I’ve been stretched to my tightwad limits this weekend. On Saturday evening, I gave my son a bath. The water seemed unusually cool. I thought I probably had just adjusted the temperature wrong.
After his bath, I headed off to the kitchen to feed the cats. I opened the pantry door to get the cat food and found water all over the pantry floor. My husband quickly ran outside to turn off the water main, while I mopped up the mess.
Turns out our water heater, which is housed in the pantry, sprung a leak. A big one. So big that we can’t turn on the water main.
Fortunately for us, we had insisted that the sellers of our house provide us with a home warranty when we bought our house last summer. The sellers paid for it, and it is good for a year, meaning our water heater is covered, minus a $60 fee for a service call. That’s the good news.
The bad news? In order to be covered, we need to jump through the hoops in the warranty contract. I had to call the service center on Sunday morning and request a service call. It’s a fully automated system, so there’s no option for an emergency call. The approved contractor will call us back during normal business hours. Which means, of course, we’ve been without running water since Saturday night, and by the time you read this, we will still be without water. I keep telling myself it will be worth it to not have to pay for a new water heater out of pocket.
What tightwad lessons have I learned? There are a few!
- When it comes to saving money, I am willing to do what it takes. Going without water instead of calling a plumber over the weekend has been difficult, but I’ll be thankful when the new water heater is installed…for $60 + any upgrades I choose.
- If you’re installing a new water heater, pay to have a water shut off valve installed near your water heater. Having no running water in the house is a pain. It would have been better if we could have just cut the water to the water heater.
- A drip pan under the water heater is also a wise investment. The previous owners didn’t put one in. Fortunately we caught the problem right away, before the water had a chance to ruin our brand new floor. But a drip pan would have caught the water and let it drain under the house.
- Know where all your shut off valves are located. We were able to shut the water off quickly, because we knew exactly where the valve is located. I also had to cut the gas supply to the water heater.
This weekend has been a trial for sure. There were many times I was tempted just to call a plumber and forgo the warranty. But in the end my frugal brain just can’t fathom spending that kind of money, when I know I don’t have to. So we toughed it out.
I also feel blessed that we weren’t out of town, or much more damage would have been done.
So today, instead of a question for you, I have an assignment. Check on your water heater. If it were to develop a sudden leak (or gush), what would get damaged? Take steps to make the damage as minimal as possible. Then find your water (and gas, if applicable) shut off valves, so you can act quickly in an emergency.
And if you’re in the market for a new home, think about asking the sellers to purchase a home warranty as part of your contract. It will only cost them about $400, but it could end up saving you a lot of money!
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It is always something!
We had a temp and pressure issue a few months ago– thankfully, it was fully covered.
DDFD at DivorcedDadFrugalDad.com’s last blog post..Blog Review: I’ve Paid For This Twice Already
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oh, my goodness! I’m glad you found that leak quickly. Our water heater is out in the garage just off the laundry room, and there is a cutoff valve there as well as the main one outside. Thank goodness for home warranty plans.
Our realtor purchased a home warranty for us when we moved into our house. We used it when several of the pipes started leaking at the turn off valves. However, it ran out before we had to replace our hot water heater, but we did know it was old and had the money set aside to replace it.
That would have been hard to wait all LONG weekend, but it’s definitely worth the $60 vs. the full cost of the hot water heater and installation.
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I hope your home warranty company comes through for you. We had a seller-purchased home warranty 7 years ago, but when I called about a malfunctioning fridge, they said it would take 6 days for the technician to come out. I couldn’t live that long without refrigeration so I sucked it up and bought a new fridge.
Ever since then I’ve suspected home warranty companies were shady. I hope for your sake I’m wrong.
Marketing Mommy’s last blog post..Wow, what a weekend!
I agree with the home warranty. The sellers of my home bought one, and I had to take advantage of it when the central air went out!
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I would be very interested to know what the outcome of the situation is with regard to the home warranty.
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Hope you have good neighbors that you can at least tote a few buckets of water from for handwashing and flushing :)
Or a good creek nearby :) which is what I used every time the water lines froze up :(
Let us know how the warranty deal turns out – I have never purchased one – mainly because I always have bought total fixer-uppers.
