What is the average labor cost to install a 50 gallon gas water heater?
There is no average we can honestly publish, and we do not split labor out as its own bill. After a free look you receive a single written figure that includes the tank, the installation, the code work, the permit and removal of the old heater.
On a 50 gallon gas heater, the vent and the gas line decide how much labor there is. If the existing vent is the right size for the new unit and the gas line already reaches the spot, it is a fairly quick job. If the vent has to be rerun or the gas line extended, the work grows.
The gas shutoff and the flexible gas connector are normally replaced along with the heater. A gas heater in a garage has to sit 18 inches off the floor, so a stand goes in underneath.
The least labor of all is a straight swap, a 50 gallon gas tank going in exactly where a 50 gallon gas tank came out.
Older gas heaters were often vented into a chimney or a shared flue alongside the furnace. When the furnace has been replaced with a high efficiency unit that vents through the wall, the water heater can be left alone on a flue sized for two, and that has to be checked and corrected during the swap.
Want it looked at?
Send a photo of the heater, its vent pipe and the gas line, and we will give you one price that includes the labor.