I installed a new gas water Heater today ... boring post

[GOPAPA]

Yeah ,, I did do it and it was a 17 year old heater. actually is was not going out yet ,, but one by one the neighbors has been leaking so because mine did not have a catch pan ,, I changed it out anyway ,,all houses built in 2000

The Neighbor put his in and then called for inspection $29

The inspector made him change the two copper pipes above the water heater and the gas line ,and install a nipple with a cap in the gas line for a partical catcher ,,plus change the vent from 3 inch to 4 inch ,, put a 22 degree bend in the pop off pipe so it wouldnt scald the legs of anyone if it ever popped off AND a pipe down from the catch pan with a 22 degree bend at the garage floor

I DID NOT GET AN INSPECTOR ,,job done saves $70 do ya blame me

[Boog]

Not one bit.
I understand why "codes" are established and all but if I am capable of doing a home repair myself I do just that. I always have.
Too many hands trying to get in our pockets I tell ya.

[leddzepp]

The only time I worry about codes is when I sell the house.

[Indian113]

Sunday my youngest Daughter and helped me clean the garage so Mom could get her car in. While we were waiting on The BBQ Bricks to get Hot I installed two dusk till dawn lights. Watching me she asked how I learned to do all the things that I do around the house for upkeep and maintence. I told her that when I was in High School we a class called SHOP and was taught the basic's . Bummed her out because they don't have it Now!

[davischevy]

I believe that if it's your water heater, you should be able to do whatever you want.

[FleetsidePaul]

Originally Posted by davischevy

I believe that if it's your water heater, you should be able to do whatever you want.

They get really fussy about gas water heaters in California. (Earthquakes)

That being said, I put my own in a couple of years ago, and it's strapped down good. If it goes in an earthquake, I've got bigger problems.

[raggedjim]

In Kentucky all work on hot water heaters is supposed to be inspected. When you buy one you have to list the address of the installation. Sure enough, I got a call from the inspector and he had to come and approve it, no problems, but it is a pain.

Rg

[In The Ten Ring]

I had three years of "shop class" in jr. high and high school and all three classes were jokes. The classes were dumping grounds for misbehavior cases, I was the only student in any of those with an "A" average or who had any upper level courses at all.

The last shop class was a bit better than the others, we at least made a few metal and plastic projects. The first two were chaos: real "free for all's." It's a shame too. The teacher was beating in time to retirement, he had no control over behavior, and did not care. The substitute came in after the guy had a heart attack, he had a strong, authoritative demeanor, but he refused to let us into the shop and kept us in the classroom. Opportunity lost.

All I ever learned of any use out of three years was what "cold rolled steel" was and to "always tighten at least 2 of the 3 holes in a drill press chuck."

Public schools are their best!

In 1999 at age 24 I entered vocational school for auto mechanics.....it was a complete rerun of jr. high shop. Dumping ground for losers, teacher with no classroom control, no organization, taught nothing. Bullying, fights, wasted opportunities.

A big guy tried to bully me, I was not going to let that fly. I put a stop to it quickly but I did overreact on him. Years later he and his mother came to a car lot I sold on for help, but there was no helping them....no down payment, no trade, no real income, bad credit, you know the drill.

I drew him aside and apologized for how I had handled him......he understood. I had to be overzealous though because of how dangerous appearing "weak" in such a place is. I landed a full time job as a substitute teacher and I quit going. It's a shame that schools operate that way.....I had even gone to the principal of that school myself over how bad that class was but he was not interested. I wonder how many of those rejects are in prison now and how well the ones that wanted to learn turned out.

[old Rusty C10]

I hope you put the ground strap between the water lines too that's good in case of lightning strikes

[GOPAPA]

Originally Posted by In The Ten Ring

I had three years of "shop class" in jr. high and high school and all three classes were jokes. The classes were dumping grounds for misbehavior cases, I was the only student in any of those with an "A" average or who had any upper level courses at all.

The last shop class was a bit better than the others, we at least made a few metal and plastic projects. The first two were chaos: real "free for all's." It's a shame too. The teacher was beating in time to retirement, he had no control over behavior, and did not care. The substitute came in after the guy had a heart attack, he had a strong, authoritative demeanor, but he refused to let us into the shop and kept us in the classroom. Opportunity lost.

All I ever learned of any use out of three years was what "cold rolled steel" was and to "always tighten at least 2 of the 3 holes in a drill press chuck."

Public schools are their best!

In 1999 at age 24 I entered vocational school for auto mechanics.....it was a complete rerun of jr. high shop. Dumping ground for losers, teacher with no classroom control, no organization, taught nothing. Bullying, fights, wasted opportunities.

A big guy tried to bully me, I was not going to let that fly. I put a stop to it quickly but I did overreact on him. Years later he and his mother came to a car lot I sold on for help, but there was no helping them....no down payment, no trade, no real income, bad credit, you know the drill.

