How long do common plumbing jobs take?

Here are typical time ranges for the jobs people ask about most. Treat every number as an estimate that can shift with home age, pipe access, and what a plumber finds once work starts.

A few patterns stand out. Single-fixture swaps are measured in minutes to a couple of hours. Diagnostic visits like a camera inspection are short. Whole-system work and anything under a concrete slab moves into days. The single biggest reason a job runs past the estimate is something the plumber cannot see until the wall, cabinet, or floor is open.

A standard tank water heater swap usually runs about 2 to 4 hours. That covers draining the old unit, disconnecting water and fuel, setting the new tank, reconnecting, and waiting for it to fill and heat. Water heating is the second-largest energy use in a typical home, so this is a job worth getting right rather than rushing. The U.S. Department of Energy notes that "water heating accounts for about 18% of your home's energy use," which is why a careful, correct install matters more than shaving 20 minutes.

A tankless water heater takes longer than a tank swap, often most of a day, especially on a first-time conversion. The unit needs the right gas supply, venting, and a mounting location, and gas models may need a larger gas line. If you are weighing a tankless unit, sizing is part of the time: the DOE recommends sizing a tankless heater by flow rate and temperature rise so it can keep up with your peak demand. That planning step happens before install day, but a mis-sized choice can mean redo work.

A faucet replacement is one of the quicker jobs, about 30 to 60 minutes. The work is shutting off the supply stops, removing the old faucet, setting and sealing the new one, and checking for leaks. It runs long when the shutoff valves under the sink are corroded and need replacing too, or when an old faucet is seized to the deck.

A toilet replacement runs about 1 to 1.5 hours: pull the old toilet, replace the wax ring and any worn bolts, set the new bowl, level it, and connect the supply. Hard-water buildup on old bolts or a damaged flange can add time.

Clearing a drain ranges from under an hour to a couple of hours. A simple sink or tub clog near the trap clears fast. A main-line stoppage farther down the system takes longer, because the plumber has to locate the cleanout, run a cable or hydro jetter the full distance, and confirm the line flows. If one fixture backs up, it is usually a quick branch-line job. If several fixtures back up at once, the blockage is deeper and the job grows.

A sewer camera inspection typically takes about 30 to 60 minutes. The plumber feeds a camera through a cleanout and watches the line on a monitor for grease, roots, bellies, or breaks. It is a diagnostic step, not a repair, so it is short, but it often comes paired with drain clearing, which adds time. Tree roots are a common find in older lines; the EPA's national data attributes roughly one-quarter of blockage-caused sewer overflows to roots, with grease the single largest cause at about 47%.

Both jobs can stretch when the line is hard to reach. Phoenix slab homes usually have the cleanout outside near the foundation or property line rather than in a basement, which is generally good for access, but a buried or paved-over cleanout slows things down.

A whole-house repipe runs about 2 to 5 days. The material matters: PEX is faster to install than copper because it is flexible and needs fewer fittings, so PEX repipes often land near 1 to 2 days while copper jobs run longer. The rest of the timeline depends on home size, number of bathrooms, number of stories, and how easy it is to reach the pipes. After the new pipes pass inspection, drywall patching and paint add separate days that are usually handled by another trade. For a full breakdown, see our guide on how long a whole-house repipe takes.

A slab leak repair or reroute runs about 1 to 2 days or more. Phoenix homes are mostly slab-on-grade with water lines run in or under the concrete, so leaks there are common and the fix is involved. The plumber first locates the leak with electronic equipment, then chooses between opening the slab to spot-repair the line or rerouting a new line through walls or the attic to bypass the bad section. A reroute avoids jackhammering but takes routing time. Soil movement and high water pressure are common drivers behind these leaks, and a complicated location adds hours.

These are the jobs where the estimate is most likely to move. Hidden corrosion, multiple leak points, or a line that runs under a kitchen island instead of an exterior wall all push the timeline out.

Several things stretch a job past its baseline range. A good plumber will name the likely ones up front so you are not surprised.

• Access. Pipes buried in a slab, run through a tight crawl space, or hidden behind cabinets and tile take longer to reach than pipes in an open wall.
• Old or corroded parts. Seized shutoff valves, rusted fittings, and brittle old pipe often need replacing before the main work can start.
• Slab work. Anything that means opening or routing around a concrete slab adds hours or days versus the same fix in an accessible wall.
• Permits and inspections. Permitted work adds inspection time, because the job pauses for a city inspector to review it before it is closed up.
• Multiple problems found. Opening one wall often reveals a second issue. A faucet job can turn into a valve job; a drain clearing can reveal a broken line.

On permits, like-for-like water heater replacement by a licensed contractor in a one- or two-family home is generally exempt from a Phoenix permit, but a repipe, gas work, or a new fixture line is not. The International Plumbing Code is clear that inspected work cannot be closed up early: the IPC requires that "work shall remain accessible and exposed for inspection purposes until approved." That rule protects you, and it is a real reason permitted jobs run longer than unpermitted ones.

This is also why a good plumber gives a time estimate up front. A clear estimate tells you the expected range, names the things that could extend it, and lets you plan your day or arrange water shutoff. If a job involves the water heater, ask whether the unit needs flushing or, for a tankless model, descaling on the same visit; Navien advises descaling tankless heaters "at least annually," and in hard Phoenix water more often, which is a short add-on that can be scheduled rather than a surprise. For how pricing connects to time, see how much a plumber costs in Phoenix, and to know which jobs trigger inspection time, see what plumbing work needs a permit in Phoenix.