Home Improvement Today?

Truth

 

Facts, I hardly ever see trusses on a truck being brought to a job site like you used too

 

Yeah 8 solid core doors ran me oh $1,200

 

attic truss

 

My condo came with a home warranty and when the water heater rusted out (nearly 40 years of service) they charged only the $75 deductible. The plumber they sent out was amazing, I’ve referred him to a few friends & neighbors for work. His company definitely isn’t the cheapest. He went above and beyond helping me patch the damaged drywall, transfer the solid brass ball valve to the new WH, even let me use his grinder to handle the nails going into the foundation for the riser platform I was replacing. Did I renew the contract? No, simply because I remodeled the house after buying and figured there wasn’t much left to go wrong (knock on wood).

 

Okay, well that's one check for positive. I still can't say the same with my past home warranty experiences.

 

there's also plenty of off-brand pumps that don't carry the $200+ price tag of the grundfos. i got one a while back, haven't installed it yet, need to re-pipe a major section of the water heater and add a return line to my kitchen, which is time-consuming. i was going to run it off a smart plug, set it for my normal dishwashing times, though i can also easily turn it on whenever i want from the app as well.

they do make bypass valves that Tee between the hot and cold at the furthest faucet, and then it dumps the hot into the cold water, so the first little while, both are hot.

$45 JASSFERRY Hot Water Recirculation Pump 115V 3/4" NPT Recirculating System Circulation Replacement Pumps for Solar Water Heater Circulating Boiler Circulator

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09PMXP7M6

 

Anyone know which model of Mansfield hose bibb this is? It’s frost proof if that helps.

 

An old one. Probably time to just replace it. lol

 

Back in the day when things were fixable my dad had a stone for cleaning up valve seats. He’d polish up the old seat and put a new washer in and it would be as good as new. Mind you that’s not saying much. Those old washers didn’t last long.

This old hose bib doesn’t meet current code because it lacks a siphon beaker.

 

**Improving other peoples homes today**
revisited a tub surround I did awhile back to install door, well half a door, homeowner had tub refinished..

 

i believe that model is called SCRAP. time for a new one.

 

Going to Lowe’s tomorrow

 

if this is near where you wash vehicles, i highly recommend something like this. no one ever stocks them, but they're well worth ordering.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Woodfor...8T1o8bNnce8bfBgvwh_LyjZE7b1hGTqvBL7yi8H-C0h6E

i use it mostly in the spring and fall where the ground temp makes for chilly car washing time. open the hot water just barely to get the water to at least 50 degrees and it's much more pleasurable to be out side!

 

Avoid this one if possible...

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Prier-Prod...P-Brass-Frost-Proof-Wall-Faucet-Valve/3436684

I have two of these. The oldest one replaced in 2022 is already failing. I was out washing the car last weekend and needed to shut off the water to disconnect the hose from the pressure washer. Even closed I had full water pressure that resulted me getting soaked. Turned it on and back off again and it sealed luckily. The anti siphon has a habit of leaking too.

 

I have one of these in San Diego. It’s ok but not great really. I’ve used it for dog washes but for vehicles I stuck to the front hose bib where supply pressure is strongest.

Got a fancier one in the box for up here in the PNW, just waiting on the install. It’s significantly more expensive but hopefully a superior option.

 

i've got somewhat low pressure at the house anyways, with only a 3/4" city water supply, so i didn't notice any pressure difference changing that over, or when i upgraded the entire house from 1/2" lines to 3/4" lines--i had hoped upgrading the line size would've given me a little more pressure...

 

All these new safety features, half are crap, not needed, and prone to fail.

 

.

FWIW ... I just finished an AO Smith (50 Gal. Premium Commercial Tank) repair and am VERY dissatisfied with AO Smith. Water heater was 3 years old with light use. I called AO Smith corporate repair number and this happened .... talked to them 4 times ... all nice ladies ... but ... they try to diagnose on phone ... then they tell me warranty is 6 years with NO labor ... and YOU HAVE TO PAY POSTAGE & SHIPPING COSTS on the repair parts (that I had almost beg for the parts ) ... I paid for the delivery costs and was promised parts the next day ... over a week later, I get an email saying that a "DELIVER LABEL HAS BEEN PROCESSED" ... WTF ... still no parts received to this day.

DO THIS - TO MAKE YOUR LIFE EASIER (forget the warranty unless you have a serious problem like a cracked tank).... IF your heater breaks do this (or even before it breaks) ... go to the plumbing wholesale house and get a deep socket element wrench ($7.00) ... 2 -- 4500 watt commercial elements (or proper size) are about $11.00 each and top and bottom commercial thermostat are about $40.00 for both ... and for less than $65.00 bucks you can do a complete rebuild (if necessary) ... mine only needed a top element ... but I replaced both top & bottom ... now I keep 2 extra elements and top and bottom thermostats for emergencies. Was told by wholesale house that the bottom thermostat rarely goes out. Oh, After removing the old elements, clean the rusty black goop out of the tank element threads.

JOB TIME --- Draining the tank = 30 minutes ... replacing BOTH elements = 30 minutes (with a good element socket wrench $ $7.00) ... refilling tank and purging ALL COLD & HOT outlets = 45 minutes. Don't forget to push the RED RESET BUTTON like I did ... thanks for that advice RustyGreen ... lol

The elements that I got at the wholesale house were much higher quality than OEM.

PS ... I was at Home Depot and their heaters had a longer warranty with PARTS & LABOR for 3 Years. They were either Rheem or Ruud.

FWIW .... an "element socket wrench" is worth its weight in gold and makes this job a piece of cake.

EDIT ... I was told by a plumber and the supply house that draining your tank annually and replacing the elements every 3 or 4 years will pay for itself in water heating costs water heating recovery ... IF you buy the parts wholesale and IF ... You Can Do It Yourself.


My last house had an AO Smith gas water heater that lasted over 30 years with 1 burner rebuild.

.

 

While we are on water heaters:

When I replaced my 30 gallon electric I removed the original plastic drain valve and replaced it with a
copper pipe nipple, a brass full port ball valve and a male garden hose fitting. I keep a short length of hose tucked behind the heater and flush the sediment out into a pail every month or so.

That full port valve will really move the water & sediment and it feels solid unlike those plastic drains.

This type fitting:



I keep a cap on it when not in use just to prevent any misadventures.