In Hot Water--And Loving It!

I had my first hot shower in 6 days. The price I paid for my unique circumstances (I am lucky that the water heater installed in 1994 lasted until this year) were fully justified in those minutes of bliss.

Mind you, I've learned lessons. This was the first time in my life I've had to replace a water heater. I paid the obscene price given that I have a daughter who won't like lack of hot water. So by the time I have to replace this water heater, I will be more willing to wait and shop around.

The actual installation seems to have been fine. So no complaints on the installers.

But my mistakes?

One: Assuming a big box store that does installation would be both reputable for installing a gas heater without risking explosions and be in the ballpark for costs.

I may have gotten the former; but the later was way off. There were two added layers (the retailer and the scheduling company) between the installers and the people I paid, which naturally added costs.

Two: I could have saved a quarter of the cost if I had moved the stacked washer-dryer. I didn't think that I could but learned that I really could have. I now know how. So I'll have that going for me.

Three: As I noted, I should have taken the time to look at options. Without children at home I'd be more willing to spend more time looking for a better deal. And maybe I'll get lucky enough to lose hot water in August rather than January.

But I did not have that knowledge or options so I got hosed big time.

Yet my feeling is that if you have a problem that can be solved by money you have to spend, it really isn't a problem. So no problem.

Not that I didn't have small tactical victories.

One: I upgraded the water heater when I noticed that the increased cost of the better water heater was trivial compared to the total cost that included installation and moving stuff out of the way. So it should last longer, spreading out my costs.

Two: I bought my own drip pan that saved me money.

Three: While the washer was pulled out, I replaced the ancient rubber hoses with new stainless steel hoses rather than paying the installers. That saved me a hundred bucks for what was just removing the old hoses from the wall and putting the new ones on in the right position.

As a bonus, should I finally have to replace my dryer, I think a friend and a pizza will be enough to remove the old one and mount a new one without the added costs I balked at paying late last year in favor of soldiering on with the ancient one for now.

Also, I learned that installing a tank-less water heater would have been way more expensive than what I paid for.

And now I have hot water and don't repel women. Well, not by my hygiene, anyway.