Pre-plumbing for water softener (home builder, store, install)

[xecluded]

Builder charge $850 to have Pre-plumbing for water softener on a new home while a watersoftener store charge $400 to install watersoftener system for house without pre-lumbing and $200 for house with pre-plumbing.

Would it be better to pay a little more for the home builder to install this and make sure it's done right and up to specs - no weird pipes hanging out in the wrong place, etc.... Or is it a no brainer, any reputable company can do this right.

[huma281]

Depends on where your main shut off valve is. If your valve is in the garage, it wouldn't be a problem for the water softener store to install it. If it was like my home where the shut off valve is on the other side of the home and they had to run piping across the ceiling to the garage, better to pay the builder.

[xecluded]

That makes perfect sense. Thank you much for the insight.

[DSL_PWR]

Easier to pay builder because of any warranty issues you may have.

Not sure where you are building but have you determined there is truly a need for a water softener?

[huma281]

Another plus to having the builder pre-plumb it, they'll install a drain (instead of having a tube come out to the middle/front of your garage). Make sure you have a outlet installed next to the water loop or where you want to have the water softener installed. I had my builder install two on the water loop wall. One for the softener and the other for sprinklers.

If you do get it pre-plumbed, you could also have them run the outside faucet after the softener for soft water when you're washing your car. If you don't plan on installing sprinklers, don't do this. The salt water isn't good for your plants.