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Official Pit Home Improvement/DIY thread

I have an electric tank water heater that came with the house, but if I can afford it when I need a new one, I'd prefer to switch to tankless. It should make your costs go down over time, though I'm not sure how long it would take to make up the difference.
 
Tankless all the way. You never run out of hot water as long as you've got gas, and you only heat the water when in use as opposed to constantly heating it. I love mine, and in the 5 years I've lived in the house, it's already paid for itself in savings. Everything from here on out is pure profit.
 
Tankless all the way. You never run out of hot water as long as you've got gas, and you only heat the water when in use as opposed to constantly heating it. I love mine, and in the 5 years I've lived in the house, it's already paid for itself in savings. Everything from here on out is pure profit.

If you don't mind me asking, how much did the tankless system cost and how many people are using hot water in your house. Some things I have read seem to indicate that it might have a hard time keeping up if you use a lot of hot water - especially if you are, for example, showering and doing laundry at the same time. We do multiple loads of laundry a day and have a teenage daughter who takes infinite showers...

Also, I just used some online calculator for energy use and it showed average energy cost for a gas water heater was less than $50 per year... Is that right? If so, even if you saved 50% on energy that would only be $25 per year??
 
Why can't you have a gas heater in your crawl space? It needs a little room around it and you must vent it, but I can't envision why that's an issue. They are generally the same size as their electric equivalent but need venting. Tankless is an option but will need venting too. There can be a slight lag in turning on hot water and actually getting it with tankless. Never running out of hot water is a nice upside. They are more expensive but I didn't think quite that much more expensive.
 
if there is no gas line to the crawl space, that might be a lot more expensive. a friend of mine brought her old washer and gas dryer to her new house (with gas line for fireplace logs already there) and it would have cost more to run a new gas line to the laundry room than just buy an electric dryer.
 
Why can't you have a gas heater in your crawl space? It needs a little room around it and you must vent it, but I can't envision why that's an issue. They are generally the same size as their electric equivalent but need venting. Tankless is an option but will need venting too. There can be a slight lag in turning on hot water and actually getting it with tankless. Never running out of hot water is a nice upside. They are more expensive but I didn't think quite that much more expensive.

Apparently the crawlspace requires a "low-boy" type heater and they don't make those in gas... I guess due to clearance issues in the crawlspace.
 
tankless if you can do gas. I've seen so many people decide to go electric tankless and have to upgrade their service.

Changing gears how much does it cost to have someone come out and blow leaves? I feel like it might be worth it versus going out and buying a rake and spending a couple hours doing it Saturday.
 
If you don't mind me asking, how much did the tankless system cost and how many people are using hot water in your house. Some things I have read seem to indicate that it might have a hard time keeping up if you use a lot of hot water - especially if you are, for example, showering and doing laundry at the same time. We do multiple loads of laundry a day and have a teenage daughter who takes infinite showers...

Also, I just used some online calculator for energy use and it showed average energy cost for a gas water heater was less than $50 per year... Is that right? If so, even if you saved 50% on energy that would only be $25 per year??
At the time, back in 2008, the average price of an electric hot water was $400 or so. I got one of the Rinnai propane tankless heaters and it was ~$1500. A typical electric hot water heater would cost between $400 and $500 per year to operate. Compared to the electric heater, I calculated that I'd make up the extra 1k in 7-7.5 years or so. The electricity savings have been much greater than I expected. For example, my power bills run roughly $90-$100 a month, year round. My neighbors have houses 1/2-1/3 smaller than mine, and pay twice as much each month. Not all of my savings are attributed to the water heater, but a decent chunk of it is.

I've never had any issues with having enough hot water. That has more to do with pressure than anything else. As long as you've got the pressure pushing the water to your fixture, it'll be hot. I've taken a shower while the dishwasher and washing machine were both going and there was no difference except for a minimal loss in pressure.
 
Just finished up media room in my basement. Did some myself and had the contractor do some (drywall etc). Need to hang some pics and get some furniture but so far very happy with the results. A fraction of the cost that local pros were offering to do it for. I did a ton of research and bought a lot from e bay.

BacktoBack, looks good. Did you do a lot of soundproofing in the walls? Don't think the drop ceiling will be any good at soundproofing. Do you read the avsforums, that place is a treasure trove of information on home theaters.
 
