Just had a portion of a corroded and split cast iron drain pipe replaced with PVC. Was wondering what your opinion is regarding their choice of repair method. As can be seen in the attached diagram the split (designated in red) was in a service sweep of the kitchen drain. They chose to cut the pipe right at the end of the split/corrosion leaving about a one inch stub in the wye to which they added a Fernco style coupler and new PVC which extended into the basement then mating to the existing copper drain from the kitchen sink. Even though I questioned them on numerous occasions as to why they wouldn't simply remove the lead packing and remaining few inches of pipe they insisted this repair would be standard in the industry.
Second on my list was their labor charge. They contracted for 3+ days of work but finished in under 9 hours (6 hours/2.5 hours). When I questioned if there might be an adjustment to the final price it was stated that for "my" benefit he place two men on the job to speed the repair minimizing down-time of our kitchen sink. LOL. Now how many jobs such as this would a plumbing company assign a single plumber? They had intended to jack-hammer two separate 4'x4' areas of the slab on either side of an interior wall to gain access to the failed pipe, I find it hard to believe a plumbers helper would not be standard for a situation requiring this amount of grunt work. In the end they only required one 3.5'x2' hole to facilitate repairs.
I'm hoping some industry pro's or homeowners with experience could lend opinions as to whether the choice of repair type and billing concerns are warranted or silly. As an FYI - The company doing the job was not a large multi-state entity nor were they an independent working from their garage and I should add their daily labor rate was $800 so he was trying to attempt justifying $1600/day for two on-site.
Second on my list was their labor charge. They contracted for 3+ days of work but finished in under 9 hours (6 hours/2.5 hours). When I questioned if there might be an adjustment to the final price it was stated that for "my" benefit he place two men on the job to speed the repair minimizing down-time of our kitchen sink. LOL. Now how many jobs such as this would a plumbing company assign a single plumber? They had intended to jack-hammer two separate 4'x4' areas of the slab on either side of an interior wall to gain access to the failed pipe, I find it hard to believe a plumbers helper would not be standard for a situation requiring this amount of grunt work. In the end they only required one 3.5'x2' hole to facilitate repairs.
I'm hoping some industry pro's or homeowners with experience could lend opinions as to whether the choice of repair type and billing concerns are warranted or silly. As an FYI - The company doing the job was not a large multi-state entity nor were they an independent working from their garage and I should add their daily labor rate was $800 so he was trying to attempt justifying $1600/day for two on-site.