The Super Official Homeowners Thread

[WRXtranceformed]

Speaking of unexpected home repairs: My wife noticed black soot coming out from above the overflow valve on our hot water heater. This is super odd because our HWH is electric. I spoke with the manufacturer and since it's so new the parts are under warranty, but labor is not. Had a plumber come out today and they will work with the manufacturer to replace it first thing tomorrow morning no questions asked. Labor is $250, and I could probably shop that around but honestly the first 2 contractors I called wouldn't even call me back or said they weren't interested in the work. I appreciate that these guys cared enough and knew it was a big enough deal to have someone at our house in literally an hour. Totally worth it for the peace of mind to not have to worry about my house burning down or that thing turning into a bomb

[CaptainHenreh]

Speaking of unexpected home repairs:  My wife noticed black soot coming out from above the overflow valve on our hot water heater.  This is super odd because our HWH is electric.  I spoke with the manufacturer and since it's so new the parts are under warranty, but labor is not.  Had a plumber come out today and they will work with the manufacturer to replace it first thing tomorrow morning no questions asked.  Labor is $250, and I could probably shop that around but honestly the first 2 contractors I called wouldn't even call me back or said they weren't interested in the work.  I appreciate that these guys cared enough and knew it was a big enough deal to have someone at our house in literally an hour.  Totally worth it for the peace of mind to not have to worry about my house burning down or that thing turning into a bomb

I replaced my water heater literally by myself in 20 minutes. Why spend the money?

[JPolen01]

You drained and removed the old one and wired/soldered the connections for the new one in 20 minutes? That's insanely fast. Two plumbers took about an hour and half to do mine when we moved in.

[ViPER1313]

I could see it taking under an hour if the connections are on flexible hoses.

[.RJ]

Warranty is not friendly to DIY, unfortunately

[ViPER1313]

They have to prove installer error just like a car....

Gods honest truth is I trust my install more than most “professional” installations. I have seen countless installers cut corners and do shady stuff because “it’s what they have on the truck.” When I am doing a job I take my time because I care about the result. The only thing Joe the plumber gives a F about is getting to all his calls that day. Your job will be rushed as necessary to make those other jobs.

[.RJ]

Yes, but to the manufacturer they dont know the difference between someone who cares and someone who's going to hack some shit together. At least with a 'pro' they are in theory a licensed/bonded/insured and someone has validated that they know how to do this work.

FWIW, we have had some hot water issues in the new house and I called a plumbing company out to resolve it. I'm sure I could have done it for 1/2 the price myself but the guy was there for 5 hours, he was nice, professional, fixed what he said was wrong, cleaned up after himself and everything worked great afterwards. I am pleasantly surprised and satisfied. I'll call them back when its time to ditch the fucking heater in the middle of the laundry room for a tankless.

[Sijray21]

repair work of any kind, whether that's on cars or houses or something else is based on a persons preference to how they spend their money, if they have the skill to do the work, and state of comfort one has to do the work and handle any complications. the first is obviously a choice, the second is a lot easier thanks to the internet, and the third is what prevents most from tackling any repairs (especially if something goes wrong).

i just hired a technician to replace a water heater a few weeks ago and the money paid was quite a bit, but i didn't have to lift a finger or spend time getting supplies, throwing away anything, repairing other aspects of the problem area (needed new valves and installed an expansion tank), and it was completed to code while i'm sitting back feeling pretty worry free. i didn't have to take any time off work, i didn't need to spend time researching how to do it, i didn't need to spend half a day getting the proper supplies, and i'm feeling worry free about the work. I could've tried to do that myself and i do applaud people that do, but i didn't really want to and i'm fortunately in a position where i can afford to do that without much impact on my financial situation.

[.RJ]

or you could be like the last guy that lived in my house and just not fucking fix anything

[CaptainHenreh]

You drained and removed the old one and wired/soldered the connections for the new one in 20 minutes? That's insanely fast. Two plumbers took about an hour and half to do mine when we moved in.

