Developer · NY/NJ/PA · Member since 2018 · 758 posts · 935 votes
    6y
    Originally posted by @Benjamin Tighe:

    Knowing how many "handymen" work, be happy you paid for a licensed plumber. The potential for problems down the road, especially with water, simply arent worth the risk. In some states a contractors insurance wont cover claims on plumbing unless the work was done by a licensed plumber. A flooring installer friend of mine learned that the hard way setting toilets. Price for the faucet sounds ridiculous. I would ask them to show cost break down and make them justify why such an expensive part was used. Might have been justified.

     Risk of a faucet replacement? We’re not talking about any significant plumbing work. Lol any semi-competent handyman can change it within an hour. It would be impossible to make money as a landlord if you pay these prices constantly. 

    Also even for a plumber that is super expensive. $100 is what a decent plumber would charge

    5Reply
  • August Olgren
    Flipper/Rehabber · Colorado Springs, CO · Member since 2018 · 34 posts · 27 votes
    6y

    @Benjamin Tighe wow, way to dig at a handyman. Although you may have had a bad experience, some of us tend to work it and know what we are doing. Sometimes the only difference between a handyman and a contractor is just the license.

    5Reply
  • Benjamin Tighe
    Medford Oregon · Member since 2019 · 85 posts · 65 votes
    6y

    Your implying handymen are competent. Many are, and faucets are very low skill level but there are exceptions. The shadiest repairs I've seen are in rentals and usually ordered by bad PM companies. You get old brittle hard lines, bad valves, or non standard parts and things can get out of hand fast. Need more context to know if the OP was overcharged or if the cost was justified. I've been in construction for 19 years so I do have a bias towards professionals.

    0Reply
  • Benjamin Tighe
    Medford Oregon · Member since 2019 · 85 posts · 65 votes
    6y

    @August Olgren

    Not trying to put all handymen in the same group. Sorry if I came off that way. Was not my intention.

    I was a contractor for 14 years but now work for someone else. My employer is 100% by the book. It is ridiculous what we have to hire out because of licensing and liability problems. I set probably 50 toilets before I was old enough to drink and we can't touch them today. Some of our projects get so expensive just because of stuff like that. Real bummer when trying to help people out but the risk to too high these days.

    0Reply
  • Account Closed
    Member since 2019 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    6y

    I don’t cheap out on faucets, it’s a focal point of “bling” when I renovate. That said, mine cost around $150. I use moen and make sure they have the stupid coil and squeeze on function. And zero chance $190 to replace is warranted unless they ran into some major unforeseen problems ... and with something this simple I can’t even imagine what that would be. $50 handyman install, $110 for plumber to install. Neither would take more than 40 min even if the old one was rusted on.

    0Reply
  • Parker Eberhard
    Contractor · Seattle, WA · Member since 2019 · 339 posts · 325 votes
    6y

    @JD Martin delta is crap

    0Reply
  • Jill F.
    Investor · Akron, OH · Member since 2016 · 2k+ posts · 4k+ votes
    6y
    Originally posted by @Josh V.:

    One of my rental properties in Kansas City is managed by a property manager.  My recent monthly owner statement included a $443 charge for replacing a kitchen faucet.  Seemed excessive to me so I got a breakdown of the cost.  

    $105 to repair/replace

    $85 minimum charge for first 30 minutes of labor

    $10 fuel surcharge

    $243 new faucet, supply lines, plumbers grease

    $443 Total

    Would like to hear others thoughts on the cost of this.  Do you feel this is high or inline with what you have experienced?

    Our Home Depot here has signs that say $75 install for kitchen faucet.

    1Reply
  • JD MartinBusiness Member
    Moderator
    Rock Star Extraordinaire · Northeast, TN · Member since 2015 · 10k+ posts · 16k+ votes
    6y
    Originally posted by @Parker Eberhard:

    @JD Martin delta is crap

     Well, back when I was a plumber we used to install them all the time and they held up pretty well. I have several original Deltas in my own house still going strong almost 30 years later. Why do you say Delta is crap and what do you prefer, and why? I use only Moen or Delta as the parts stay the same for years and both have sent me replacement warranty parts without charge. 

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  • Parker Eberhard
    Contractor · Seattle, WA · Member since 2019 · 339 posts · 325 votes
    6y

    @JD Martin I use Grohe. If I’m going to put something in my wall that could potentially leak and destroy my house, I’m going to spend a little more.

    0Reply
  • Dane Peterson
    Real Estate Agent · Sarasota, FL · Member since 2016 · 91 posts · 26 votes
    6y

    @Josh V.

    Don't need to add much besides your property manager should be finding a better "handyman". Sounds to me they are just being plain lazy and have not spent time finding a quality repair person. This should be a $100 average repair. If you have a high end rental then let's call it $250max but 1hr labor plus cost of part. Maybe I'm spoiled with my PM and contacts but repair bills like these can completely destroy your annual cash flow if not monitored.

    Good job being proactive, reading your owners statement and questioning. The PM should be including theses invoices with your statements so you don't have to ask. Good luck 👍

    0Reply
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