what did you do around the house today?

[ercchry]

Hard to quote install over the phone as the amount of work can vary significantly depending on where and how the old tank connected into everything... if you’re now having to rebuild most of the gas line to align it with the new tank... that’s much more work than just reattaching the union.

EMCO does cash sales to the public, then get a plumber to do the install as a side job

[sabad66]

This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote

When my tank went a couple of years ago I bought a rheem from Home Depot for $700 and had them install it for $200. Way cheaper than Pete the plumber and all those type of companies.

This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote

I had Pete the Plumber install a Rheem hot water tank for $850.

+1 for Pete the Plumber. They are actually pretty competitive for pricing... they are the biggest buyers of Rheem Water Tanks in Western Canada (or so they say) so they get amazing pricing for parts.

Definitely would recommend getting a quote at least.

[Mitsu3000gt]

This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote

Hard to quote install over the phone as the amount of work can vary significantly depending on where and how the old tank connected into everything... if you’re now having to rebuild most of the gas line to align it with the new tank... that’s much more work than just reattaching the union.

EMCO does cash sales to the public, then get a plumber to do the install as a side job

As mentioned above, I just wanted to know the cost of the tank and did not expect an exact quote. Also, I knew it was a simple/standard install, which I told them and offered to provide photos of the installation area. They wouldn't even tell me average/typical cost. It's a common scam - once you're $200 deep and the plumber is in your house, you aren't going to say no to the rest. They could have told me something like "most are under $1000 but we can't guarantee anything", and I would have been OK with that - but I went through a dozen or so companies who wouldn't even tell me the price of a standard 40gal tank.

The guys who put the new tank just did a swap, no extra work required - they gave me new fittings though from what I can tell.

I'm glad that nightmare is over and I hope I never need a plumber again haha.

[sabad66]

This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote

Hard to quote install over the phone as the amount of work can vary significantly depending on where and how the old tank connected into everything... if you’re now having to rebuild most of the gas line to align it with the new tank... that’s much more work than just reattaching the union.

Also chimney could need to be upgraded to the newer code like what was needed in my case. Hard for them to know if that needs to be done without seeing it.

[sabad66]

This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote

As mentioned above, I just wanted to know the cost of the tank and did not expect an exact quote. Also, I knew it was a simple/standard install, which I told them and offered to provide photos of the installation area. They wouldn't even tell me average/typical cost. It's a common scam - once you're $200 deep and the plumber is in your house, you aren't going to say no to the rest. They could have told me something like "most are under $1000 but we can't guarantee anything", and I would have been OK with that - but I went through a dozen or so companies who wouldn't even tell me the price of a standard 40gal tank.

The guys who put the new tank just did a swap, no extra work required - they gave me new fittings though from what I can tell.

I'm glad that nightmare is over and I hope I never need a plumber again haha.

what's the scam? if you already know you need a new tank, you call them in for a quote and it should be free. I've had multiple quotes from many hvac/electrician/plumbing companies and all were free. And all the quotes i've ever got always say no extra charges over the quote. Of course that's the benefit of getting the quote in person... if i was a tradesmen i would never give a final quote over the phone without seeing it in person even if you send pics. they need to see the whole thing

[Mitsu3000gt]

This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote

what's the scam? if you already know you need a new tank, you call them in for a quote and it should be free. I've had multiple quotes from many hvac/electrician/plumbing companies and all were free. And all the quotes i've ever got always say no extra charges over the quote. Of course that's the benefit of getting the quote in person... if i was a tradesmen i would never give a final quote over the phone without seeing it in person even if you send pics. they need to see the whole thing

They won't quote you until after you've paid ~$200 for the service call. If you decide they are too expensive, you're out the $200. I called just about every plumber I could find and they all told me that exact same thing. I even ended up arguing with some of them, asking why they don't know the cost of a standard 40gal tank and they kept repeating it was just their policy to only quote after the service call has already been made.

Again, I did not ask anyone for a firm quote over the phone. I asked for tank cost and ballpark figures assuming it was a standard trouble-free install (like is it going to cost me $1000 or $2000 roughly). I repeatedly told them I understood that if something was weird with my situation, the cost may be higher.

Finally called a friend who is an electrician, asked him for a referral, he gave me the number of a plumber who immediately told me the cost and was there the next day for the tank swap. Every single bigger / well known company I called charged ~$200 for a quote. If they wanted to see it they could, as I had photos of everything.

