People ask me a lot if I get discounts on work from contractors I use all the time, and I generally tell them I don’t get discounts, I get better service. Today it was more like a discount. Leaking water heater so I called Aspen Hill Plumbing (I use them and Stevens Plumbing most often and honestly the main reason I chose Aspen Hill over Stevens is because Aspen Hill is good over email and Stevens I have to call). It was clear what was wrong – the drain valve was leaking.
So he told me, “You need a cap on the valve. I can write up a $210 service call…” And he paused.
“Or I can go to the hardware store and probably get one for five bucks.” I finished for him, and he nodded. So I did, and he’s going to write up an estimate for fixing the heater vent so it’s up to code, which 1) will be way more than $5 or even $210 and 2) I can’t do myself.
