I called and paid the $69 fee to have someone take a look at my hot water heater. I wanted help diagnosing a leaky T&P valve vs. gas control valve. I was glad to pay $69 for their time.
The plumber looked at my heater for 2 minutes and then assured me it was time for a new water heater. He didn't cite any reasons other than it's 8 years old. I asked if he could test the T&P valve or just replace it or some other diagnostic and he was not interested. He replied ""umm, I don't know if we have any of those valves in the warehouse.""
This wasn't an emergency and they knew this. The plumber got on the phone immediately to get a quote on the new water heater, without asking if I was interested. He then says the water heaters ""these days"" are taller. This means they would need to re-drill the gas vent on the side of my house. He assured me the standard size of a hot water heater is now different.
I played along and listened to the quote he gave me: $2200
I told him I hope he holds this super-low price for me. He called into his boss and said they could do it for 30 days. I better hurry and take advantage, I can even finance through them!
No thanks.
I should have done it myself to begin with. I went to lowes, bought a new T&P valve for $12. My water heater works great now.
Pros: curteous
Cons: outrageous pricing, didn't do any homework, no troubleshooti
more