[nzwasp]

This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote

+1 for Pete the Plumber. They are actually pretty competitive for pricing... they are the biggest buyers of Rheem Water Tanks in Western Canada (or so they say) so they get amazing pricing for parts.

Definitely would recommend getting a quote at least.

I had a power vented tank and Pete said it was going to be 3k

[sabad66]

This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote

They won't quote you until after you've paid ~$200 for the service call. If you decide they are too expensive, you're out the $200. I called just about every plumber I could find and they all told me that exact same thing. I even ended up arguing with some of them, asking why they don't know the cost of a standard 40gal tank and they kept repeating it was just their policy to only quote after the service call has already been made.

Again, I did not ask anyone for a firm quote over the phone. I asked for tank cost and ballpark figures assuming it was a standard trouble-free install (like is it going to cost me $1000 or $2000 roughly). I repeatedly told them I understood that if something was weird with my situation, the cost may be higher.

Finally called a friend who is an electrician, asked him for a referral, he gave me the number of a plumber who immediately told me the cost and was there the next day for the tank swap. Every single bigger / well known company I called charged ~$200 for a quote. If they wanted to see it they could, as I had photos of everything.

bizarre. i've never been asked to pay for a quote in my life. In the past 6 months since i moved into my place i've called the following contractors, all provided free quotes in person.

plumbing (new hot water tank):
Pete the Plumber
Knight Plumbing

hvac (new a/c):
Lendrix
Harmony
W&J
Gavin (this was not in person, but we did a video call and he had me show him everything)

Electrical (fishing wire through my finished basement):
Colez Electric
Maple Electrical Services
some independent on kijiji, can't remember the name

[ExtraSlow]

Clearview pulled that scam, and THEN gave me an insane quote (nearly $5000) for the install. And that's on a conventional simle install. Buncha assholes.

[Mitsu3000gt]

This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote

bizarre. i've never been asked to pay for a quote in my life. In the past 6 months since i moved into my place i've called the following contractors, all provided free quotes in person.

It's technically the "service call" you're paying for, but they won't quote you without a service call, so it's one in the same at the end of the day even though they don't explicitly charge for quotes. I offered photos/video multiple times (because they said they had to see it first) and was just told "we don't do that". I had very reasonable solutions for everything they wanted but nothing was acceptable until they got their service call money. It's just a predatory scheme, designed to put extra pressure on people with emergencies. They know once you already have a ~$200 sunk cost, you are far more likely to just let them proceed with the rest of the work because at that point you aren't going to eat the $200 and keep shopping around.

[blitz]

This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote

If you don't mind sharing, where did you buy your water heater?

My income property (rental house) was built in 1999 and has the original 40 gallon natural gas water heater, so I won't be surprised if my tenants call to report it leaking at some point. Thinking about replacing it as a preventative maintenance measure.

Lowe's (Whirlpool) and Home Depot (Rheem) have 6-year warranty models listed for $629, and Rona has a Gemco for $599. Is there a better deal to be had for us non-trades people?

I just picked up one of the 12 year Rheems from Home Depot: https://www.homedepot.ca/product/rhe...nty/1000792353

Honestly I didn't do a lot of research. Since t was about 10 years old, I had been planning on preemptively having Pete the Plumber replace it, but when it started leaking on a Sunday I just wanted it replaced ASAP so I did it myself.

Edit: I don't trust plumbers either, Bluewave Plumbing lied to me and fucked me over when I got them to install a gas line 10 years ago. I've been bitter and wary ever since.

[syscal]

Finally got around to figuring out this curved baseboard.

[jwslam]

This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote

Finally got around to figuring out this curved baseboard.

Is that with a table saw, circular, or ??

[syscal]

This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote

Is that with a table saw, circular, or ??

Sliding compound miter saw.

[jwslam]

Interesting... how do u set a depth on that?

[BerserkerCatSplat]

This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote

Interesting... how do u set a depth on that?

Sliding miters usually have lockable depth, makes repeated cuts like that a breeze.

[ExtraSlow]

Real man woukd cut that freehand with a chain saw.

[AndyL]

This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote

Real man woukd cut that freehand with his 6o'clock shadow.

Fixed

[ExtraSlow]

This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote

Fixed

You win.

[speedog]

Been looking for an anvil but this 80 pound coupler will do just fine.

Around the house, bird house condo up on a pole, new garage door springs and winding assemblies, silconing a leaky patio roof, trimming back apple tree and lilacs, making tent weights for farmers' market tents, planting some golden raspberries, mounting a couple more 4 foot led fixtures in the garage and probably bit more.