| Update
Went ahead with the installation. Here was the scenario. My Brick chimney that goes from the basement, through the first floor (hidden), and through the second floor (exposed) is leaking at the flashing. Since the chimney is only being used to vent my gas hot water heater, I looked into the powervent which would allow me to vent directly out the side of the house. Plus, I can now take out my chimney to the floor of my second level and greatly open up the room in which it was located.
Went ahead and did it this weekend. Had to sweat all new pipes for the new location with acetylene and solder, (copper has gotten expensive). Installed elbows, "T's", valves, etc. Had to move gas lines to the new location. Had to run electrical from the circuit breaker to the new location. Had to drill a hole through my exterior wall for the new vent pipe, seal and caulk the hole. All told, took better part of both days, with myself, my father, and brother. Having a plumber come and do the work would have been easy. The hard part was the three of us putting out ideas for each little part of the job ("I would do this, I wouldn't do that"). All done though
New, Sears Kenmore 50 gal. Powervent water heater: $700
Parts to install new heater: $450
Labor saved by not using a plumbing service: Est. $500 or $600
Spending 19 hours with my dad and brother in my basement: Priceless I guess.
If anyone has any questions about what to do with one of these installations, let me know.  |