Hi guys,
My water heater has suffered a major leak. We just bought our house in April and part of the deal was the seller purchased a home warranty through American Home Shield (AHS). While I have the skills needed to replace a water heater I decided to go through AHS to save on the cost of replacing the water heater. It's a $60 service fee and AHS covers the replacement water heater and labor.
The plumbing company came out and established the water heater is under manufacturer warranty. It's actually a Rheem Marathon series tank, one with a lifetime warranty (replacement tank of same size and brand/model would run me $1000 if I didn't go through AHS). Unfortunately they can't find it in stock anywhere so they've ordered it from the manufacturer to be installed on Monday or Tuesday.
I was just called by AHS and they said there would be extra expenses not covered under the $60 service fee. The plumbing company said they have to pull a permit at a cost of $135 and install an expansion tank for $125. Is a permit really needed to install a water heater? Do I really need an expansion tank since I don't currently have one? The only thing I can think of is that they have to bring it up to code and since it's not they have to pull a permit and install an expansion tank (is that now required under code?)
Either way, as of now this replacement will cost me $320 which I guess I still better than buying a cheap replacement tank and installing it myself.
My water heater has suffered a major leak. We just bought our house in April and part of the deal was the seller purchased a home warranty through American Home Shield (AHS). While I have the skills needed to replace a water heater I decided to go through AHS to save on the cost of replacing the water heater. It's a $60 service fee and AHS covers the replacement water heater and labor.
The plumbing company came out and established the water heater is under manufacturer warranty. It's actually a Rheem Marathon series tank, one with a lifetime warranty (replacement tank of same size and brand/model would run me $1000 if I didn't go through AHS). Unfortunately they can't find it in stock anywhere so they've ordered it from the manufacturer to be installed on Monday or Tuesday.
I was just called by AHS and they said there would be extra expenses not covered under the $60 service fee. The plumbing company said they have to pull a permit at a cost of $135 and install an expansion tank for $125. Is a permit really needed to install a water heater? Do I really need an expansion tank since I don't currently have one? The only thing I can think of is that they have to bring it up to code and since it's not they have to pull a permit and install an expansion tank (is that now required under code?)
Either way, as of now this replacement will cost me $320 which I guess I still better than buying a cheap replacement tank and installing it myself.