Guide / Water heater and boiler quotes, United States

Water heater or boiler replacement quote: what each line should say

Toshikatsu Oga / October 16, 2026

The five kinds of lines
Step 1: the unit, by model number and rating
Step 2: which add-ons are required, and where
Step 3: labor hours times a wage
Step 4: the permit, the haul-away and any credit
Boilers: little public price data, so ask for the numbers
Warning signs in the wording, not the numbers
What to ask the contractor, in one message
Questions
Sources

A water heater quote is five kinds of lines, and the add-ons are a code question before they are a price question. The unit should come with a model number you can look up. The Department of Energy's certification database lists each certified water heater's Uniform Energy Factor (UEF) and its first hour rating, or maximum gallons per minute for tankless models (DOE). Labor can be set against BLS wages for plumbers: $30.67 median and $52.13 at the 90th percentile per hour nationally (BLS OEWS, May 2025). Expansion tanks and seismic straps are required in some places and not others, and where the relief valve pipe may end differs by city, so ask which rule applies at your address. And a quote that subtracts a federal Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit is out of date. Section 25C is not allowed for property placed in service after December 31, 2025 (IRS).

The five kinds of lines

Kind	Typical wording	What you can check
Unit	50 gallon gas tank, tankless, heat pump water heater	Model number against the DOE database or ENERGY STAR: UEF, first hour rating, volume
Labor	Remove and install, 1 plumber and helper	Hours times BLS wages, as plain wages
Code items	Expansion tank, T&P valve and discharge pipe, seismic straps, pan, vent, gas or electrical work	Your city's rule for each one, and which device or condition triggers it
Permit	Plumbing permit, inspection	The city's fee and the permit number
Haul-away	Disposal of old tank	No public benchmark; ask flat fee or disposal charge

Our Teardown 03 reads an illustrative $3,480 Hayward, CA quote where the add-on lines came to 30% of the total, and shows why the expansion tank is a yes-or-no question about the house, not a price question.

Step 1: the unit, by model number and rating

"50 gallon gas water heater" is a category, not a product. Ask for the model number, then look it up. The DOE Compliance Certification Database for water heaters lists each model's type, rated storage volume, draw pattern, UEF and first hour rating, or maximum gallons per minute for tankless models. It also links each model's FTC EnergyGuide label (DOE CCD). The page adds two cautions. It is "updated approximately every two weeks." And "the appearance of a model on this web site is not an indication that DOE has determined that the model is compliant" with DOE standards.

ENERGY STAR publishes the bar a model must clear to carry its label (ENERGY STAR criteria):

Gas storage, over 20 and up to 55 gallons: UEF at least 0.81 (medium draw) or 0.86 (high draw); first hour rating at least 51 gallons.
Gas tankless: UEF at least 0.95, and at least 2.8 gallons per minute over a 67 degree rise.
Integrated heat pump water heater: UEF at least 3.30, or at least 2.20 for models on a 120 volt, 15 amp circuit; first hour rating at least 45 gallons.

Compare quotes on the same model, or on the same UEF and first hour rating. A heat pump unit with a UEF above 3 and a gas tank near 0.8 are different products at different prices.

A floor, not a price. Census import records for January to July 2026 count 1,663,057 electric storage water heaters (HS 8516.10.0040). Their CIF value was $363,544,181, and calculated duty was $5,597,717 (Census). That is ($363,544,181 + $5,597,717) / 1,663,057 = $221.97 per heater, landed and duty paid, computed in USCCDB. It mixes every size and brand, and leaves out U.S.-made heaters, inland freight, customs fees and all markups. It says nothing about gas, tankless or heat pump units.

Step 2: which add-ons are required, and where

Water heater rules are set by your state and city, and they differ. The table shows what a few published rules say. Your own building department decides for your house.

