Like, that totally sucks, man
10Went to bathe last night to warm up. Freezing water. Checked my water heater… that’s a leak!
So yeah, getting a new now. I don’t like being surprised by unexpected items breaking down. It totally sucks. But… what can I do except keep on keeping on 
(and honestly, not the worst thing ever, it’s why I have an emergency savings. Just $2k for a new fancy-schmancy water heater and install is a bummer) I considered a tankless water heater but it’s not practical for the farm house.
So… how’s your 4/20 going?
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This was the video I sent my husband
@mbersiam Huge bummer! I’ve been dealing with heating system and plumbing problems for a while - seems like when I get one problem fixed another one appears. Just one damn thing after another. Good luck.
@Kyeh we bought the farm back in July. There’s a lot the previous owners did to improve the place, but there’s some things I would have prioritized differently if I was spending the money they did. And they also did projects that look ok but if just 10% more effort was put in, they would have turned out great (like caulking around faucets or making sure cabinet drawers were able to stay on their tracks.)
It’s interesting to find the things I have. I know that I left the house I sold in better functional condition than I bought it. And it surprises me not all home owners do similar.
@mbersiam My house was owned by a couple who were followers of some small religious group, and a lot of the work on it was done by members of the group, or so we heard from the neighbors. They weren’t the best at what they did.
@Kyeh @mbersiam
https://ezinearticles.com/?Its-Always-Something---If-Its-Not-One-Thing,-Its-Another&id=2732547
@mbersiam @phendrick Yep.
you need a leakfrog!
@ACraigL Too bad they’re not sold anymore.
@narfcake I still have 2 functional ones from BOC’s from years back
@ACraigL Came here to say this. Hahaha
@ACraigL That little frog has saved me and family members from huge messes. I still have two plus I’ve purchased other water alarms. The frogs were the best.
@ACraigL @callow @narfcake @PooltoyWolf There is always Leak Bug.
https://www.amazon.com/Detector-detects-Electronic-Overflow-Battery/dp/B00OUD0QZC
Or Leak Dog.
https://www.amazon.com/Water-Alarm-Electronic-Detector-Detects/dp/B079Z9MFGH
BTDT, complete with drywall and wood platform damage. I ended up rigging a rope hoist to lift the water heater into place because lifting one up is hard enough, let alone lifting it up 20" off the floor and into an alcove.
@narfcake When my water heater failed about 20 years ago, I looked at the requirements for for lifting the damn thing off the floor (and worse), and decided that a little DIY would solve this problem by politely ignoring the current code. I figured that if it didn’t blow up the house in the first 40 years, it’s not going to blow it up now.
@narfcake Pro tip: lift the water heater before you fill it with water. You’re welcome.
@macromeh Considering we’re in a drought, Lowe’s probably would have doubled the price if it came with water!
The hoist I used is a gambel/pulley setup usually used for game. No tree, though; spanned a steel pipe that’s bolted to the wall studs instead for a hanging point. This allowed it to be slid in while elevated.
Filled my bowl with store brand mini-wheats, poured the milk on them.
The milk was the consistency of watery cottage cheese.
I had oatmeal instead.
@lisaviolet
@lisaviolet I don’t know which is more annoying and/or embarrassing; that, or having the kiddo say “Dad, I didn’t need extra protein in my cereal”, followed by noticing that grain weevils had gotten into it.
@lisaviolet Same milk?
I feel your pain and then some. My condo was built back when some really shitty quality PVC was allowed. Last year about 3 inches up on the outflow pipe from the water heater a pinhole leak formed. Nothing had touched that pipe since at least 2005.
Since you are not even allowed to sell a house with this carp PVC to get a reputable plumber out here required replacement of all the pipes. Since it didn’t add much to the cost new faucets (indoor and outdoor), water heater and shut off valves were done at the same time.
The only good part was that the water heater is in an outdoor utility closet that was empty at the time of the leak so nothing was damaged except for the drywall.
@yakkoTDI That sounds like they may have been polybutylene pipes…very well known for leaks over time.
@PooltoyWolf You are correct. I keep forgetting the correct name for that carp.
@PooltoyWolf @yakkoTDI There was a massive lawsuit against the makers of the original version of that stuff 30+ years ago. It was horrible; the pipe would pop loose from the fittings after about three years in service, flooding the whole house in minutes. Although they came out with an “improved” type that used clamps of some sort, it was still crap. You can’t get homeowner’s insurance in most places if the butyl pipe hasn’t been replaced.
@PooltoyWolf @werehatrack @yakkoTDI When I bought my house, the UG leak was indeed to the PB pipe. Repaired the one section, only for another split to develop a year later. That’s when I trenched the whole yard to install new PEX. Also it was installed in PVC conduit so it wasn’t directly exposed to the soil and it’ll make for easier repairs in the future – can do a cable pull instead of having to trench the yard again.
@narfcake @PooltoyWolf @werehatrack The insurance company is who said that as of 2006 you can 't sell a house with the PB pipes anymore. Sadly this condo was purchased right before that and I missed out on the settlement money that would have paid for our pipes to be replaced.
The good thing is that we never have to worry about it again.
How sure are you it is leaking?
My pilot light went out. When I lit it the tank was dripping water because of condensation.
We thought it was leaking too, but a quick call to the plummer said otherwise.
Sure enough when it got warm, the “leaking” stopped.
@caffeine_dude i got it replaced today finally. They went to drain it and it was empty. It was spurting water in a few places.
I just signed a contract this morning to have the rain gutters on my house replaced. The cost is a little over twice what it cost to have the original rain gutters installed when the house was built 24 years ago.
Yeah, yeah, I know - inflation…