I have to give credit where credit is due. Mom for winning BIG in BInGo a few months back and gifting each of her sons a little pocket money. Dad for bringing his contact in the 'Booze Brothers' Plumbing outfit located in Vienna and his extensive handy-man plumbing background. So it goes...
A wild phone call post-bingo from Mom saying she won BIG and she planned to gift us some of her winnings. Laura and I looked at each other and said Hmmm, what should we splurge on. We couldn't think of anything we needed so we looked over our house wants list. Near the top was a new water heater. The one we inherited from the previous owners was rated a 40 gallon gas water heater from 1994 - 18 years old. The 40 couldn't quite handle 2 of our showers back to back every morning, especially in winter. I know I know, I voted to group shower every morning but was vetoed by the Mrs. So, the decision was a brand new 50 gallon gas water heater!
Dad comes over to scout it out in early June, we take measurements on the water heater I found at Home Depot. In the middle of our bathroom re-model 2010 we found the water main valve to the house to be original and very old. The valve would close and open but would allow a trace amount of water to trickle through when closed. Replacing it back in 2010 slipped our minds so we decided to give it a go while replacing the water heater this round.
Dad takes measurements to his 'Booze Brothers' to seek their opinion, see what they have to offer as well as parts. He calls me with their recommendations of an AO Smith 50 gallon gas water heater. I said go for it and buy whatever parts you think you will need and I will reimburse. Dad is on it, buys everything, delivers it to my garage during the work day Thursday (what a guy). We decide Sunday installation would be best with our schedules.
Saturday was busy but I told Laura to plan for the potential worst...out of water til Monday in case we needed to bring in a certified plumber. We did our laundry and ran the dishwasher Saturday.
Sunday Dad showed up at 9am on time per usual but Sir William decided to sleep until 8:45 after a quick 6am bottle. I was grateful he let us sleep in on the other hand needed to get moving. We ate breakfast real quick, Laura packed up Will, I washed his bottles, and off they went to my parents house / Truro Pool for the day. I told Laura we should be done in 4-5 hours and I would hitch a ride with Dad over to his house....
As Dad so eloquently put it, a 'comedy of errors' ensued to the point where all we could do is laugh at the end of the day. We started our work at 9:45am and ended right at 7:00pm. For those keeping score, Dad had 1 trip home to get a tool and Home Depot twice. Me, I took the old water heater to the dump (Bonus - no charge to dump metal), and 2 trips to Home Depot. We filled the new water heater and started the pilot. Heat kicked on and no leaks at Water Main and no leaks at hot water finally. A well deserved Coors Light at 7:01pm!
I had to leave the house at 7:20 to get to my soccer game. I couldn't help but reflect on the drive to my game how thankful I am to Mom for sharing some of her winnings and Dad taking the time, literally 9.5 hours out of his day. It was frustrating and fun at the same time as most DIY projects tend to be. I will never forget the day we put in a new hot water heater at 9630 Podium Drive.
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