At the time, back in 2008, the average price of an electric hot water was $400 or so. I got one of the Rinnai propane tankless heaters and it was ~$1500. A typical electric hot water heater would cost between $400 and $500 per year to operate. Compared to the electric heater, I calculated that I'd make up the extra 1k in 7-7.5 years or so. The electricity savings have been much greater than I expected. For example, my power bills run roughly $90-$100 a month, year round. My neighbors have houses 1/2-1/3 smaller than mine, and pay twice as much each month. Not all of my savings are attributed to the water heater, but a decent chunk of it is.

I've never had any issues with having enough hot water. That has more to do with pressure than anything else. As long as you've got the pressure pushing the water to your fixture, it'll be hot. I've taken a shower while the dishwasher and washing machine were both going and there was no difference except for a minimal loss in pressure.

thanks for the info. Have you had any issues with sediment build-up in the tankless system?
 
Not going to search if this has come up before, but can anyone give me some thoughts on chlorine vs. saltwater pools? The wife and I are buying a house soon, some options have pools, typically chlorine. My parents have a pool and my mom suggests changing a chlorine pool to saltwater, but does anyone have any thoughts? Upkeep, cost, etc.
 
Not going to search if this has come up before, but can anyone give me some thoughts on chlorine vs. saltwater pools? The wife and I are buying a house soon, some options have pools, typically chlorine. My parents have a pool and my mom suggests changing a chlorine pool to saltwater, but does anyone have any thoughts? Upkeep, cost, etc.

I'm partial to saltwater just from a swimming stand point.

My aunt and uncle put in a pool and I wish I could remember why they choose saltwater. I think the initial cost may have been more, but the upkeep and maintenance cost was lower. I do remember that the decision between saltwater and chlorine was made very quickly.
 
I'm partial to saltwater just from a swimming stand point.

My aunt and uncle put in a pool and I wish I could remember why they choose saltwater. I think the initial cost may have been more, but the upkeep and maintenance cost was lower. I do remember that the decision between saltwater and chlorine was made very quickly.

Unfortunately this would probably also involve converting the pool, but I can't get a good idea of how hard/expensive that is from the internet. I should really just wait until we find a house, then if need be, call some pool companies...but hey, why not ask around!
 
need for a lowboy does explain how you can have an electric in there and not a gas. I would agree with some of the others, go for the gas tankless hot water heater. I have read that in larger homes it is worthwhile to consider two of them, but can't speak to that myself. I seriously considered tankless, but I have a 90 year old house and was afraid the lag in heated water might be greatly exaggerated. Plus at the time I was doing a lot of other projects and didn't want to spend the extra change.
 
BacktoBack, looks good. Did you do a lot of soundproofing in the walls? Don't think the drop ceiling will be any good at soundproofing. Do you read the avsforums, that place is a treasure trove of information on home theaters.

I did a ton of research. You are right about the avsforums, very helpful. I was able to purchase some good stuff at fair prices and not have to break the bank. My setup is pretty ideal in that the room is concrete on three of the walls and the fourth is a slider to the outside which I covered with black out curtains. The walls were furred in years ago with wood paneling. Contractor screwed drywall to wood paneling. The ceiling is actually concrete as well (room sits under an outdoor patio that has been windowed in to function as a three season porch). I had the ceiling insulated prior to placing the drop ceiling. The room is not centrally located in my basement, which really helps a lot. So I can make a lot of noise and not bother my wife upstairs. With three concrete walls and a concrete ceiling sound has not been an issue. I did get a riser for my subwoofer to keep it off the floor to try and prevent any rattling. Being a basement I was worried about moisture issues so I tiled the floor instead of carpet. All in all pretty excited to have it up and running at a reasonable price.
 
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thanks for the info. Have you had any issues with sediment build-up in the tankless system?

Not that I've seen. The lag others mention really isn't bad. It has more to do with the distance from the heater to the fixture. If you can place the heater in the center of the home, it'll take out any lag.

Not going to search if this has come up before, but can anyone give me some thoughts on chlorine vs. saltwater pools? The wife and I are buying a house soon, some options have pools, typically chlorine. My parents have a pool and my mom suggests changing a chlorine pool to saltwater, but does anyone have any thoughts? Upkeep, cost, etc.

Before Rulz left I discussed pools with him. He installs them in GA. I don't remember the prices, but he said go saltwater all the way. Its really not salt water, the salinity is just slightly higher than tears. The upkeep and cost to run are much better with saltwater pools.
 
Gotta brag a little bit. I added garage door repair to my list of accomplishments today. Relocated and tightened the lift motor and fixed a broken panel.
 
My dad just switched their pool over to salt water last year. He loves it!

On tankless heaters, it is a good idea to de-scale them once a year by pumping vinegar through the heater. If it was installed properly, there should be some ball valves to isolate the heater to do this.
 
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