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I own a small plumbing company. I answer an emergency call today from some guy whining about water in his utility room and not being able to get WiFi. I explain that I'm on a job and will be there around 4pm. He howls about wrenches and rude neighbors and sputters about his WiFi again so I tell him I'll drop everything and get right out. I hope the home-bound retiree I'm leaving without water will be OK.

When I arrive the homeowner is in his bath robe and is still ranting like a fiend. Eventually he shows me his utility room where I find a corroded dielectric union. I tell him the best solution is to replace the union but I'll need to shut-off his water and drain the tank to do it properly since the water heater was installed improperly and I'll have to modify his supply. Total job cost is $600.

Dude almost passed out! Started screaming about how he "installed the water heater myself 3 years before and how dare I tell him it's wrong. $600 is highway robbery!"

Then he had the nerve to ask me to borrow a wrench! Idiot!

In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem. ~ Ronald Reagan

Funny story. Only about 3/5^ths wrong, especially the part about DIY WH install.

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Government can give you nothing but what it takes from somebody else. A government big enough to give you everything you want is big enough to take everything you've got, including your freedom.-Ezra Taft Benson
You must accept 1 of 2 basic premises: Either we are alone in the universe or we are not alone. Either way, the implications are staggering!-Wernher von Braun

TheGreatAndPowerfulOz wrote:
3/5^ths

This is 1/6^th wrong. Poke tongue | ;-P

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LOL.

Touché.

#SupportHeForShe
Government can give you nothing but what it takes from somebody else. A government big enough to give you everything you want is big enough to take everything you've got, including your freedom.-Ezra Taft Benson
You must accept 1 of 2 basic premises: Either we are alone in the universe or we are not alone. Either way, the implications are staggering!-Wernher von Braun

So while investigating why my home wired network was not working, I discovered the switch was off due to a breaker being thrown because of water in my utility room from my water heater spraying water from a fitting. Not having a wrench handy (and my neighbors not answering phones) I called a plumber. They wanted $600. I told them "No!". I eventually got a wrench and tightened what turned out to be a loose fitting (the dielectric union had come loose).

All of which took 30 seconds.

Idiot. Had he said $50, I would have said "Do it". He looked genuinely surprised when I said "No" and acted kinda awkward as if he'd never had that experience before.

Grrr.

#SupportHeForShe
Government can give you nothing but what it takes from somebody else. A government big enough to give you everything you want is big enough to take everything you've got, including your freedom.-Ezra Taft Benson
You must accept 1 of 2 basic premises: Either we are alone in the universe or we are not alone. Either way, the implications are staggering!-Wernher von Braun

Ah, the joys of home ownership. Sigh.

if (Object.DividedByZero == true) { Universe.Implode(); }
Meus ratio ex fortis machina. Simplicitatis de formae ac munus. -Foothill, 2016

The joys of emergency plumbing... Sigh | :sigh:

Bad command or file name. Bad, bad command! Sit! Stay! Staaaay...
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Foothill wrote:
Ah, the joys of home ownership. Sigh.

kids today.

Once needed some plumbing work done moving a toilet a few feet over.

Quotes starting at $2000 plus whatever the builder would charge for his part of the work.

Final cost, about $150 (including new toilet set) and about an hour on google.

not hard at all. (And because the move was under 4 feet no permit or certified plumber was actually required.)

Next job was electrics, found out the original "certified" electrician had crossed the wires to the fluorescent lights - why they used to glow at night when switched off. Easy stuff.

Also done floors, framed walls (only cheat was pre-fabed framing direct from supplier - cheap), stair cases, complete bathroom, ceiling tiles, fences, window glass, brick work, basic mechanical.

Tradesmen don't cost a fortune because the work is hard,
rather they are 100% preying on laziness. (it's all on google, no excuses.)

Sin tack
the any key okay

Lopatir wrote:
Quotes starting at $2000...

How much of that was materials?

"One man's wage rise is another man's price increase." - Harold Wilson

"Fireproof doesn't mean the fire will never come. It means when the fire comes that you will be able to withstand it." - Michael Simmons

"You can easily judge the character of a man by how he treats those who can do nothing for him." - James D. Miles

At a guess, about $150... Wink | ;)

Bad command or file name. Bad, bad command! Sit! Stay! Staaaay...
AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!

Yep, done all that. And as a result have respect for those who choose that as their day job, day-in-day-out. It may be simple to do, as in not complicated, but it's not easy work.

#SupportHeForShe
Government can give you nothing but what it takes from somebody else. A government big enough to give you everything you want is big enough to take everything you've got, including your freedom.-Ezra Taft Benson
You must accept 1 of 2 basic premises: Either we are alone in the universe or we are not alone. Either way, the implications are staggering!-Wernher von Braun

Lopatir wrote:
they are 100% preying on laziness. (it's all on google, no excuses.)

