I just bought a gas range which required a gas line to be installed in my kitchen. I wanted to share my experience in case others might find it helpful.
This install is about as simple as it gets. The main gas line runs right under my kitchen and is very easily accessible from my unfinished basement. So, it required about fifteen feet of pipe, if that, across the basement ceiling and then up into the kitchen. I considered doing it myself, but I wanted to be in full compliance with local codes which can be complex and non-intuitive. Also, I don't know anything about gas lines.
A coworker recommended a contractor for whom his neighbor works. I called them and learned they would do a free estimate. I scheduled it for a time when Mrs. Pat would be home as I was headed out of town for business. The rep arrived an hour past the time he said he would arrive, but was friendly and professional. He took a look and said he would email an estimate.
When I got the estimate, I was somewhat shocked. Although it included the price of the permit, I couldn't imagine how such a simple job could be so expensive. And the estimate wasn't itemized.
I remembered talking to someone who said, based on his experience, the larger the ad in the Yellow Pages, the more expensive the plumber. Sure enough, the plumber who gave me an estimate had a full, one-page ad.
Back from travel, this past Monday morning I decided to call plumbers who had the smallest ads in the Yellow Pages. A few were just too busy. (I guess plumbing is recession-proof.) One wanted $130 just to take a look; and this did not apply to cost of the job. A few had voice mail indicating they were out for Thanksgiving, which is understandable. Some just said, "$130 an hour, how ever long it takes".
Then I called a plumber which listed only the name and number; no ad whatsoever. I spoke to a very nice and very helpful young lady who said she would call her crew to see when they could come by to take a look at the job. She said they could not give an estimate, but it would be $80 an hour plus the permit fee, which seemed reasonable. I half expected to never hear back, but sure enough, she called me back twenty-minutes later and said she would have a rep at my house at 2:00. He arrived a few minutes before 2:00, took a look and said, "Boy, I'm not used to jobs being this simple". He said he would be back Wednesday morning, between 7:00 and 7:30 to do the job.
The same guy arrived at 7:04 this morning. He replaced an elbow with a T-fitting where the gas line entered my house from the meter. Then he connected a flex line over to the wall and up where the range sits. He installed a fitting with a pressure gauge and a valve stem then pumped it up to 10psi with a bicycle pump. All in all, it took him just over an hour and that included re-lighting my water heater.
He asked me to call his office when the inspector arrived today and he would then come back to install the range and connect it. He presented a bill which was $300 less than the first estimate I received. I guess that theory about small ads is playing out.
A few minutes ago, the same nice young lady I spoke to initially called to let me know the inspector should be at my house between 2:00 and 4:00 and she asked him to call me when he was thirty-minutes out. (I think I'd like to buy this young lady a nice lunch.)
So, if all goes well, I'll have my new range up and running just in time for Thanksgiving. And I think I found a very good, reasonably priced plumber for any future work at my house. And it paid to call around.