Bartee Lamar
Member
- Messages
- 499
- Location
- Alpharetta GA ( Metro Atlanta)
Well, Thursday morning I went to take a shower and get to work early.
No Hot Water. So I take a almost cold shower, quickly.
Go to the basement ( shop ) and find water everywhere. I suck up about 80 gallons with the trusty Rigid wet/dry shop vac.
LOML goes online to find a hot water heater.
Sears !!! ( they have a Hot Water Tank hot line !!! )
9 Year warranty /40 gallon Gas.
Heater 349.99
Install 199.99
Permit 50.00
tax 19.60
Total 619.58.
Expansion take required, but included in price.
They can install today!!!.
Sounds good so far right?
LOML very impressed with customer service on the phone. They were very complete, even asked for exact measurements of unit.
Well, come 11:30am plumbing company calls, they cannot install today.
So LOML, decides she has to have something today. Calls local company. They will have someone between 1 and 4pm. Deal on telephone.
6 Year Warrany, 40 gallon, gas, $599 installed.
Plumber shows up about 3pm. Looks at unit ( I am not home ). Tells my wife:
Heater 599
Expansion Tank 225
Replace section of Cold Water Pipe 126
Reset T/P discharge line 187.08
environmental fee 7.50
TOTAL 1144.72
OK... The section of cold water pipe has a cutoff value and 1 foot of pipe, which has to be removed to install heater anyway. I have no idea what the T/P discharge line was for. I guess this is the overflow on the hot water heater that always has to be removed, so this was basically an up-charge to jack up the price.
OK, The wife call's me and I talk to plumber. I tell him thanks, but no thanks. Not going to pay $500 more for lesser product.
LOML call's sears back and reinstates order. Apologizes to me for being impatience.
Are you tired reading this yet... It's all about installation up-charges.....
Friday AM. I look online at the credit card charge and Sears has charged me $773. (not going so well now) Call them, find out the expansion tank is really not included. They do some research and give me credit for the installation charge for the expansion tank ( Yea!! ). Well that's good news, but I figure somehow it's still going to cost me something..
Are you completely over my hot water heater yet, I am!!
So the plumber, Pablo ( from Argentina, via New York ) shows up about 3pm on Friday. I go to the basement to assess the install.
Well 1st of all the hotwater heater is in a basement. It's a walk-in basement but anything with more than 3 steps is a basement. That's a $75 delivery fee. (up-charge) Then the gas pipe has more that 3ft of copper tubing and the cutoff values is dripping so it has to be replaced. ( yep another one)
I get a little agitated over the gas line. I know where this is going and it will not be cheap. I tell him to get "his inspector" here right now and will talk about the gas line. He backs down, but we still have the cutoff value. It's $53. So I give in on that and we are at $123 for the install. Sadly, I now think this is a good deal.
Remember the credit from Sears??? I knew it would get eaten up somehow.
So I think I have the plumber installation thing figured out. They have to get up-charges. That is where all the money is made.
You are without hotwater and all of a sudden there are a LOT of things wrong with you hotwater installation that HAVE TO BE FIXED.
I pointed out to Pablo the room full of tools. He quickly understood I knew what was going on.
I did stick around to help ( and protect my tools ). He was done in 1 1/2 hours start to finish.
So just to prove this happened, there are pictures. Here is the new unit. 9 year warranty, which means it will last 10 1/2 years. DAMHIKT
Here it is. This is a an expansion tank. Now required by code.
This is the cut off value that got replaced. Notice this all had to be reworked just to install the tank, but one guy want $126 for that.
So if you read all of this, maybe next time you have to take a cold shower, you will remember it and ask a LOT more questions that I did. And make sure you are home to meet and "discuss" the up-charges with the plumber.
My apologies to anyone who make their living doing this. I just expect people not to rip me off because they seem to know something I don't.
No Hot Water. So I take a almost cold shower, quickly.
Go to the basement ( shop ) and find water everywhere. I suck up about 80 gallons with the trusty Rigid wet/dry shop vac.
LOML goes online to find a hot water heater.
Sears !!! ( they have a Hot Water Tank hot line !!! )
9 Year warranty /40 gallon Gas.
Heater 349.99
Install 199.99
Permit 50.00
tax 19.60
Total 619.58.
Expansion take required, but included in price.
They can install today!!!.
Sounds good so far right?
LOML very impressed with customer service on the phone. They were very complete, even asked for exact measurements of unit.
Well, come 11:30am plumbing company calls, they cannot install today.
So LOML, decides she has to have something today. Calls local company. They will have someone between 1 and 4pm. Deal on telephone.
6 Year Warrany, 40 gallon, gas, $599 installed.
Plumber shows up about 3pm. Looks at unit ( I am not home ). Tells my wife:
Heater 599
Expansion Tank 225
Replace section of Cold Water Pipe 126
Reset T/P discharge line 187.08
environmental fee 7.50
TOTAL 1144.72
OK... The section of cold water pipe has a cutoff value and 1 foot of pipe, which has to be removed to install heater anyway. I have no idea what the T/P discharge line was for. I guess this is the overflow on the hot water heater that always has to be removed, so this was basically an up-charge to jack up the price.
OK, The wife call's me and I talk to plumber. I tell him thanks, but no thanks. Not going to pay $500 more for lesser product.
LOML call's sears back and reinstates order. Apologizes to me for being impatience.
Are you tired reading this yet... It's all about installation up-charges.....
Friday AM. I look online at the credit card charge and Sears has charged me $773. (not going so well now) Call them, find out the expansion tank is really not included. They do some research and give me credit for the installation charge for the expansion tank ( Yea!! ). Well that's good news, but I figure somehow it's still going to cost me something..
Are you completely over my hot water heater yet, I am!!
So the plumber, Pablo ( from Argentina, via New York ) shows up about 3pm on Friday. I go to the basement to assess the install.
Well 1st of all the hotwater heater is in a basement. It's a walk-in basement but anything with more than 3 steps is a basement. That's a $75 delivery fee. (up-charge) Then the gas pipe has more that 3ft of copper tubing and the cutoff values is dripping so it has to be replaced. ( yep another one)
I get a little agitated over the gas line. I know where this is going and it will not be cheap. I tell him to get "his inspector" here right now and will talk about the gas line. He backs down, but we still have the cutoff value. It's $53. So I give in on that and we are at $123 for the install. Sadly, I now think this is a good deal.
Remember the credit from Sears??? I knew it would get eaten up somehow.
So I think I have the plumber installation thing figured out. They have to get up-charges. That is where all the money is made.
You are without hotwater and all of a sudden there are a LOT of things wrong with you hotwater installation that HAVE TO BE FIXED.
I pointed out to Pablo the room full of tools. He quickly understood I knew what was going on.
I did stick around to help ( and protect my tools ). He was done in 1 1/2 hours start to finish.
So just to prove this happened, there are pictures. Here is the new unit. 9 year warranty, which means it will last 10 1/2 years. DAMHIKT
Here it is. This is a an expansion tank. Now required by code.
This is the cut off value that got replaced. Notice this all had to be reworked just to install the tank, but one guy want $126 for that.
So if you read all of this, maybe next time you have to take a cold shower, you will remember it and ask a LOT more questions that I did. And make sure you are home to meet and "discuss" the up-charges with the plumber.
My apologies to anyone who make their living doing this. I just expect people not to rip me off because they seem to know something I don't.
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