Last Friday, I was in the process of turing off my house water supply while preparing to install some toilets and new valves. Before I got started, my wife needed the water turned back on. Guess what? The darn main valve would turn, but no water.
So, I got a couple estimates and settled on one that would "dig up the water main & install a new ball valve" for $325. The company I was using prides itself for giving up-front pricing.
Well, while I was at my daugther's soccer game, my wife calls and says that the plumber is telling her the job is way more involved than he first thought, and the price to install the valve would now be an additional $700. Since I had no way to verify this over the phone, and since my wife had been without a shower for nearly 48 hours, she decided to let him continue.
When I got home, I was able to see what the plumber was talking about. Instead of a single line going into the house, there were 3 lines (all about 3 inches apart). He claimed that making a manifold to send the water to all 3 lines is what made this an unexpected and difficult add-on. Interestingly, after he dug up and exposed the lines (which was covered in the original quote, the job took only 1 hour to complete.
I may be wrong, but I think that he took advantage of my wife, since she was desparate to get the issue corrected. However, I'm trying to get info to see if I'm being unrealistic.
Here are my questions:
1. Is it all that unusual to have 3 lines going into a house?
2. Is creating the 3 to one manifold all that difficult?
3. Should it have been covered in the original quote?
4. If this is truly an appropriate add-on, what would be a reasonable price to pay?
Thanks for any feedback or advice you can provide.
So, I got a couple estimates and settled on one that would "dig up the water main & install a new ball valve" for $325. The company I was using prides itself for giving up-front pricing.
Well, while I was at my daugther's soccer game, my wife calls and says that the plumber is telling her the job is way more involved than he first thought, and the price to install the valve would now be an additional $700. Since I had no way to verify this over the phone, and since my wife had been without a shower for nearly 48 hours, she decided to let him continue.
When I got home, I was able to see what the plumber was talking about. Instead of a single line going into the house, there were 3 lines (all about 3 inches apart). He claimed that making a manifold to send the water to all 3 lines is what made this an unexpected and difficult add-on. Interestingly, after he dug up and exposed the lines (which was covered in the original quote, the job took only 1 hour to complete.
I may be wrong, but I think that he took advantage of my wife, since she was desparate to get the issue corrected. However, I'm trying to get info to see if I'm being unrealistic.
Here are my questions:
1. Is it all that unusual to have 3 lines going into a house?
2. Is creating the 3 to one manifold all that difficult?
3. Should it have been covered in the original quote?
4. If this is truly an appropriate add-on, what would be a reasonable price to pay?
Thanks for any feedback or advice you can provide.