Hot Water Heater

Saturday night, I noticed that the hot water was lukewarm.  I figured the pilot went out on the hot water heater, so I went downstairs and re-lit it.  Since we had no hot water, I figured Robert's bath will have to wait till Sunday morning. 

Sunday morning comes, and after breakfast I notice there water isn't even warm.  I went to the garage to relight to pilot then ran back upstairs.  I thought we'd have hot water in a couple hours.  I heard a noise that sounded like a door slamming and wondered - was that the water heater?  I went back downstairs and the pilot was out.  I re-lit it, then waited to see what happens.  In less than 3 minutes, pfffffllllloooOOOOM!  A flame about 12 inches long, 4 or 5 inches wide shoots out from the bottom of the water heater!  And of course, the pilot went out.  Not thinking clearly, I press the ignition button, and ppppffflllloom! Another flame shoots out.  "OK," I thought, "I'm done with this."  I shut the gas and water off to the tank and went back upstairs.  No hot water till this is fixed!

Monday morning comes, and I start calling around to either get this repaired or replaced.  Over the phone, most people ask for the make, model, and build date.  Of course, I had none of this.  Isn't a hot water heater just a hot water heater?!  Apparently, it's not.  Baron from Excalibur Water Heaters was one of the guys who told me he couldn't really advise me of any course of action without that information, so I did my research, and in the home inspection report, where the inspector is supposed to list the hot water heaters' brand, age, and condition, he included a picture.  A picture... that didn't show the age of the hot water heaters or the condition, but it did show the brand.  Great report.  It seems like every time I have an issue with something that this inspector was paid to inspect, the report falls short. 

Anywho, I did get the brand of the heater, so I continued in my quest.  One guy told me he couldn't really do anything for me until I figured this out.  I realized that was a good thing after many, many more calls.  Things I was told ranged from, "It'll cost you [me] a base fee of $200 to get me [the plumber] out there, then $200 an hour if I can fix it.  But, if I need to go get parts, the return visit is another $200 base fee."  Uh, no.  I'm not paying you anything just to come look at something that you don't know you can fix!  Another said something similar: $125 to come out and look at the problem, then give an estimate as to how much it will cost to do the job, if it can be done.  Again, pass. 

In all, I called about 9 different plumbers.  Of those 9, 6 came out to look at it free of charge.  Of those 6, 4 said I should get a new water heater.  Of the other two, one said he could probably fix this, with the parts being covered under warranty since it was installed in 2010, but he doesn't know for sure that he can fix it.  I asked if he'd ever seen something like this before, and evasively, he basically said no.  He responded that he'd been doing repairs on hot water heaters for over 20 years, and over 20 years, he's seen a lot of things.  He never specifically said yes, he's seen a hot water heater shoot flames like a dragon before, so I asked again, "In 20 years, have you seen a hot water heater shoot flames?"  Again, he dodged the question and replied, "It could be caused by any number of things.  I'd suggest replacing different parts one by one, until it stops."  Yeah, if you can't give me a yes or no answer about your experience, I'm not paying you a cent. 

Next, I called A.O. Smith, since I found out the parts were covered under warranty.  The operator gave me 3 companies who service their warranty repairs.  I called all three.  One said he was really busy, and not in San Francisco, so he couldn't make it out till the end of the week.  Pass.  The next one said they couldn't make it until tomorrow, so I scheduled an appointment.  The third one said it sounded like the hot water heater was improperly installed, and it may not be covered by the warranty - F'ING GREAT.  He said he could come by to take a look at it later in the day. 

I left work early, and was surprised to find my 1 pm appointment already there.  The guy looked at the water heater, then said he recommended replacing it.  Literally, he looked at the water heater wrapped in insulation, bent down and looked at the bottom where I said flames shot from, then said I should replace it.  He didn't even touch it!  He said he could replace it right away.  Yeah, sure, of course he'd want me to replace it!  He'd get paid for the sale of the new heater, and the labor to replace it, but I felt like he didn't even look at the old heater! 

Another plumber came, he turned on the gas, lit the pilot, then waited.  I advised him to step away, he obliged.  PPPFFFLLLLOOOOM!  "Holy shit! I've never seen that!"  Hhhhmmm, there goes your credibility.  "Honestly, I wouldn't know where to start.  Good luck!"  Well at least he didn't charge me, but I realized I should've charged him for the show. 

