Unplanned Improvement

Last Tuesday night I went through the laundry room to go out the side door and thought, "Wow, it's really warm and humid in here." That was quickly followed by, "I'm not running laundry" and an inspection of the water heater. Sure enough, it was leaking. Fortunately, it had a drip pan under it, so I had not flooded the inside of my house. I promptly hopped in the shower to 1) shower and 2) use up all the hot water in the tank before I turned it off.

I booked several plumbers to come out on Wednesday to give me quotes and the one I booked could not make it out until Friday to do the installation. Even without hot water, I decided to wait for him anyway because he was great. He listened to my concerns of conventional vs tankless now (Cha-ching! 3x the cost of conventional at a time when $$$ is already tight due to a recent pay cut) vs wasting the money and a perfectly good water heater when I finally get around to the big remodel. His opinion was don't do it twice, and do the installation of the tankless in a place that will be compatible with future remodeling. I was sold.

Anyway, when they came out to do the installation, they pondered how they were going to get the old unit out with the utility sink in the way. I told them I'm not at all attached to the sink and use it only because my washing machine drains into it. They could remove it to make it easier to get the old tank out, IF they would help me set up a standpipe for draining the washer. They paused and said, "We don't usually do that since we do just water heaters, but since it will make it easier on us, we'll do it for you," and then told me what supplies I'd need to get.

It took all day, but the added bonus is that my laundry room is suddenly VERY spacious. I'm gearing up to paint it and the kitchen in the coming weeks and then will install some cupboards/shelves in the nook where the old water heater was and will suddenly have a massive amount of storage for pantry and cleaning supplies. I can't wait!