Line	What a published rule says	Where
Expansion tank	"An expansion tank is required for any system with a check valve, backflow preventer or pressure regulator"	Hayward, CA
Expansion tank	Where a storage water heater's cold water passes through "a check valve, pressure reducing valve or backflow preventer," a thermal expansion control device shall be connected (2018 IPC 607.3)	Colorado DOLA memo
Expansion tank	"An expansion tank is required on a closed system (water well connected system)."	Long Grove, IL
T&P discharge pipe	May end at the floor, the water heater pan, a waste receptor or outdoors; no more than 6 inches above the floor, waste receptor or floor drain; no valves or tees; no threads at the end (2021 IRC P2804.6.1, as summarized by ICC)	ICC model code
T&P discharge pipe	Drained to the exterior, ending 6 to 24 inches above the ground, pointing down; "Discharge from a relief valve into a drainage pan shall be prohibited."	Roseville, CA
Seismic straps	All new and replacement water heaters "shall be braced, anchored, or strapped to resist falling or horizontal displacement due to earthquake motion"	California, Health and Safety Code 19211
Seismic straps	At least two straps, one in the top third and one in the bottom third, the lower one at least 4 inches above the controls	Roseville, CA
Pan	"Pan with drain required when water heater is located over space where leakage could cause damage to structure."	Hayward, CA
Garage	"A gas fired water heater in a garage must be raised 18 inches above the floor."	Palatine, IL

Two things follow. First, the same T&P pipe can be right in one town and wrong in the next, so a contractor's "code requires it" should come with the code and section. Second, the expansion tank depends on a device in your plumbing, so ask which one and where it is.

Changing type changes the work. Going from a gas tank to tankless or to a heat pump can mean new venting, a larger gas line or a new electrical circuit. ENERGY STAR sets a lower UEF bar (2.20) for heat pump water heaters on a 120 volt, 15 amp circuit (ENERGY STAR), so ask what circuit your model needs. Lines like a recirculation pump, a water softener or an extended warranty are upgrades you choose. If one is called required, ask for the code section.

Step 3: labor hours times a wage

Find the crew and the hours, then multiply. The BLS May 2025 national wage for plumbers, pipefitters and steamfitters (SOC 47-2152) is $30.67 median and $52.13 at the 90th percentile per hour. For their helpers (SOC 47-3015) it is $20.36 median and $27.78 at the 90th percentile (BLS OEWS).

A plumber and a helper for one 8-hour day:

Median: 8 x $30.67 = $245.36, plus 8 x $20.36 = $162.88, total $408.24.
90th percentile: 8 x $52.13 = $417.04, plus 8 x $27.78 = $222.24, total $639.28.

Those are plain wages, not billing rates. Insurance, payroll taxes, the truck, tools, overhead and profit sit on top. Some quotes say "installed" and fold labor into the unit price, as in Teardown 03; then the wage cannot be set against anything. Ask for the hours apart from the heater.

Step 4: the permit, the haul-away and any credit

Many cities require a permit for a replacement. Hayward says "A plumbing permit is required to install, remove, replace or relocate a water heater," and a final inspection is required after installation (Hayward). Roseville says all replacements "require a permit and final inspection" (Roseville). Fees are local: Palatine, IL lists its water heater permit fee as $103.00 (Palatine). Ask whether the permit line is the city's fee or includes the contractor's time, and ask for the permit number.

Haul-away has no public benchmark. Ask whether it is a flat fee or a disposal charge.

Then check any credit the quote subtracts. The federal Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit (25C) "will not be allowed for any property placed in service after December 31, 2025" (IRS FAQ). Utility and state rebates may still exist; ask for the program name and amount in writing, and who files for it.

If a contractor says a new federal rule forces a certain type of heater now, ask which rule. DOE's page lists compliance with its 2024 amended consumer water heater standards as "required on and after May 6, 2029." Its separate gas-fired instantaneous rule says December 26, 2029 (DOE).

Boilers: little public price data, so ask for the numbers

A boiler heats water for radiators, baseboard or radiant floors (hydronic heating), and some also make your hot water. We know of no public price series for residential boiler replacement, so the check is the same in shape: model number, rating, labor, and what the small lines contain.