I drew him aside and apologized for how I had handled him......he understood. I had to be overzealous though because of how dangerous appearing "weak" in such a place is. I landed a full time job as a substitute teacher and I quit going. It's a shame that schools operate that way.....I had even gone to the principal of that school myself over how bad that class was but he was not interested. I wonder how many of those rejects are in prison now and how well the ones that wanted to learn turned out.

I am still looking for some part of this where it has to do with a water heater.. lol

[In The Ten Ring]

Originally Posted by GOPAPA

I am still looking for some part of this where it has to do with a water heater.. lol

See Post #4.

[davischevy]

Originally Posted by In The Ten Ring

See Post #4.

ITTR, all you had to do was end post #8 with "And non of them learned how to install a water heater" and your covered.

[68c10airstream]

I installed a new water heater 26 years ago and never looked back. Removed the free standing natural gas fired water heater and installed a storage tank that is heated from my boiler. One less exhaust stack, increased efficiency (the efficiency is better with my boiler), almost endless hot water (have daughters), my boiler doesn't go offline during summer months so i don't end up with fall no heat issues, lifetime warranty on storage tank, etc. Costs are higher up front but cheaper in the long run.

[GOPAPA]

Originally Posted by 68c10airstream

I installed a new water heater 26 years ago and never looked back. Removed the free standing natural gas fired water heater and installed a storage tank that is heated from my boiler. One less exhaust stack, increased efficiency (the efficiency is better with my boiler), almost endless hot water (have daughters), my boiler doesn't go offline during summer months so i don't end up with fall no heat issues, lifetime warranty on storage tank, etc. Costs are higher up front but cheaper in the long run.

Sounds like the thing to do and to last... good job

[68C15]

I'm screwed if an inspector ever comes around. I've done so much stuff myself it would make your head spin. He wouldn't find anything done wrong, just no permits. I have a general contractor friend and he tells me what codes are. This year alone I spent over $8000 at Menards. Next year is on track to almost double that.

I took every shop class available in school. I aced wood, construction, and automotive but got a "B-" in welding. Sure, we had idiots in class who were just there to consume oxygen. One in auto was a real jerk and we didn't like him. One day he mouthed off to the teacher. Mr. Schmidt straightened him out right quick, and none of us student saw it. At least that's our story

[Low Elco]

Hmm, first I've ever heard of having to have a hot water heater inspection. I did mine 10 years ago, replaced a 40 with a 50 and put ball valve shutoffs and flex pipe in.

[In The Ten Ring]

Originally Posted by 68C15

I'm screwed if an inspector ever comes around. I've done so much stuff myself it would make your head spin. He wouldn't find anything done wrong, just no permits. I have a general contractor friend and he tells me what codes are. This year alone I spent over $8000 at Menards. Next year is on track to almost double that.

I took every shop class available in school. I aced wood, construction, and automotive but got a "B-" in welding. Sure, we had idiots in class who were just there to consume oxygen. One in auto was a real jerk and we didn't like him. One day he mouthed off to the teacher. Mr. Schmidt straightened him out right quick, and none of us student saw it. At least that's our story

It may be different with private residences but here, doing work without necessary permits will invalidate home owner's insurance. I know condo owners that rent out that never got a permit.....if their place burns down or floods (and say injuries or kills a renter) they will then be sued directly, lose everything they own, and perhaps do jail time. On my ski condo, I am fully permitted.

Sounds like your teacher did his job and you did yours. The students and teacher SHOULD work together to maintain class order. In my experience though, the teachers were a joke and thus, so was the class. However, the problem was probably the weak principal and school system. It comes from the top: if the principal cannot support strong teachers, those will quit or be fired and the only teachers that can stay in till retirement are the weak ones.

[GOPAPA]

Originally Posted by In The Ten Ring

It may be different with private residences but here, doing work without necessary permits will invalidate home owner's insurance. I know condo owners that rent out that never got a permit.....if their place burns down or floods (and say injuries or kills a renter) they will then be sued directly, lose everything they own, and perhaps do jail time. On my ski condo, I am fully permitted.

Sounds like your teacher did his job and you did yours. The students and teacher SHOULD work together to maintain class order. In my experience though, the teachers were a joke and thus, so was the class. However, the problem was probably the weak principal and school system. It comes from the top: if the principal cannot support strong teachers, those will quit or be fired and the only teachers that can stay in till retirement are the weak ones.

You have a point about being covered by insurance if it is proven that a water heater caused the fire.and no paper work proven it was inspected.... There is a lawyer on every corner to take the case,

As for teachers being the best there are,,not all of them are ,,,again I agree with ya as they are so protected by unions that it is hard to get rid of a bad one ,,and I say this as a retired union worker from construction..

