Our October goals, originally, had nothing to do with laboring in the basement. We want to hike with our pups, watch leaves changing colors, watch ski movies, and hit thrift shops and flea markets. We will still work on the ranch, but after replacing the roof, grading around the house, and caulking every seam inside and out, we were done thinking about anything water-related. For heaven’s sake – I typed the phrase “water-proof” so many times that my browser now auto-completes it for me!
Just when we thought we were done with water. Water is not done with us. Last Saturday, in a bright, sunny morning, our basement flooded:
We had done so much to protect our house from water coming from the outside, and did not think that we could get water from within. Yep, it was the water heater – the last piece of major utility appliances we had not replaced:
Fortunately, we have a floor drain nearby and the leaked water went down there. The flood was pretty confined.
Slav immediately terminated the gas and cold water supply to the heater, and started to drain the hot water tank directly to the floor drain:
It was last weekend we opened up the utility room to the neighboring bedroom. Imagine how difficult it would have been to work with the water heater if we have not done that!
We happened to have just purchased a wireless endoscope. It was immediately put in use:
This endoscope/camera kit transmits signal wirelessly to our phones and tablets. After some probing, Slav caught this video from his phone:
He slowly retracted the probe end out of the water heater, so we could see that the leak is really close to the bottom of the rusted tank reservoir. It makes sense since that is the location with the highest pressure. It also meant that the leak would only stop when all the water was drained out.
It took almost the rest of the weekend before the tank was drained completely. During this time, we contacted our insurance company. We purchased a separate home warranty for a year, which covers major appliances and plumbing during our first year of home ownership. We got it with the old furnace and water heater in mind. We had replaced the furnace out-of-pocket during HVAC installation, so it is not a bad thing that the water heater went out during the first year of our ownership.
We submitted some pictures and the video showing the leak, and on Monday, the insurance company sent a plumber to complete a report. Our claim was of course accepted, but only for a basic water heater that matches our capacity and labor cost for simple replacement, which added up to merely $500. From the plumber’s quote, we knew that it would not be the actual cost, because codes have changed dramatically since the last water heater was installed 15 years ago. Even installing a new basic water heater would require us to switch tubing and modify the gas line, adding about another $500 which we have to pay out-of-pocket.
Slav called me at work mid-day to discuss all options and our preferences. We decided to get a tankless water heater instead of a standard one. For one, tankless is what we had wanted all along. Second, it will cost us as much as the plumber’s quote, which is about a grand, and Slav can install it himself to save the labor cost. Our insurance company agreed to cash-in, so we are still getting the $500 that would have gone to the plumber, and still paying another $500 out-of-pocket which would have gone to the plumber as well. So we might as well let the $1000 go to ourselves for a new tankless water heater.
When I got home from work on Monday, this was the first thing I saw walking down to the basement:
The man has clearly done something. Let me tell you – Slav is a very, very, very patient man. He is the most accommodating and gentle person I knew. But there is a limit. This house is clearly pressing his button with the old, rusty water heater. The misbehavior will not go unpunished.
Within a few short hours Monday afternoon, Slav has gotten the insurance company straightened out, gone to the city hall to get a permit for self-installation, gathered codes and manuals for installation, and decided on a water heater to purchase. He also (!) disconnected the water heater and capped the water and gas lines:
And kicked it out of his way:
For a high energy efficient tankless water heater, two 3-inches PVC pipes are required to be directly connected to the water heater to supply fresh air and exhaust. Slav removed old supply pipe (labeled with blue arrow in the picture below) along with the exhaust pipe directly above the heater.
This old fresh air supply pipe came from the back side of the house, went through the ceiling and was parallel to the PVC pipes for the new furnace. You can see it in the pictures below:
It came out of the back wall immediately to the right of our furnace PVC pipes, above the window well:
After we removed the dividing wall last weekend, the pipe was already exposed:
So Slav removed it completely to make room for the new 3-inch PVC pipes. In this way, we have both PVCs come out of the house just like the setup for our furnace, and the roof vent can be capped.
With insurance cash coming in, and permit on hand, Slav started planning pipe layout and getting all the supplies. The man is on the move!
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