HOT WATER

Some twenty-five years ago, I undertook one of my great home improvement projects. The house we've lived in for 37 years had an electric hot water heater that was too small for our growing family... and beside that, it stopped working. I installed a 50 gallon natural gas water heater.

I had to locate it, not where the old unit was, but in a location near our chimney so I could install a gas vent. The project involved running hot and cold water lines to the heater, running black iron gas piping to the heater and installing a vent.

The water piping wasn't too difficult because I knew a little bit about soldering copper tubing. The gas piping was a little tricky because I had to measure what pipe lengths I needed and have them cut and threaded at the local hardware store. To install the vent, I broke a hole into the chimney, ran the vent piping and mortared it in. I called the gas company to inspect it which they did for free. It all worked. I think it cost me less than $200.

Well, its leaking. They do that after a while. I hired a plumber to do the work this time. It was my birthday present to myself. Holy shit! Its costing over $700. I don't usually spend that much on anyone's birthday present.