[Coley]

Its interesting about the permits vs non-permits stuff....as well as the relative building codes that are out there.

I remember I was in the good ol' 'do it yourself' Home depot and sourcing some stuff in the electrical aisles and I asked their aisle electrical/sales associate guy...why he would sell me electrical plugs, wire, breakers or items without me first showing him an electrical permit.
....he didn't know what to say.
I said, that may make you complicit in this work if it goes south and it becomes a problem...
...again, he didn't know what to say.
To be quite honest, I was just being theoretical on where this 'do it yourself' stuff starts and stops....particularly if you openly allow home owners to buy electrical and plumbing stuff without a permit.
I can't just walk into a gun shop (at least in Canada) and buy a gun and ammunition.....I need a permit to prove that (ideally?) I know what I'm doing with it...at least on a basic level.

As for insurance....well unless your house was built this year...it isn't up to 'code' so why in the world would you be able to get insurance on it....if its 10 years, 20 years ....or 50 years old. All of those older homes aren't 'to code' at all...electrically, plumbing, etc....but your insurance is valid.

Its an odd conundrum....this whole 'what is up to code or not' stuff.

As for the do it yourself stuff....I always try to follow the code or above on anything I take on.....although never underestimate 'the goof' factor out there...adding another 6 circuits onto an existing electrical circuit that may already have 10 or 12 devices on it...with a bunch of 15 year old (no longer to code FTI/etc) electrical wire.
....these guys are asking for trouble....lol

All good
Coley

[dieseldawg142]

[QUOTE=GOPAPA;8082490]Yeah ,, I did do it and it was a 17 year old heater. actually is was not going out yet


not bad, 17 and counting...
i'm doing mine here hopefully soon
was 12 yrs old when we bought the house, 22 yrs ago...
34 yrs, no leaks or probs, most likely survived so long cause we have always had it on the lowest heat setting.
old State "Turbo Super Saver" 880

[In The Ten Ring]

Originally Posted by GOPAPA

You have a point about being covered by insurance if it is proven that a water heater caused the fire.and no paper work proven it was inspected.... There is a lawyer on every corner to take the case,

As for teachers being the best there are,,not all of them are ,,,again I agree with ya as they are so protected by unions that it is hard to get rid of a bad one ,,and I say this as a retired union worker from construction..

A condo owner I used to know (he sold out) completely renovated his unit when he bought it...spent 20K as he told me. All new copper plumbing, BUT when I mentioned "you have to get a permit or insurance won't pay for a leak" HE GOT QUIET FAST and said on the phone "What?!!! Hey I got to go!" I expect he didn't know that.

My experience with teaching is thus, new teachers come out of college unprepared for the challenges of fighting an administration that does not enforce behavior, a home life where the single mother doesn't either, and a county administration that just wants the school to churn out graduates, it doesn't matter if they can read or not. I have seen principals make life very difficult for teachers that demanded excellence as again, they just wanted a high graduation rate. I know one principal that demanded teachers change grades from failing to passing and if the teacher didn't, he'd change the grade himself and then make sure the teacher didn't come back the following year. If the teacher stood up to that guy, he made sure they never taught again anywhere else. That's actually pretty common in teaching.

In such an environment, the only teachers that could remain were those that towed the school line. There is a big reason school systems around the country have waived the requirement of professional teaching degree in favor of anyone with a college degree at all. It is because truly dedicated and educated personnel are drummed out or they see how much of a waste the field is for someone that is smart enough and concerned enough to enter.

It's rather like how the military can't keep up recruiting numbers and here recently decided to allow in self-mutilators ("cutting") and those with a history of drug use and mental illness. They can't get enough of the good stock so they make it easier for questionable stock to get in.

As for teacher unions, in my experience, those were useless in getting help from an abusive administration. The main concern of the union wasn't knowing school law but keeping membership totals up and making sure they knew who to vote for come Nov. 8. The same is true with the coal miner's union but that did change a bit last go around.

[Coley]

In the Ten ring...that is a very accurate account of what is going on these days with teaching in the public sector.
In Canada...the teachers union(s) are sort of the equivalent to the Navy Seals in terms of how militant they are.....
They are well paid, they work...maybe 190 days a year....might be 195....and that goes down every few years as they 'add' days off for more 'training' or for 'reading breaks' for the kids.
When they retire they get a very sweet, indexed, endless government pension.
The stories that come out exposing this...are actually really entertaining on many levels.
I feel sorry for the kids that are in there these days.
On top of that...8 out of 9 teachers within the public system are now women...and that is starting to have negative effects on the (teenage) boys...who evolve on a better level with more exposure to male teachers.
At least equal...at a one to one ratio.

I, on occasion mentor, and work with young professional people that have come from this system....and the results are definitely starting to show.

Interesting stuff.....
Coley