Bathroom plumbing renovations or remodel work can be quite costly. After all, plumbers are professionals who, like electricians, often attend a trade school, become apprentices for years, and submit to state and other local authorities for licensing requirements. A good plumber is highly valuable, often accomplishing feats of would-be plumbing magic in no time at all. But that does not mean that bathroom plumbing renovations have to be a fixed-price project with astronomical costs. Smart homeowners can employ just a few of these methods to help them reduce costs on their next bathroom plumbing renovations.
- Schedule Plumbing Renovation, Not Emergency Plumbing: Scheduling work with an everyday plumbing contractor will usually be far less expensive than calling in an emergency plumber for remodeling work. Calling an emergency plumber for an upcoming, planned remodel project that is not time-sensitive is like going to the emergency room for an upcoming elective surgery. You accomplish the same thing but at a vastly higher cost because you are relying on emergency personnel and services. Emergency plumbers who can arrive within an hour for clogged shower drains, backed-up toilets, and leaking pipes are worth their weight in gold. But plumbing contractors are best for scheduled projects like installing new water supply pipes and bathroom plumbing renovations. Out of necessity, many plumbers do both emergency plumbing and bathroom plumbing renovations. So if you are just plumber-shopping, see if they list plumbing contracting or bathroom plumbing renovation and remodeling along with the list of emergency repairs they do. When calling the plumber, specify that this is not a rush job.
- Confine the Plumber to Plumbing Work Only: The more non-plumbing activities the plumber has to perform, the higher your plumbing renovations final costs will be. Imagine visiting a lawyer and asking her to fill out simple non-legal paperwork that you could easily do on your own. She may agree to help, but why pay high lawyer or even paralegal fees for basic clerical work? Plumbers exist to do plumbing; this is what they do best. But peripheral projects often get in the way. Plumbers may need to pull out drywall to get to the pipes. They might find the area inaccessible and need to move stuff out of the way. Lighting might be inadequate. It is guaranteed that the more non-plumbing tasks you can accomplish before the plumber arrives, the less you will pay for your plumbing project. Carefully pare down the plumber’s activities so they only relate to plumbing.
- Retain the Plumbing Footprint: Changing the plumbing footprint or layout increases costs. Moving around supply and drain pipes, and especially large items like sewer pipe and vent stacks will always cost more money. Try to keep your showers, sinks, and toilets in place for bathrooms. Do your best to keep the dishwasher and sink in place for kitchen remodels.
- Consider Supplementing With DIY Plumbing: Naturally, the ultimate way to save money on a plumber is to eliminate the plumber. When you do your own plumbing work instead of hiring a plumber, you pay only for materials, not materials and labor. If you have the curiosity and inclination, you can save thousands of dollars by running your own pipes. Yet some projects are so involved that doing it all by yourself is not possible. In this case, consider having the plumber do some work, such as establishing stub-out supply points, while you supplement by bringing the stub-outs the rest of the way to the sink. One thing that makes do-it-yourself plumbing feasible is the combination of PEX and push-fit couplings. Red plastic PEX pipes are hot and blue are cold. Easy to cut with a snipper, PEX pipes can make 8-inch bends and they easily snap together with push-fit couplings. One downside to supplementing with your own plumbing work is the sizable initial cost of purchasing plumbing tools.
- Choose Uponor Pipe Over Copper: Uponor pipe is cheaper than copper. Similar to doing business with an auto mechanic, with plumbers you pay for both labor and materials. So, while you cannot bring down the plumber’s labor charges, you can ask about the choice of materials, chiefly Uponor or Sex vs. Copper piping. Rigid plastic PEX pipe tends to be about two-thirds less expensive than copper pipe. Uponor is a little more expensive than PEX, however copper is still more expensive than both of the alternatives. Copper is an expensive commodity, making it subject to price fluctuations, usually upward. While PEX or Uponor is petroleum-based and oil prices do rise and fall, their cost remains stable and low. If the plumber plans to use copper for your remodel project, ask if the plumber will consider these lower-cost alternatives: Uponor or PEX piping. Uponor piping is the best choice for any new plumbing project. Uponor is unique because unlike its predecessor PEX it doesn't become brittle over time and nor does it require the use of crimp rings. Uponor is great because it expands during a freeze event and is far less likely to burst than copper or PEX piping. Uponor is your best bet to protect your home, family, and belongings. Not only will it cut costs, but ultimately you will be receiving a superior product.
- Choose Crimp-Fit Over Push-Fit Couplings: Should you decide to go with the PEX option, Crimp-fit couplings are cheaper than push-fit couplings. There are two ways to join PEX pipe: push-fit couplings (SharkBite is one major brand) and crimp-ring style. Push-fit couplings allow you to push the two sections of pipe together with no tools. The pipes stay in place until you decide to remove them with a special tool. Crimp fittings require you to squeeze a copper ring over the PEX pipe and a different type of copper fitting. A crimping tool is used to squeeze the ring in place. Push-fit couplings can be as much as 10 times more expensive than crimp couplings. Clarify with the plumber whether or not they will not be using push-fit couplings in great quantities. Push-fit couplings are fine for a small project, but they drive materials costs sky-high when used in great numbers. Most skilled plumbers can use crimp rings nearly as fast as they can join the push-fit couplings. If you choose to go with Uponor then you won’t have to worry about crimp rings and push fittings. Uponor requires a special expansion tool that heats the plastic while also expanding it, then the Uponor naturally shrinks and forms its own seal and connection. This seal and connection is far stronger and more durable than the crimp or push fitting options as well.
- Provide Comfortable Conditions for the Plumber: No plumber should directly charge more money to a customer if the working conditions are less than perfect. But you should do everything, within reason, to help the plumber help you. If possible, make sure that the temperature provides for comfortable working conditions. Remove annoyances such as roaming pets and curious children that might distract them from doing their best job. If you have a second bathroom that will be operable during your project, let the plumber use it. Many homeowners will not allow workers to use their bathrooms. Workers who leave the worksite to hunt down a public bathroom only slow down your project and drive up costs. Being nervous about workers using your bathroom is understandable from the standpoint of cleanliness. It helps to remove your bath mats and your nice towels and to replace them with a roll of paper towels. Also, since this is your house, it is within your rights to ask the plumber to keep everything as clean as possible.
Bathroom plumbing renovations can be a bittersweet experience! We hope that you enjoyed reading our detailed blog article and that you will be able to save some money based on the information we have provided. Jennings Plumbing strongly encourages homeowners that are not handy at home repair and DIY projects to reconsider trying to DIY home plumbing renovations. When it comes to your water and sewer professional plumbers are always the way to go. Choose Jennings Plumbing Services for your next plumbing renovation project and give us a call today at (972) 458-5584. Jennings Plumbing happily serves those in need of plumbing in and around the Dallas Fort Worth Metroplex.