That moment my water heater blew at 6am in Denver

I was dead set on learning how to do my own plumbing repairs, even bought a $60 torch set and everything. Last Tuesday morning I woke up to a puddle in the basement and a loud hissing sound from the water heater. Ended up calling a plumber anyway because I couldn't figure out where the shutoff valve was and water was already soaking my boxes of old comics. Cost me $200 for a 15 minute fix. Has anyone else had a DIY dream die because of a simple thing like not knowing where a valve is?

3 comments

3 Comments

mark_carr729d ago

$200 for a 6am call in Denver is the deal of the century. It's funny how we'll spend money on the tools first instead of just watching a 10 minute YouTube video that shows you exactly where the valve is.

kimmurphy29d agoMost Upvoted

Hey @mark_carr7 you mentioned the YouTube thing, but did you actually try searching for your specific model's shutoff valve location in a panic while water's spreading? I ask because I feel like the internet makes everything look easy until you're standing in a cold puddle at 6am with no coffee and a flashlight in your mouth. The torch set thing is funny too because I bet half the people who buy those end up using them once for a garden hose repair and then they just sit in the garage forever.

wesleyb201mo ago

Actually, $200 isn't bad for a Denver plumber showing up that early (6am emergency rates are brutal). The real heartbreaker is that $60 torch set - I bet the plumber used a $5 crescent wrench to tighten the inlet valve, which is probably what you needed to find first.