I myself am working towards never needing to hire a 'professional' when it comes to home repair and improvement. First step was spending 3 days over the Memorial Day weekend building a workbench in my garage. It was about $650 in materials but the thing is very sturdy. It has a peg board, its own independent power panel, and several stand-alone 20A circuits. It ate up most of the holiday and it was hard work but it's done now and I can now start working on more ambitious projects. Thumbs Up | :thumbsup:

if (Object.DividedByZero == true) { Universe.Implode(); }
Meus ratio ex fortis machina. Simplicitatis de formae ac munus. -Foothill, 2016

Maybe it won't wind up like my workbench...covered with junk and nowhere to work! Laugh | :laugh:

"Go forth into the source" - Neal Morse

My workbench is clean as a whistle - because I never get near the thing! Laugh | :laugh:

Get me coffee and no one gets hurt!

House rules: For every project you do, you get to buy a new tool.

Arguing with a woman is like reading the Software License Agreement. In the end, you ignore everything and click "I agree".
Anonymous

I like that rule. With this project, I finally got to use my Christmas present[^].

if (Object.DividedByZero == true) { Universe.Implode(); }
Meus ratio ex fortis machina. Simplicitatis de formae ac munus. -Foothill, 2016

Very nice, have one I used to saw crown molding, a thumb and 2 fingers. Laugh | :laugh:

Arguing with a woman is like reading the Software License Agreement. In the end, you ignore everything and click "I agree".
Anonymous

Lopatir wrote:
preying on laziness

or preying on people that don't want to spend 3 days doing something that could be done by someone, who knows what they are doing, in a couple of hours.

"the debugger doesn't tell me anything because this code compiles just fine" - random QA comment
"Facebook is where you tell lies to your friends. Twitter is where you tell the truth to strangers." - chriselst
"I don't drink any more... then again, I don't drink any less." - Mike Mullikins uncle

I can handle most of the basics myself...

But some stuff I rely on the abilities of others within my small community. As a member of the local Volunteer FD I have access to plumbers, electricians, masons, and any other of the other "construction" trades that I need. And I am more than happy to share my IT and other abilities with them.

Director of Transmogrification Services
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Did you try turning the water heater off then back on again?

Glad your DIY adventure with a water heater turned out better than mine! (which I still consider to be one of the dumbest things I've ever done...as an adult)
Hint: it involved changing out an element without draining the tank.

Another hint: it didn't end well. Laugh | :laugh:

I can laugh about it now. I posted here when it happened and will have to find it now.

"Go forth into the source" - Neal Morse

kmoorevs wrote:
without draining the tank

That must've been a mess!

kmoorevs wrote:
it didn't end well.

So, you still don't have a water heater? Rose | [Rose]

#SupportHeForShe
Government can give you nothing but what it takes from somebody else. A government big enough to give you everything you want is big enough to take everything you've got, including your freedom.-Ezra Taft Benson
You must accept 1 of 2 basic premises: Either we are alone in the universe or we are not alone. Either way, the implications are staggering!-Wernher von Braun

I can't find the original post but yes, it was a mess. There are lots of youtube videos showing guys changing out the element with just a small amount of leakage. This works due to the vacuum effect...al faucets closed and pressure at the inlet turned off. I must have watched a dozen of them before attempting it...carefully following every step:
0: turn off power
1: turn off inlet valve (the only one on my tank)
2: open tap to remove any pressure (funny, there isn't any)
3: remove electrical connections
4: use the horrible specialty tool (cheap, thin 1.25'' socket with a handle) to break the bottom element loose...so far, so good
5: with the new element ready and positioned in one hand, slowly loosen the old element...this is where it all went south OMG | :OMG:

6: ~~quickly pull the old element out and push the new one in while losing less than a cup of water~~ wonder why water is starting to spew from around the element...it didn't look like this in the video??? just another quarter turn and... WTF | :WTF:

Water was gushing out of the hole I had just opened in this water heater, stuck into a small closet in my home office. The old element had been pushed out by the force, so now I'm trying in vain to push the new one in and get the threads started...the harder I pushed, the more water is spraying in my face and all over the place. I quickly notice that I'm sitting in a large puddle that is getting bigger by the second. The only option I had was to get a wrench and get to the street cutoff valve...which probably took less than a minute. By that time, I estimated (by the number of shop vac empties) around 60 gallons had managed to soak the carpet and padding in my office. (sore back)

What had I done wrong? I had trusted a plumber...the valve on top of my tank is not on the inlet side. Confused | :confused:

Lesson learned.

"Go forth into the source" - Neal Morse

When I were mechanicing my biggest earners were people who had tried to rebuild an engine on their own and nearly always failed to charge it with oil prior to firing it up. Voila, something would invariably go thunk.

Note: we always took pride in not screwing people over - we might have laughed at their stupidity but you can still do good business without being an ass.

R. Giskard Reventlov wrote:
we might have laughed at their stupidity but you can still do good business without being an ass.

M.D.V.

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