The hot water leaveth
You don't really think about how much you value hot water, at least I didn't. Until it went away. John was rinsing out some dishes this morning and noticed that we didn't have hot water. When he went to check the water heater (cleverly named, if you ask me), the pilot light was out. After several failed attempts to re-light it, we called the gas company to have them send someone out to check it out. When the gas guy arrived and looked at the water heater, he remarked that the thermocouple (eh?) was shot. Now, I'm not claiming to know anything about water heaters or thermocouples, but I do know that that doesn't sound good. And so it isn't: the water heater has to be replaced and, because it's original to the house and is no longer up to code, it needs to be brought up to code. Translation? A water heater that would normally run $250 or so is going to cost... well, several times that amount because the plumber needs to go through our roof to install a flue.
Home ownership: friend or foe?