We’re 99% sure our garbage disposal (12 years old, builder-grade, retails for perhaps 80 dollars now) will need to be replaced. We’ve done some searching for prices, and it looks like we can get a better one for 150-200 dollars.
We were quoted a total price from a plumber to replace the garbage disposal of 450 dollars. This includes the unit itself, which means 250-300 of the price of the work would be labor only.
I know they’re labor intensive, but that sounds pretty steep. Would it really take a trained plumber 2-3 hours to do a garbage disposal???
Note that this is the DC metro area so prices are on the high side anyhow, but still…
Without seeing the underside of your sink, I would hesitate to give you a estimate of how long it would take.
MY WAG based on having installed quite a few disposers is that it takes between 1-2 hours. Maybe less for a trained plumber.
Call a second plumber, and not the one with the biggest yellow pages ad either. In LA I have noticed a direct relationship between the size of the ad and the size of the estimate.
I’ve installed a few, the latest only a few months ago. They’re really not that big of a deal. Especially if you’re replacing one, all the connections are already in place.
Start early on a Saturday morning to allow for a trip back to the store for any parts and dive in. (Note: Saturday is synonymous with whatever day you have off.) About the only thing you should have to buy except for the disposal unit is a small container of plumbers putty to seal the ring into the sink. Take a picture of the connections under the sink and print them out when you go to get the disposal there should be someone there knowledgeable enough to tell you if you’re going to need any extra parts.
Why do you think you need a new one? Have you had a plumber come look at it? I thought mine was dead too, it wouldn’t even make a sound when I flipped the switch. The plumber pushed a button on the bottom, turned the blades backwards a few turns using (I think) an allen wrench and it was good as new.
My dad & I replaced mine about a month ago – it took less than an hour. Then again it was an identical replacement; a non-identical replacement might take a bit more time to get the plumbing right.
All the Home Depot type stores that I’ve been in have a magazine/book section with project and how to books. Pick up the book for home DIY and flip back to garbage disposals to get a good idea what is involved. Rocket surgery it ain’t.
Ditto this. If you’re even moderately handy, this is about as easy as a do-it-yourself plumbing project can be. It might help to have someone to help position the thing when you’re lying under the sink, but it’s not necessary. Really, the most complicated part of the whole deal is getting the connection to the main waste line right if you change the size of the disposal.
For $150-200, you can get a very good disposer. Ours cost $130 two years ago and we’ve been entirely happy with it.
Don’t waste your time or money on the $60 builder specials. They’re wimpy and noisy. The labor to install a crummy disposer is nearly identical to the labor to install a stronger and quieter unit.
Almost all disposers on the market are made by In-Sink-Erator, regardless of the name on the box. Over the past 40+ years, ISE has used the same mounting ring, so you might be able to use the existing piece that’s already mounted to the sink, so long as it’s not leaking or ugly.
An apprentice plumber could probably swap a disposer in less than an hour on their second week on the job, so $300 for labor is insane.
Well, the attachment ring is ugly on ours… cheap white porcelain sink, brass ring that has a layer of white “something” covering it which is supposed to match the sink, but has been flaking for years and looks worse than if they hadn’t bothered :mad:
But yeah, the labor sounded nutso. I did some research and the disposer the guy carries is actually a higher-end one so, when I researched the price, the labor was more like 180-200 over the cost of the machine. Still high (Sears would install one of their Kenmores for 120 labor) but not quite as insane.
I think I’ll call tomorrow and find out how much he’d charge to do a unit we supplied. Or maybe I’ll ask when he gets here (he’s coming to do other work anyway).