Another plumber came, this time it was one who serviced AO Smiths.  He lit the pilot, stepped back, PPFFLLLOOOM!  No grand exclamation, no cursing, just a real somber look.  I asked him, "What's the verdict?"  He tells me, "I've seen this before.  What probably happened when they installed it was they dropped the tank.  My guess is there's a dent in the bottom, and gas is building up.  When there's enough gas in there, it ignites.  To fix it, I'd have to completely drain the heater and push out the dent, then put it back together.  You're better off getting a new water heater.  It'll be cheaper, and you'll know it won't have any issues."  I asked if he sells them, and he said he just services them.  He did recommend a brand other than Rheem, but said Rheems are good, too. 

I scheduled an appointment with Baron from Excalibur Water Heaters for 11:30 - Noon the next day.  Around 11 AM, I got a call from his son saying they finished a job in my area and were heading to my house.  I told him to call me when they got there, if they got there before me.  About 5 minutes later, he called and said he was standing by the garage door.  I gave him the code and told him it was the 40 gallon heater on the left hand side.  He said there was plenty of working room, and they'd probably be done in about 20 minutes.  When I arrived 10 minutes later, the old water heater was draining in the middle of the garage, and the new water heater was connected.  It took them about 20 more minutes to clean up and double check everything.  Overall, it was a very fast, clean install.  I'm very happy with the timeliness and cleanliness of their work.  And, we finally had hot water again!

Anderson

So Michelle had some guys from Anderson doing repairs upstairs at her place.  One of her double hung windows was leaking and it stained the wall.  Her kitchen french doors were leaking, too, so they re-sealed it.  They came down to look at the damage to my kitchen wall, and they said they don't think it's due to the water leaking from her door.  What?!  I don't understand how if it was fine before her new door went in, and it started to leak after her new doors were installed, how is it NOT due to the work they did?  Rich decided that he wanted to come back with a long hose and test it out to see where it may be leaking from.  The contractor, Juan, said that I try to see if I can find where it's leaking from before they fix anything. 

They looked at the picture window - yes, it's not privacy glass.  Yes, the old one was privacy glass. yes, it should have been privacy glass.  Rich said he'll order a new one that's privacy glass to replace it. 

He looked at the double hung windows, slid his finger along the edge, opened and closed it a few times, then asked if the cloth diapers stopped the whistling.  Yes, they did.  He said there's a long piece of felt that he can have placed along the seam of the window that would effectively do the same thing, so that's what he'll have done. 

He looked at the caulking in the bathroom around the window.  Yes, it's cracking almost all the way around now.  He said they used the wrong type of caulking, and it'll have to be removed and re-done. 

He said someone from his office would contact me to schedule a time to have the work done. 

Let There be HEAT!

We're about to begin the process of replacing the heater.  As usual, nothing's ever easy.  Luckily, a friend's husband does HVAC (Airflow Pros in SF), so we have some assistance with making the right decisions.

We're going with a Trane machine, based on his recommendation over Bryant's.  He said he has more service calls for Bryant's and finds the Tranes to be more reliable.

To get things up to code (gotta love SF), we need to put the furnaces on their own breakers (so we need an electrician), we have to T off the gas line to the water heater and furnace (it currently daisy chains from the main to the water heater to the furnace), we have to vent out into an open area (roof top), and we need to find somewhere for the condensation to possibly drip.  The biggest thing is that we also have to abate the asbestos lined ducts that are currently in place.

Another decision that we had to make was whether or not we wanted acoustic lined air base.  Make it quieter?  For sure!  Hopefully it doesn't get too overcomplicated. 

By the end of next week, we could have a functioning heater! 

Windows....

Well that didn't take long.  I don't know what it is, but when it's windy, these dual hung double paned windows whistle!  It's driving me nuts!  Last night, I rolled up a bunch of Robert's cloth diapers and put them over the seams of the windows.  This has solved the problem for now.  I'll have to contact Renewal by Anderson to see what's going on.  They're supposed to call me to replace the bedroom window, too. 

Also, the caulking around the new bathroom window has started to crack already.  I'm guessing they didn't use the right kind of caulk...  UGH. Why can't anything ever be simple...

Windows!

We currently have 6 single paned dual hung windows in the front of the house along with one single paned picture window in the bedroom that we believe contribute greatly to heat loss. We can literally feel cold air streaming in through the windows at night.  Plus, when it's windy outside, so much air gets through the windows that we can visibly see the curtains moving... or our house is haunted and the ghosts get rowdy when it's windy outside. 

