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chhotiiHank English the Plumber was highly recommended by friends so I called him when the hot water heater in the house needed to be replaced.
I think Hank thinks I am a sucker. An ignorant female who will pay twice as much as needed because I don't know better.
He did say, after installing the hot water heater, that I probably needed a water pressure regulator. I'm like, huh? We haven't had damage to fixtures or appliances, or toilets acting weird, or anything like that, to date. So I blew off his proposal to come back and test the pressure and install the regulator.
Now the hot water heater has an intermittent problem. I don't understand why the problem would relate to the water pressure. The tenant was able to observe the flame go out. It seems to me that there would be two different systems within the hot water heater: Water moves through; and gas is burned. I don't comprehend how anything about the water pressure would impact the gas burning.
But, OK, let's grant that the house needs a new water pressure regulator. We come to the issue of how much this would cost. Hank quoted an outrageous-sounding $850. A water pressure regulator, if I'm looking at the right thing online, is a $70 item. OK, so then there is labor. According to this DIY page, material costs are less than $100 and time required is one to two hours. Let's say the materials are $100 and Hank and his son work for 2 hours and are each paid $100 per hour. That's on the high side. That comes to $500. I don't see how he even begins to approach $850 in his quote.
And then there's the issue, if this doesn't fix the problem with the hot water heater flame, as I suspect... wtf brand new hot water heater?
If you're local to the house I own (and you know who you are) can you recommend a plumber who can give a second opinion?
I think Hank thinks I am a sucker. An ignorant female who will pay twice as much as needed because I don't know better.
He did say, after installing the hot water heater, that I probably needed a water pressure regulator. I'm like, huh? We haven't had damage to fixtures or appliances, or toilets acting weird, or anything like that, to date. So I blew off his proposal to come back and test the pressure and install the regulator.
Now the hot water heater has an intermittent problem. I don't understand why the problem would relate to the water pressure. The tenant was able to observe the flame go out. It seems to me that there would be two different systems within the hot water heater: Water moves through; and gas is burned. I don't comprehend how anything about the water pressure would impact the gas burning.
But, OK, let's grant that the house needs a new water pressure regulator. We come to the issue of how much this would cost. Hank quoted an outrageous-sounding $850. A water pressure regulator, if I'm looking at the right thing online, is a $70 item. OK, so then there is labor. According to this DIY page, material costs are less than $100 and time required is one to two hours. Let's say the materials are $100 and Hank and his son work for 2 hours and are each paid $100 per hour. That's on the high side. That comes to $500. I don't see how he even begins to approach $850 in his quote.
And then there's the issue, if this doesn't fix the problem with the hot water heater flame, as I suspect... wtf brand new hot water heater?
If you're local to the house I own (and you know who you are) can you recommend a plumber who can give a second opinion?
