DrEvyl

iTrader: (5)

...and blossomed into a complete ******* debacle.

My GTO has been beeping at me to change the oil for days, so being that Saturday was nice and sunny, it seemed like the perfect day. I didn't have a lot planned for the day, so it was basically a nice leisurely afternoon working on the car. Little did I know just how far south things were about to go..

So I finished up the oil change, and started putting everything away and cleaning up.... I store my ramps right next to the water heater (which is in my garage)... and as I lifted one of them up to put it away, it slipped out of my hand. When it fell... it fell directly on the drain valve for the water heater... which was plastic, and subsequently broke completely off... unleashing a flood of spraying water in my garage.

So now I'm running around my garage like a chicken with it's head cut off trying to get anything that can't get wet out of the way... unplugging electrical items, etc.. By the time I get done and get the water supply to the water heater turned off, there's probably 1/2" of water in my garage. The entire 50 gallon contents and then some were now on my garage floor.

After looking at it, I figured I might be able to just replace that valve... and I did find a replacement for it... but after I came back home to work on it, I quickly realized that who ever had installed the water heater had glued the old valve in... and I ended up destroying the threads where the value screwed in trying to get the old piece out.

So guess what... I get to buy a new water heater... ****.

$979 later, I have one being installed this morning.... and only $318 of that is the actual water heater... Thanks to King County, I get to install a bunch of other stupid things like an expansion tank with it... and permits... You need a permit to install a freakin water heater. Talk about gay. I'd like to kick the person who came up with that idea.

So I'm staying home from work today so I can have hot water again.. That took a nice bite out of my budget.

Numba1Stunna

iTrader: (4)

979 holy ****, its not to bad to install your self the hardest part is the soldering and thats not bad at all. Good luck

DrEvyl

iTrader: (5)

I'm selling the house in about 6 months, so I have to make sure it's done right... otherwise it's gonna come back and bite me on the butt.

XLR8N

iTrader: (3)

dude that is shitty, its a good thing you had the cash to fix it or youd be in a world of hurt. hope everything goes well with the sell.

brody

Rawr256

Well at least it didn't damage one of the cars. After reading the first sentance I thought it was going that way. Hope everything works out. Just be thinking about the extra clink you should be making back on the house after the sale.

Boodyrider

iTrader: (2)

Now THAT is one expensive oil change!

You did at least get synthetic for that orice, right?

Tails

Zeke,
That sucks. So on the bright side by selling your house you won't have the continously muddy driveway to contend with anymore?

DrEvyl

iTrader: (5)

Yeah, I won't have to deal with that any more... well, actually, I regraded the driveway last year so it at least hasn't been muddy like it was before... it's all gravel now.

But that water heater was 20 years old so I can't really say it's a bad thing I changed it.... it will actually be a better selling point on the house... new roof, new water heater, all new appliances, and I'm updating both bathrooms and the kitchen before we sell.

wws699

iTrader: (3)

That sucks dude! I kind of got a chuckle out of it though because it brought back a memory of me doing the same damn thing only thing being different was mine was inside the house. 2" of standing water in the house talk about Oh ****! Oh **** Oh ****!

And for what its worth you dont need a permit or an expansion tank for a replacement waterheater only for new Installs!

DrEvyl

iTrader: (5)

Yeah, that was me in my garage... the first thing me noticing was that the cord for the trickle charger on my Formula was rapidly being encroached by a wave of water... I'm running all over my garage going OH **** OH **** OH ****, and not even thinking about turning off the incoming water supply.



At least I could squeegee the garage out real easily.

I don't need the permit, but they would not install it without the expansion tank. At any rate, it's in and I have hot water again..

Yay, now I can take a shower...

MrsSeaHawk

That depends on where you live. Lots of cities require a permit for replacements as well, ostensibly to ensure they're up to code. Really though, it's just to get your $50. We had to do it last year. I was irritated because they did the install, but didn't get the permit until after the fact. Since my office was about 40 feet from the permit center, I made sure they got it, since they wouldn't let me get it myself.

karthalin

I wonder if I needed a permit to move my water heater... heh... Just decided that in the middle of the living room was a bad place for it when we bought the house. Stuck it in in old 1940s shower area with a drain. At least if it breaks it wont flood anything.