Efficiency. Boilers are rated by AFUE. ENERGY STAR requires at least 90% for gas and 87% for oil, for residential boilers with an input under 300,000 Btu per hour (ENERGY STAR Boilers V3.0). Ask for the model's AFUE in writing.
Size. Ask for the input and output in Btu per hour, and how the size was chosen. "Same as the old one" repeats whatever went in last time.
The small lines. Circulator pumps, expansion tank, near-boiler piping, venting and any condensate drain. Ask which are new and which are reused.
Hot water. If the boiler also makes domestic hot water, ask whether through a built-in coil (combi) or a separate tank, and get that tank's model number too.
Permit. Long Grove, IL, for one, sets permit conditions for residential boiler replacement with a final inspection (Long Grove). Ask your city.

Warning signs in the wording, not the numbers

"Code requires an expansion tank" with no device named. In Hayward the trigger is a check valve, backflow preventer or pressure regulator (Hayward). Ask which one you have.
"50 gallon gas, installed" with no model number. Without it the UEF and first hour rating cannot be checked (DOE CCD).
"After your federal tax credit." Section 25C ended for property placed in service after December 31, 2025 (IRS).
A typed form waiving your right to cancel. A sale of $25 or more made at your home is generally covered by the FTC Cooling-Off Rule, which gives you until midnight of the third business day to cancel, with some exclusions. The emergency exception applies only if you started the contact, and it requires a separate dated, signed statement "in the buyer's handwriting" that describes the emergency and waives that right (16 CFR Part 429). See what to do when the price is only good today.
"No permit needed for a swap." Hayward and Roseville both require one, with a final inspection (Hayward; Roseville). Ask your city before you agree.

What to ask the contractor, in one message

The model number of the new unit, its UEF and first hour rating (for tankless, maximum gallons per minute; for a boiler, its AFUE and input and output in Btu per hour).
For the expansion tank: which device in my plumbing requires it, and where is it?
Where the relief valve discharge pipe will end, and which code section that follows.
Whether venting, the gas line or the electrical circuit changes, and the price of each change.
Crew size and hours behind the labor line, apart from the heater.
The permit fee, the permit number once pulled, and whether the price includes the final inspection.
Whether haul-away is a flat fee or a disposal charge, and any rebate by program name and amount.

If you would rather not do it line by line, upload the quote and we do it, with every source and formula printed beside every number. We are paid by homeowners only and take no fee from contractors. Check a quote from $39, or get a free teardown first.

Questions

Is an expansion tank required when you replace a water heater?

It depends on your city and your plumbing. Hayward, CA requires one for any system with a check valve, backflow preventer or pressure regulator, and the 2018 International Plumbing Code text quoted by Colorado's Division of Housing ties it to the same kinds of devices. Ask the contractor which device your house has.

Do I need seismic straps on a water heater?

In California, yes, for standard water heaters of up to 120 gallons. Health and Safety Code Section 19211 says all new and replacement water heaters, and all existing residential water heaters, shall be braced, anchored or strapped to resist falling or horizontal displacement due to earthquake motion. Elsewhere, ask your building department.

Is there a federal tax credit for a water heater in 2026?

Not under Section 25C. The IRS says the Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit will not be allowed for any property placed in service after December 31, 2025. Utility and state rebates may still exist; ask for the program name and amount in writing.

How do I check a water heater's efficiency rating?

Get the model number and look it up in the Department of Energy's Compliance Certification Database for water heaters, which lists the Uniform Energy Factor (UEF), first hour rating and rated storage volume. ENERGY STAR publishes the minimum UEF a model needs for its label, such as 3.30 for an integrated heat pump water heater.

What does a plumber earn per hour?

The BLS May 2025 national wage for plumbers, pipefitters and steamfitters is $30.67 median and $52.13 at the 90th percentile per hour. That is pay, not a billing rate: insurance, taxes, overhead and profit sit on top.

Sources

Every figure above links to the public record it comes from. Wages were looked up in USCCDB v1.0, which carries the BLS file as published. Agency pages, reports and rules are quoted as published on October 16, 2026; check the source for changes.

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