So I called the solar heating people today to set up an appointment to get the solar heating system for the swimming pool fixed. The system is about 15 years old so it's not surprising that it has sprung a leak.
In point of fact, it had done so last year and I patched it myself with a little bit of plastic piping, a couple of rubber sleeves and a few screw-band thingies. It held for a while.
But the solar company is going to charge about $140 for the job. $11 in parts and sales tax, the rest in labor. Seriously, I'd have expected at least a few hunnert more. And while I could probably pick up some plastic piping and such for slightly less the $11 at Orchard Supply or elsewhere, it just ain't worth it.
And I'll gladly pay the roughly $130 in labor to avoid going up on the roof in the broiling sun and have someone else do it. Because I GAR-ON-TEE* that whoever does it will be up on the roof in the broiling sun for many hours less than it would take me.
*Anybody get the reference? Just curious, you know.
Iz out!
2 months ago
10 comments:
That is a nice deal, Ken!
Back when I remodeled and landscaped, I elected to install my sprinkler system. Never again!!!!
Oddly, I would go for installing a sprinkler system myself, Jeff. But maybe that's because I've only patched/extended existing systems.
I've learned to take to heart some sage advice I once heard. All due respect to Robert Heinlein, while a human being should perhaps be able do do those things, I've learned that it pays to "do what you do best, and hire the rest."
Oh, and a line I've never actually used but have seriously considered using.
My sister-in-law and mother-in-law often complement me on how many things I can do/repair/build around the house. Their husbands are not fix-it guys but sometimes when I get those compliments I want to say, "Yeah, none of that pesky free time to worry about."
Sometimes I think that learning to be reasonably handy around the house was the stupidest thing I ever did in my life.
I'm of the same opinion, Ken. I did a fair amount of the remodeling work on my house, but most stuff I left to the professionals; in one case, I had them redo a paint job I did.
But I like stretching my mind, turning a wrench or two, and learning new things. So I'm considering a couple solar panels on the roof, to charge a battery which powers my radio station. Spendy, not much return, but interesting.
And I did get the reference, but just barely. I remembered it, but I wasn't much of a fan, so it didn't really click until you asked.
Nope, you ain't too old! I GAR-ON-TEE it.
Sometimes I think that learning to be reasonably handy around the house was the stupidest thing I ever did in my life.
Being reasonably handy ANYWHERE is a dangerous (and stupid) thing. I learned that lesson at work....the hard way.
Heh...something I figured out at a relatively early age: "Once you learn how to do something, you always gotta do it." My Dad taught me how to do basic home repair stuff when I was a kid and I actually enjoy that still. The key word is basic. Change a wall socket or switch? No problem. Rewire my house? Yeah, I'll be watching that.
As far as GAR-ON-TEE goes, it was a CW2 in my old reserve unit that used that a lot and clued me in.
Dave, I actually once rewired the entire circuit (one of two of the original circuits) at the house in Santa Cruz. The circuit being replaced was so old that it actually had the old "separate wires with cloth insulation and ceramic insulator posts".
I won't do it again though. I've learned my lesson. And the headspace under the current house is a lot less than the one in SC.
And there's another interesting story associated with old wiring in Santa Cruz I may tell sometime.
When I was just out of high school, I worked with a guy whose sister was roommates with Justin Wilson's granddaughter. I know, a bit of a way to get a six degrees, but there it is.
I GAR-ON-TEE.
Justin Wilson.
I know him from a cooking show he used to do on PBS. I loved it. He also once told the joke about two Cajuns who were discussing a story from the newspaper - it said a woman had been shot and "the bullet was lodged in her yet."
I suppose Wilson had cleaned it up somewhat for PBS, but the punchline was something along the lines of neither Cajun guy knowing where a woman's "yet" was.
He also segued into a joke about "I wonder who's kissing her now."
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