Plumbing Quote Sanity Check

[MAS956]

Hey guys, I just got a quote to replace the 1” gate valve pictured with a quarter turn ball valve for $575. Is the quote reasonable? Alternatively, would it be possible to somehow coax the existing valve into full shutoff – 40+ years old and no doubt corroded? The city shutoff is on neighboring property which is a PITA to get to over barbed wire for this old man. Thanks!

[rwest]

Doesn’t sound completely out of line for something that they are going to have to either do the City shut off or freeze the line to do and at what I have heard about CA labor costs.

DIYing that would be cheap once the City water was off; under $20 for the valve and less than an hour in time.

I would replace it rather than hoping you could get it to shut off.

Other option if you could coax it to shut down would be to install a new valve above it and just always leave that one open. You could also cut the pipe above it and do a Shark Bite fitting which wouldn’t need water flow to be zero like sweating the pipe would.

[MAS956]

Thanks, Rutager - I hadn't thought about the shark bite option. Honestly, I bought all the parts and then chickened out because I don't trust my soldering skills - not sure when the joint is fine / how much heat it takes to singe the T-111 siding as that line is close to the house.

[look 171]

Originally Posted by MAS956

Thanks, Rutager - I hadn't thought about the shark bite option. Honestly, I bought all the parts and then chickened out because I don't trust my soldering skills - not sure when the joint is fine / how much heat it takes to singe the T-111 siding as that line is close to the house.

Seems to be a bit much for just that, IMO. If my plumber charges me that much, I start digging a hole using his shovel, for him after I kill him.

Sometimes, you can just stick a small plywood against the wall before you torch the siding. It takes a lot to burn through 3/4" plywood. Have hose ready but we never do but a spray bottle filled with water if all er normally need. Plus, we are pretty careful to not allow the flame to hit the siding.

[MAS956]

Originally Posted by look 171

Seems to be a bit much for just that, IMO....

Welcome to the Sierra Nevada foothills. Not many here want to work and those who do want to be PAID.

i'm being whiny, I know. I can access the city shutoff and do that myself but a functioning water main shutoff at the house would be nice....

[Zeke]

Is that the only plumber in your area? I can understand travel time for remote jobs, but that's pretty high dollar.

How were you planning on doing that with the parts you bought? Bit of a tricky job for soldering. I don't like doing an offset with 90's. They do make a slip joint for soldering but you're right, you need soldering chops. If you get the thing to not leak that's great but you'll probably melt the valve innards in the process.

[porsche930dude]

I would just take the valve apart and clean it up and put it back together. Buy a new valve that looks the same and use those innards. Iv done it many times on 1/2" and 3/4" valves

[look 171]

Originally Posted by MAS956

Welcome to the Sierra Nevada foothills. Not many here want to work and those who do want to be PAID.

i'm being whiny, I know. I can access the city shutoff and do that myself but a functioning water main shutoff at the house would be nice....

I heard pricing is way high in some of the remote areas in both CA and up to the border. My workman owns a rental property up in a small town, Arberdeen WA. He sometimes takes Monday off , drive up jsut to change a water heater. I was shock to hear no plumber will touch that for 1700 bucks. That was few years ago and that's only labor. What the hell am I doing wrong here? The issue with that is there's not always work. They land one fish, that fish must last for a few days given the cost of living up there is so much lower then socal.

That's a 30-45 min job and 40 bucks worth the parts.

[look 171]

Originally Posted by MAS956

Welcome to the Sierra Nevada foothills. Not many here want to work and those who do want to be PAID.

i'm being whiny, I know. I can access the city shutoff and do that myself but a functioning water main shutoff at the house would be nice....

Where about is this? I need to go up there. Foothills, you mean places like Mariposa, Oakhurst, and the like and not the 395 side? Still there should be plenty of people that can do those type of jobs there.

[john70t]

I wouldn't go hopping over the neighbor's fence, but rather leave a note with #, and schedule a time for them to turn it off.
Why can't the city install an accessible shutoff on your legal property?
Seems like a liability thing waiting to happen.

Another hack idea would be to cut the pipe above and wedge in a new 1/4 turn valve if the top pipe has enough wiggle room.
(hey if it ain't leaking now..)

Valves can be un-frozen with repeat WD-40/heat applications and a lot of gentle patience to get that first movement started. Then more spray and patience. Then again they can suddenly break and cause a disaster. You should have time.

[javadog]

Way too much money.

Bite the bullet, shut off the water. Rebuild the valve. Probably will work, if not you're only out cheeseburger money and an hour of your time, if that.

[Scott Douglas]

I'd be rebuilding that gate valve before I'd have a 1/4 turn put in.

Is it brass?

If so, it shouldn't take much to get it working again. Lime away and some wire brushing should get it back into shape in no time once taken apart.

[Arizona_928]

My mother paid 450ish for the same thing in phx. Big box plumbers wanted double that.

[MAS956]

Originally Posted by look 171

Where about is this? I need to go up there. Foothills, you mean places like Mariposa, Oakhurst, and the like and not the 395 side? Still there should be plenty of people that can do those type of jobs there.

I'm in Placerville - come on up! Oh wait, that 6 hour travel time each way might kill the economics here !

This is a weird layout as to the street valve - it's on adjacent property but it's vacant land so the odds of getting shot climbing the fence are slim (famous last words, I know).

I appreciate all the encouragement to DIY a rebuild of the valve - I'd like to give it a go. I'll have to see if there are good rebuild vids to consult. Since it won't shut completely off now, I probably can't make it much worse unless it leaks after reassembly. I'd have to do this while the wife was away for awhile although she'd be a sport about no water for a short period.

One other data point here: I did get another quote for this work back in April when we had a tankless water heater installed (big job, lots of plumbing re-worked). That guy wanted $650 to replace the gate valve !!

[javadog]

Start with identifying the brand and model of valve you have, so you can have the appropriate parts on hand. Cleaning all the old paint off would be a start.

Watch a few videos like this one, or whatever most closely resembles the type of valve that you have:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8ORORWGsWw

[javadog]

Originally Posted by Arizona_928

My mother paid 450ish for the same thing in phx. Big box plumbers wanted double that.

Absolute nuts.

[MAS956]

Originally Posted by javadog

Start with identifying the brand and model of valve you have, so you can have the appropriate parts on hand. Cleaning all the old paint off would be a start.

Yep, that's my next step on this project. I did just check and the valve is not magnetic so I take that as a good indication that it's brass. But then I don't even play a plumber on TV!

[javadog]

Brass was the usual material for those valves. Steel handle.

[MAS956]

Okay, I scraped off some paint and got a couple of pics (backside blurry as it's up against the wall).

I think it's JMC 1" on the front and 250 100 on the back if these things mean anything to anyone - guidance much appreciated!

[A930Rocket]

If you decide to rebuild it, have a new one, etc, on hand, in case things don’t work right.