Plumber or Handyman to install water heaters
Hello,
Our handyman says he could install 2 water heaters in our STR (house is 100yrs old). It would save us some $$ but I'm concerned if something goes wrong that we would wish we had a plumber to be accountable.
Any thoughts on this?
Thanks!
Courtney
@Courtney Murphy Does your municipality require hot water installations to be permitted? If so, you could have the handyman do it and get it inspected. Would the handyman not be held accountable?
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@Courtney Murphy, a water heater is a fairly simple install. So, in terms of being confident a handyman could do the work I would feel ok about that.
However, if you want to be cautious I would consider a couple other details before making a decision. First, where are the water heaters located? If they are in a basement where an issue wouldn't cause appreciable damage then having a handyman do it is less of a concern.
The second question is whether the handyman is insured. Many are not, but some are. If they are insured I would absolutely choose a handyman over a plumber. I might use a handyman even if they aren't insured. I might use a plumber is the hot water heater was in a finished space like a closet off the kitchen where in a vacant house it might cause a lot of damage before anyone realized.
Quote from @Julie Marquez:
@Courtney Murphy Does your municipality require hot water installations to be permitted? If so, you could have the handyman do it and get it inspected. Would the handyman not be held accountable?
Hi Julie,
I just checked and yes it has to be done by a licensed plumber, permitted and inspected so I am asking him about that. Thank you for your input, it was very helpful.
Quote from @Kevin Sobilo:
@Courtney Murphy, a water heater is a fairly simple install. So, in terms of being confident a handyman could do the work I would feel ok about that.
However, if you want to be cautious I would consider a couple other details before making a decision. First, where are the water heaters located? If they are in a basement where an issue wouldn't cause appreciable damage then having a handyman do it is less of a concern.
The second question is whether the handyman is insured. Many are not, but some are. If they are insured I would absolutely choose a handyman over a plumber. I might use a handyman even if they aren't insured. I might use a plumber is the hot water heater was in a finished space like a closet off the kitchen where in a vacant house it might cause a lot of damage before anyone realized.
Hi Kevin,
Thank you for your input, this is helpful. The water heaters are in an unfinished basement close to a drain so we are good with location.
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Quote from @Courtney Murphy:
Quote from @Julie Marquez:
@Courtney Murphy Does your municipality require hot water installations to be permitted? If so, you could have the handyman do it and get it inspected. Would the handyman not be held accountable?
Hi Julie,
I just checked and yes it has to be done by a licensed plumber, permitted and inspected so I am asking him about that. Thank you for your input, it was very helpful.
Too bad it has to be done by a licensed plumber. If it's electric, all you need is a wrench and a screwdriver. If it's gas, all you need is a wrench. I've probably changed a dozen of them.
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I use my handyman for water heaters. Not that hard.
Inspection? you gotta be kidding. My cat did my last one, he was done in 3 minutes, then fell asleep on top of it.