Plumbing costs

Water heaters, repipes, drain work and the emergency call-outs in between.

• Plumber cost by state$75 to $150per hourA plumber bills $85 an hour in Arkansas and $140 in Illinois. A 65% spread on the same hour of the same work, and it is almost entirely wages.
• Emergency plumber cost$150 to $300per hourAn emergency plumber costs $150 to $300 an hour against $75 to $150 in business hours, plus $150 to $350 to arrive. The emergencies that cannot wait are the ones where water is moving and you cannot stop it.
• Burst pipe repair cost$150 to $4,000per projectRepairing a burst pipe costs $150 to $1,200, typically $600. What turns that into a $5,000 bill is not the plumbing. It is the drywall, the flooring and the drying.
• Water leak detection cost$150 to $800per projectLeak detection costs $150 to $800, typically $350. It is the step people skip and the one that decides whether the repair costs $600 or $6,000, because a leak guessed at is three holes in the wall.
• Slab leak repair cost$1,500 to $6,000per projectA slab leak costs $1,500 to $6,000 to repair, typically $3,000. It is expensive because the concrete is in the way, not because the pipe is hard to fix. Three methods exist and they cost very differently.
• Frozen pipe repair cost$200 to $3,000per projectThawing a frozen pipe costs $200 to $700 if it has not split and $400 to $3,000 if it has. A frozen pipe is not yet an emergency; one that bursts while you are out is.
• Toilet installation cost$200 to $900per eachInstalling a toilet costs $200 to $900 including the fixture, typically $400. What pushes it past $900 is not the toilet: it is a rotted subfloor or a flange sitting below the finished floor.
• Faucet installation cost$150 to $500per eachInstalling a faucet costs $150 to $500 including a mid-range fixture, typically $280. It is one of the few plumbing jobs where the cost is dominated by how awkward the space under the sink is.
• Shower installation cost$1,500 to $8,000per projectInstalling a shower costs $1,500 to $8,000, typically $3,500. A tiled shower is a waterproofing project with tile stuck to it, and the waterproofing is where almost all failures come from.
• Garbage disposal installation cost$150 to $600per eachInstalling a garbage disposal costs $150 to $600 including the unit, typically $300. It goes up when there is no switch or socket under the sink, because then it is an electrician's job too.