Ugh. That stinks. Good for you for getting the warranty though! Hang in there :)
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We weren’t as lucky. We have the home warranty with the $60 service visit (American Home Shield). When the technician came out, besides paying the $60, I would get a free heater (with install) but would have to pay for any “upgrades” to bring it to code. These upgrades were going to cost me around $400 something. Conveniently that’s the cost of the water tank!
We fought back and got the money for a new tank via check and then some after our realtor pulled some strings. Then we took the business somewhere else, but still ended up paying a couple hundred (the upgrades were necessary).
Hi! Last week my shower would not turn off and it was the hot water knob that broke. I only have a shower (no tub) so to replace the valve the shower panel needs to be removed, but then it will be no good to put back. I have had three friends here to look at it already. So I am looking at over $1500 to fix valve and put in a new shower. Yikes! Yes, I have the money in my emergency fund. But I hate to spend that as this house will not be standing in 7-10 years (it is falling off foundation- house is 85 years old.) Plus house is not mine. I live here because my grandmother retired. I pay all house bills. So repairs are my responsibility. I am currently using plyers to take showers, but it still leaks alot even with plyers.
In addition my valves for the ouside hose both need to be replaced and my kitchen sink fauce needs to be replaced. I guess it makes sense if all plumbing was put in at same time that it would all go at same time, but YIKES!!!
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@Josh – We may be in the same boat. The plumber came out today, and they don’t even make a water heater that fits our place anymore. So we’re looking at upgrades, probably, too. Fortunately, we have a guy that works on our house that can do most of the work cheap.
I’m waiting to hear back, though. And we have American Home Shield, too. So that’s not encouraging.
@Rebecca -That doesn’t sound like fun at all!
Wow, I guess my husband and I really lucked out with our home warranty. We bought our house in September. One night in February when it was 17 degrees outside our furnace went out. We called the toll-free number on our warranty. They had a guy out to fix the furnace within an hour. All we had to do was write the check for the $75 deductible. Everything else was covered with no problems. We did get a statement of the total repair cost from the warranty company. With the cost of the emergency, after hours call-out, the total bill was around $500. I think $75 was a bargain to get the heat back on so fast.
No problemo for me: We rent thus any home repairs goes immediately to the landlord. But when the day comes and we do buy a home I would seriously think about getting a tankless water heater system. I saw them all over Europe and the things are about 1000x’s better than the old-fashioned systems used in the US. There’s just a small little box that sticks on the wall. You turn the hot water on, water flows through the box, which has a series of pipes that are heated with gas, and hot water flows out the other end. Simple. That and they last forever, so even though they cost more up front, you’ll probably never have to replace it.
I think it was great that you made the sacrifice and waited for the warranty. It’s there for a reason and you had enough patience to wait it out. Good for you!
I hope you are looking into using a tankless system now that the old outdated inefficient system has given up the ghost. They are a little more upfront, but they pay for themselves very quickly and on those occasions where you need constant hot water, you have it. Tanked systems are a fool’s bet given the threat of leaks, the high failure rates, and the terrible energy waste that comes with keeping a tank of water hot all day and night..
Tis the season for water heater problems. My parents just had their go out, my coworker at work had to replace one for her tenants, and my friend had to replace hers. Good grief! That’s the one cool thing about apartment living…I don’t have to worry about that stuff.
But, to go a whole weekend without running water? What did you guys do for restrooms and showers? Not that I blame you, I’d have done the same if it was only going to cost me $65 to have it replaced. But, I can only imagine it was terribly inconvenient for your family!
Best of luck with that!
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We’re still without hot water! Man, dealing with the warranty is a pain. Long story short, the warranty people are taking forever. The plumber was at least able to get our water running again, so we have cold water.
We’ve been taking showers at my dad’s house. Fortunately he just lives one street over.
And word has it, we’ll finally get a new water heater on Friday morning. I can’t wait!
HI! I got my shower fixed for about $200, they were able to rig it to work so I did not have to replace the entire shower. Yipee! I am not going to fix my sink or outside valves as they still work, just are leaking. I do not want to waste water so I have a container under each that I use to water my plants.
I am thinking taking a basic plumbing course would be a good investment. Do these exist? I am a single mom so no husband to tinker with such stuff.
Or better yet send my boys (ages 11 & 6) to such a class. LOL.
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@Rebecca – Try your local hardware store for classes, or a big box store if there is one in your area, like Home Depot or Lowe’s. Or try your local community college, especially if it offers Habitat for Humanity building classes. And then there are always the DIY books and videos at your local library. :)