The window in the bathroom also no longer opens.  The hinge at the bottom has been rusted for some time, and it was only a matter of time before it got rusted shut.  That time has arrived.  The permanently shut window along with one of my bad decisions (not installing a ceiling fan when we were working on the bathroom.. and had the ceiling open), is resulting in a lot of moisture in the bathroom during showers and baths.  This needs to be replaced.  

It's a long time coming, but today, we got Renewal By Anderson windows.  From the date that I signed the papers to the date of installation was a little over 2 months.  We had a missed connection back on November 30, and we got rescheduled for this week due to possible rain that didn't happen.  The most pains taking part of this was that I had to remove all the furniture near the windows both times!  That included the bed, dressers, couches, and curtains.  It may not seem like a lot, but I'm the only one doing it all with a 1 year old!  A total of three guys showed up this morning to do the installation.  They mentioned more were coming to attempt to speed this up, but the rest of the crew never made it. 

Removing each window was a really quick process.  The one guy who arrived (around 9:50 AM) before the other two removed all six double hung windows by himself in under an hour.  They laid plastic along the carpeted stairs and paper along the hallway.  Tarps were placed under the openings where the windows were.  He removed thin pieces of wood trim around the windows, then cut the rope inside the rails.  From there, the windows (surprisingly) just came out.  The weight stayed inside the wall.  Seeing the holes in the wall now, I should've bought a few cans of spray foam and filled them with insulation.  Dang it. The new windows went in pretty easily, too.  One thing I noticed was that every window was slightly smaller than the opening (about an inch or two).  What they did from there was cut trim to size that snapped into the window and covered the gaps.  I was slightly disappointed by this since it gave me a smaller window for pretty much no reason.  The gaps between the window and the frame were spray foamed before the coverings were placed over them. 

The picture window in the bedroom was pretty nasty.  By nasty, I mean moldy.  It had a serious moisture leak, so I was glad this was getting replaced.  This new window, however, was not privacy glass as it should've been.  It was regular glass.  The installation crew said they'd mention it to the office and have someone later replace it.  This window was measured to the opening, and it was about 1/4 inch too tall.  The installation crew had to chisel out the frame on the exterior to get the window the properly fit.  This took forever.  Just when you think everything's going smoothly, something always has to cause a hiccup.  They got it done and put the window in, though. 

The casement window in the bathroom came out easily and went in easily.  The hardest part was having someone climb through it to caulk the outside. 

They took no breaks and no lunch, and they finished the job at 4:36 PM!  Just in time for me to vacuum, put everything back, then run to daycare to pick up Robert!  These guys are awesome!!!

General State of the Casa Update

The heater issues have finally ceased to exist, and by ceased, I mean the furnace finally quit a few weeks ago.  It just doesn't work anymore, so there's really no more issue (other than it needs to be replaced). 

We put a floating shelf up in Robert's room to place various decorations on.  The Ikea shelf was about $15.  We got the white shelf to contrast his green wall and also match the white trim.  Installation was really easy given that it just required three screws.  I used three hollow wall anchors rated up to 80 pounds each.  They required 5/16 pre-drilled holes, so we placed the shelf on the wall, leveled it, then marked the holes.  I drilled the middle hole first, then the right side, then the left.  I discovered something interesting, though, when drilling the hole on the left - drywall!  Yes, even though there are plaster and lathe walls all around the house somehow there's a slab of drywall in a few places in Robert's room.  It makes me wonder what work was done to this room!  Anywho, three holes drilled, I partially clamped the hollow wall anchors, then reversed the drill to remove the screws before they settled in to a spinning position.  We put the washers between the wall and the shelf, fed the screws through, then screwed everything in to place without any of the three holes finding a stud.  There are three framed pictures on it as well as Robert's signed SF Giants baseball (about 14 autographs on it including Carlos Beltran, Andres Torres, Sergio Romo, Dan Runzler, Brett Pill, Brandon Belt, etc.)

I also installed another sliding door latch on the door to Robert's room,  Can never be too safe. 

Heater Issues

The heater works, that's not the issue.  The issue that I'm experiencing is that in one room - Robert's - the air coming through the heater vent smells like something's burning!  Of all the rooms, why his?!  Since no other room is afflicted with this tainted air, I'm guessing it's something in the vents leading to his room.  I wish I had $15,000 to do some asbestos abatement and install a new heater!

Garfield!

Woke up this morning and saw that blob in the backyard.  "OMG," I thought, "something died in the yard last night!"  I walked over to see what it was, and it turns out Garfield (who's been MIA for a while now) slept in the backyard last night!  I guess he's been keeping our yard mouse/rat free for long enough that he considers it home!