Are all contractors really incompetent? (I doubt it)

[Fermion]

We did all of the work on our house build ourselves partly because we were scared of shoddy contractor work. I will say that the foundation concrete pour, which was really the only think we hired a team to do, was done quite well. I spent days researching that guy and his company though, reading reviews and talking about him with the building inspector to see if he was reliable.

 

[Handymike]

Why did you replace your water heater if it was still working?

Water heaters should never go bad. The problem is, homeowners take zero precautions to maintain anything. There is a sacrificial rod in your water heater called an anode rod. It should have been replaced after a couple years. Or splurge and buy an anode rod that has a electric current running through it. Those last forever.

Such a simple fix and I have never heard of a single person doing this. You have to replace the anode rod or your hot water heater will destroy itself.

I'm replacing an anode rod for a customer this coming week. Had unit in for about 5 years so it is time. Bradford White so anode rod is under hot water pipeing. You need to flush your heater annually also to remove sediment and mineral deposits.

 

[disneysteve]

Why did you replace your water heater if it was still working?

Water heaters should never go bad. The problem is, homeowners take zero precautions to maintain anything. There is a sacrificial rod in your water heater called an anode rod. It should have been replaced after a couple years. Or splurge and buy an anode rod that has a electric current running through it. Those last forever.

Such a simple fix and I have never heard of a single person doing this. You have to replace the anode rod or your hot water heater will destroy itself.

I have never heard of this before. I'm sure if it's news to me, it's news to most people, which is probably why you're never heard of anyone doing it. Why don't all of the plumbing contractors recommend this? It would give them a steady stream of work to do. Heck, make it part of the maintenance contract that they encourage their customers to have. Guaranteed income on an ongoing basis. Or is it just more lucrative for them to wait until the tanks fail and then replace them?

 

[freedomatlast]

It's tough to get away with it though when the item they are pointing out has been working flawlessly for 15 years. Clearly, what the previous guy did was just fine even if it isn't the way you would do it today.

Do you say to them, "Well, it must not have been too bad if it worked flawlessly for 15 years"? If so, what's their response?

 

[FindingForward]

I'm fine with them saying, "this doesn't meet current code". That totally makes sense and if you're replacing something, you need to follow today's guidelines. But just randomly pointing out something done "wrong" that isn't a code issue seems suspicious.

Dentists do this often as well. It was especially funny when the last one questioned something that he did himself 10 years ago.

 

[Just_Steve]

Dentists do this often as well. It was especially funny when the last one questioned something that he did himself 10 years ago.

Did you tell him? What did he have to say?

 

[FindingForward]

Did you tell him? What did he have to say?

Yup. He didn't respond lol...just moved on to other exam details

 

[engineernerd]

I'm replacing an anode rod for a customer this coming week. Had unit in for about 5 years so it is time. Bradford White so anode rod is under hot water pipeing. You need to flush your heater annually also to remove sediment and mineral deposits.

Interestingly, the water at our AZ home is so hard the sediment blocked the water from coming out after only two winters there. We succeeded in draining the WH only once, the first time we headed back north. The previous one also could not be drained the normal way so when it failed we siphoned the water out the top.

 

[JoeWras]

Why did you replace your water heater if it was still working?

Water heaters should never go bad. The problem is, homeowners take zero precautions to maintain anything. There is a sacrificial rod in your water heater called an anode rod. It should have been replaced after a couple years. Or splurge and buy an anode rod that has a electric current running through it. Those last forever.

Such a simple fix and I have never heard of a single person doing this. You have to replace the anode rod or your hot water heater will destroy itself.

Plumbing forums are all over the anode rod thing. People there do report changing them. And plumbers seem to think the electric ones work well. My problem is I have no headroom. I thinking of getting an electric one and I'll cut the old one out in segments.

 

[JoeWras]

Just removed two coax wall plates and put on blanks. Both were next to electrical outlets. Both only had wood screws in the dry wall and were not really holding. One of them was so close to the electrical outlet the side of it partially overlapped the electric outlet. I guess the installer was some random fly by night contractor that just slaps the stuff on with no concern about it.

BuT iT's lOw VoLTagE sO I doN't haVe aNY cODes TO fOLLoW!

 

[djsander]

BuT iT's lOw VoLTagE sO I doN't haVe aNY cODes TO fOLLoW!

They just knock a hole through the wall and run a couple of screws through the dry wall for the plate. Then run a cable up to the roof for the dish.

 

[JoeWras]

They just knock a hole through the wall and run a couple of screws through the dry wall for the plate. Then run a cable up to the roof for the dish.

Yep. The unsaid and implied part of my reply was what you see in your place: no pride in their work. To them "no codes" means "no effort."

Plate partially overlaps electric outlet plate? Who cares, the guy with the drill outside came a little close, but it doesn't matter. Ship it.

Cable runs at a 15 degree angle up the side of the house? Who cares?

Cable runs in front of a shut off valve? Who cares? Ship it. Move on to next job.

And so on.

 

[djsander]

Yep. The unsaid and implied part of my reply was what you see in your place: no pride in their work. To them "no codes" means "no effort."

Plate partially overlaps electric outlet plate? Who cares, the guy with the drill outside came a little close, but it doesn't matter. Ship it.

Cable runs at a 15 degree angle up the side of the house? Who cares?

Cable runs in front of a shut off valve? Who cares? Ship it. Move on to next job.

And so on.

Well put. I understood what you said and was my point as well. In and out with no concern other than making a buck.

 

[splitwdw]

When my husband passed in 2022, I started scheduling renovation work. I wasn't sure if I was going to stay in the house so it would be updated if I sold. A group of friends have been using the same contractors for quite a few years with no problems. I don't have one complaint about the people I used, and no one tried to upsell me. I've had a lot of work done, wallpaper stripping, painting, new flooring, replaced countertops, new appliances, new roof on house & garage (next month the roofs on the shed & workshop will be replaced due to trees coming down from snow & wind storms), electrical, plumbing, 2 new heaters (1 workshop & 1 garage) and new deck. Only things left to do are repair our brick patio, repair or replace driveway and kitchen floor.

 

[Handymike]

One suggestion I would make to anyone who is considering hiring a contractor to do work for them. Become informed, at least roughly, in the work that you are having someone do for you. If a driveway, look to see what should be done in your area, i.e depth of pour, steel required, underlyment, etc. Or drywall thickness, finish, texture etc. be familiar with term used by construction people. Finish means different things to different people.
Mike

 

[big-papa]

Also, don't forget the appropriate response to a contractor who says that something looks like it was a DIY job gone wrong, the appropriate answer is always: "The previous owner must have done that".