The last time I had to replace my hot water heater was 4 years ago. Of course, it was one of those situations…ohh no, the hot water is out. Then you go into the cold garage, tinker with the water heater hoping that the pilot light went out and you just have to re-light it. NOPE! It’s Broken! It’s very frustrating, it’s like having to deal with the master cylinder on your car needing to be replaced. It does not cost a ton of money but how do you know if the plumber is trusted? Well, that’s the beauty of the internet. We did not know a plumber personally so we went online and called every water heater company in the valley. I checked prices, I bargained, I did not like what I was hearing about permits and earthquake straps, you know all the stuff that drives up the cost.
So we finally had a plumber come out. Of course, he gave us the best price over the phone and I figured that I could negotiate with him further when he arrived…and boy did he arrive. We are talking Freddy Mercury (lead singer of Queen) is Alive! His jeans were so tight that it hurt to watch him walk. His mustache, well…he could sweep the garage floor with it. And those hands, they were as dark as night with grease covering them. I was just waiting for him to belt out a high note from “Find Me Somebody to Love.”
So he rolls in and gives us a price…of course I now have to believe him right? Freddy (I don’t remember his real name) was one of my favorite singers when I grew up and I trusted him. Well, he was correct. We did need to get the permits and earthquake straps and the pan that goes underneath the tank but what I knew we needed, even more, was a licensed, insured, trusted plumber whose jeans were not going to rip when he bent over. That’s when we took Freddy’s price and sent him back to the grave and called Affordable Water Heaters to come to our home.
Today, the water heater still works great. I would have liked to had the opportunity to get a tankless water heater but they were just coming on the market back then but if I was to do it over, I would defiantly go tankless…and not with Freddy.
If I take the hours that I spent searching and negotiating along with all the frustration of not knowing what I don’t know and then having Freddy, who actually made the water heater replacement experience funny, come out and validate what Affordable Water Heaters already told me well…I might have had an extra 4 hours to do something for myself.
