Comments on: Tightwad Tuesday: Water Heater Woes

By: marci

marci — Thu, 28 May 2009 15:33:25 +0000

@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. :)

By: Rebecca Rivera

Rebecca Rivera — Thu, 28 May 2009 12:48:15 +0000

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. Rebecca Rivera’s last blog post..Hired @ Home book

By: Lynnae

Lynnae — Thu, 28 May 2009 04:18:42 +0000

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!

By: Kristy @ Master Your Card

Kristy @ Master Your Card — Thu, 28 May 2009 03:26:16 +0000

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! Kristy @ Master Your Card’s last blog post..Financial Maxims: In Your 50s

By: Storm

Storm — Wed, 27 May 2009 18:44:18 +0000

I hope you are looking into using a tankless system now that the old outdated inefficient system has given up the ghost.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..

By: UmpquaLouie

UmpquaLouie — Wed, 27 May 2009 18:36:56 +0000

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!

By: bob

bob — Wed, 27 May 2009 14:39:45 +0000

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.

By: Kristen

Kristen — Wed, 27 May 2009 13:14:09 +0000

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.

By: Lynnae

Lynnae — Wed, 27 May 2009 04:02:57 +0000

@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!

By: Rebecca Rivera

Rebecca Rivera — Wed, 27 May 2009 00:10:17 +0000

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!!! Rebecca Rivera’s last blog post..Matthew is 1