Budget roughly $100 to $480 in labor for a faucet you bought yourself, $200 to $600 once the plumber provides the faucet as well, and about $300 to $600 for a disposal fitted by a plumber. These come from published price guides and move with the fixture, the crawl space under the sink and any electrical need. A disposal that already exists but misbehaves is covered under garbage disposal repair.
How much should a faucet installation run?
In the published guides, labor for a faucet you supply runs about $100 to $350 on a bathroom sink and $120 to $480 on a kitchen sink, and many shops quote a flat $150 to $250. Include the faucet in the bill and most installs total $200 to $600.
Position within that spread depends on the cabinet underneath. Easy shutoffs and open space make it an under-an-hour swap. Add a pull-down sprayer, a soap dispenser, a deck-mounted filter line or a new hole in the stone, and it becomes a longer visit. If both the kitchen and bathroom faucets are done in one trip, ask whether the plumber trims the per-fixture price.
| Job | Typical published range | What changes it |
|---|---|---|
| Bathroom faucet, labor only | $100 to $350 | Shutoff condition, widespread vs single hole |
| Kitchen faucet, labor only | $120 to $480 | Sprayer, filter line, countertop drilling |
| Faucet plus labor | $200 to $600 | Fixture quality, brand |
| Disposal swap, labor only | about $300 of the total | Mounting kit, plumbing fit |
| First-time disposal install | $300 to $600 installed | Outlet, switch, drain changes |
| Disposal with the unit included | $300 to $600 | Horsepower, brand |
| Shower cartridge swap | Set by the written quote | Brand, stuck cartridge, access |
What does garbage disposal installation cost?
Fixr puts a plumber-fitted disposal at $300 to $600 with the unit, averaging about $500. Labor on a typical install is about three hours, near $300 of that total. A corded unit that plugs into an existing outlet runs $300 to $450 installed, a hardwired one $400 to $600, and a new outlet adds $120 to $200.
Disposal units themselves list from around $50 up to $400, driven by horsepower and sound insulation. A 3/4 horsepower model is the common choice for a household. Extras that appear on quotes: a new P-trap, a dishwasher drain connection, a cord or hardwire kit, an air switch or button, and an electrician if no outlet exists under the sink. A lot of searches mention brands, from Moen to GE, and the brand mostly changes the part price, not the labor. How the job runs is on garbage disposal installation.
What does plumber labor cost for shower repair?
Swapping a shower cartridge is the usual cure for drips and temperature swings. We found no published guide figure we could cite for it, so the written quote sets the price. Replacing the whole valve behind the wall costs more than a cartridge, because the wall may have to be opened.
Much of the price is diagnosis. A stuck cartridge or an unidentified brand turns a simple repair into a longer one. On the Westside, hard water is a contributor: the City of Santa Monica's most recent reports put its water around 160 parts per million as calcium carbonate, and scale can weld a cartridge to the valve body. If the shower leaks inside the wall or ceiling below, that's a leak call, not a fixture repair; see shower leaks and the leaky tub faucet guide.
What pushes the quote up or down?
The big drivers are access, shutoff valves, fixture type and wiring. Add time for stop valves that won't close, corroded supply lines, a cramped sink base or a disposal with no outlet. A premium touchless or filtered faucet costs more than a plain two-handle model, and so does stone drilling.
Older Westside houses add their own wrinkles. In 1920s to 1950s homes you often find galvanized supply lines or chrome-plated shutoffs that crack on first touch, so a faucet swap can grow into a pipe replacement conversation. Plumbers also bill a visit minimum, and a short job often hits it. Confirm that the quote covers shutoffs, supply hoses, hauling off the old unit and any permit. The general price picture is on what plumbers charge, and hourly rates are explained in plumber cost per hour.
Is a permit involved when you replace a faucet or disposal?
Santa Monica's homeowner permit guide lists plumbing work, including sink replacements and re-piping, under its single-trade permit, and the municipal code exempts only unclogging and leak repairs that don't replace valves, pipes or fixtures. Whether a plain faucet swap counts is a gray area; phone Building and Safety instead of assuming.
Other Westside addresses answer to other offices: Los Angeles city for Brentwood, Venice and Westwood, plus the Culver City, Beverly Hills and West Hollywood building divisions. Adding a disposal, which needs a drain connection and power, is more likely to count as new work than a plain swap. Wiring is its own trade. For scale, a California contractor license becomes mandatory from $1,000 in labor plus parts, and deposits are held to ten percent or $1,000, whichever is smaller.
Is installing a faucet yourself worth the savings?
For many people, yes: a faucet is the classic first plumbing job, and skipping labor saves $100 to $350. The risks are seized shutoffs, a loose connection that drips inside the cabinet for weeks, and drilling errors in stone. If the shutoffs don't turn, stop and call.
A disposal is less forgiving. It means wiring or a cord, the right trap alignment and the dishwasher knockout plug, which people forget to remove and which later backs the dishwasher up. A leaking supply or drain under the sink is also an easy way to wreck a cabinet floor. If you decide to hand it off, the quote page gets a visit scheduled, with the number in writing up front. The real question is whether the saving justifies your Saturday.
Common questions
Faucet only: what is the plumber's labor?
Labor alone usually falls between $100 and $350 for a bathroom faucet and $120 to $480 for a kitchen one, assuming you bought the fixture and the shutoffs work. If the plumber supplies the faucet, the all-in total is more often $200 to $600. A shutoff replacement adds to either figure.
What should a disposal swap run?
For a typical install, labor is near $300 and the total with the unit runs $300 to $600. First-time installs cost more because of wiring and switches, and a new outlet adds $120 to $200 in the Fixr guide. The wiring is a separate cost if no outlet exists.
Should a plumber fix a shower or can I do it?
A drip from the showerhead or the tub spout usually points to a worn cartridge or diverter, a repair many owners manage themselves. Leaks inside the wall, a valve body that is cracked, and anything needing tile removal belong with the plumber. The written quote sets the price of a cartridge swap.
Does buying the fixtures myself save money?
Often the part costs less at retail, and the plumber charges only labor, but you carry the risk of the wrong size or a defective unit. Some plumbers decline to stand behind a part they didn't supply, so ask first and keep receipts so the fittings can be matched.
Do any plumbers charge by the fixture rather than the hour?
Many use a flat price per faucet, commonly $150 to $250 in one guide, because the time is predictable. Complicated jobs switch to hourly rates, often $45 to $200 depending on the market and the plumber. Either way the written quote should say which applies and what the visit minimum is.
See the full service list on the Sunset Coast Plumbing home page.
Sources used
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