I drained while I was at work, although that's hardly labor intensive, then came home on my lunchbreak and banged it out. No soldering required, wiring was easy, old tank in the truck and back to work within the hour.

[Apoc]

Oh you mean people have preferences about paying vs doing?

I went to college so I didn't have to debate this, again.

[WRXtranceformed]

Speaking of unexpected home repairs:  My wife noticed black soot coming out from above the overflow valve on our hot water heater.  This is super odd because our HWH is electric.  I spoke with the manufacturer and since it's so new the parts are under warranty, but labor is not.  Had a plumber come out today and they will work with the manufacturer to replace it first thing tomorrow morning no questions asked.  Labor is $250, and I could probably shop that around but honestly the first 2 contractors I called wouldn't even call me back or said they weren't interested in the work.  I appreciate that these guys cared enough and knew it was a big enough deal to have someone at our house in literally an hour.  Totally worth it for the peace of mind to not have to worry about my house burning down or that thing turning into a bomb

I replaced my water heater literally by myself in 20 minutes. Why spend the money?

Because I can?

I have done a lot of home repairs myself (including some minor plumbing) but I am not going to apologize for not wanting to deal with a plumbing parts supplier and how they're handling the parts warranty with the manufacturer, uninstalling the old water heater, coordinating the removal of the old one / getting the new one here, moving it around and doing the electrical wiring myself.  It's frankly just not worth saving the money when this will be done in a few hours tomorrow morning and I don't have to lift a finger...and I can point that unlifted finger at someone else if it fails again

[ViPER1313]

Different strokes.

I get the ease of having people do jobs and always pay when the labor required is prohibitive to completing the job in a reasonable time period. For example, there is no way I can replace a roof or redo my driveway. That being said, I also feel like a lot of people are unnecessarily spooked of common household repairs on electrical / plumbing / HVAC systems. Where you both said “I didn’t have to worry about it being done right since a professional did it” I have the exact opposite feeling - how did that guy fuck this install up or cheap out.

My windows installed by professionals were installed with pink insulation around them to seal the air gaps instead of low E foam even after being assured multiple times that foam would be used. (Lowe’s)

My carpets installed by professionals have serious runs in them because they didn’t use a power stretcher. (Lowe’s)

My base cabinets installed by professionals were so un-level I ripped them out and reinstalled them myself.

My thermostat installed by a professional didn’t have the aux heat wire installed correctly for my second stage on the heat pump. (Griffen HVAC)

2 new toilet shutoff valves leaked at the pipe-valve connector because compression sittings were not tightened sufficiently (Reliant? Plumbing)

It’s really been about 50/50 with installs being done right or half assed. Floors / roof / deck / 3 other windows (Lowe’s also) / countertops were done well.

[.RJ]

Stop Hiring Lowe's then. Pay peanuts get monkeys.

[Apoc]

Sounds like you need to use Yelp some more.

I've had pros I will not reuse, but I've never had something go so terribly I needed to do it myself or pay a second company.

I think people assume others don't it themselves because of fear or not wanting to understand how it works. It's like laundry - I COULD do it, but I don't get any satisfaction from it, so I'll gladly let someone else do it.

[WRXtranceformed]

I've got a lot of other things on my plate right now than worrying about lugging two 50 gallon water heaters around my garage

[.RJ]

I've got a lot of other things on my plate right now than worrying about lugging two 50 gallon water heaters around my garage

Good grief you might scratch a watch doing that 

---

Sounds like you need to use Yelp some more.

Does your phone get yelp?

[WRXtranceformed]

I've got a lot of other things on my plate right now than worrying about lugging two 50 gallon water heaters around my garage

Good grief you might scratch a watch doing that 

---

Sounds like you need to use Yelp some more.

Does your phone get yelp?

I got a G-Shock for that kind of work    (that I pay someone else to do)

[Apoc]

I am taking my faucet apart tomorrow to fix a water flow issue.

Does that count??

[.RJ]

what are you a HS dropout?