My plumber buddy called my DIY water heater install 'a $1200 gamble' and I can't stop thinking about it.

We were grabbing coffee at Palace Coffee on Georgia and I was bragging about swapping my old unit myself. He just looked at me and said, 'You know if that pressure relief valve fails, you're not just out a heater, you could flood the whole garage.' I'd only thought about saving the install fee, not the potential damage. Now I'm eyeing that valve every time I walk past it. Has anyone here actually had a DIY install go wrong in a big way?

4 comments

4 Comments

aaron_mitchell2mo ago

Your buddy isn't wrong. That valve is no joke. Saw a neighbor's garage get wrecked from a bad install. Water everywhere.

max_brown2mo ago

Yeah, and people forget the water damage isn't just from the initial burst. That slow leak inside the wall can rot out the framing for months before you even see it.

ward.kim2mo ago

So when your buddy said that, did he mention if you used the right kind of pipe for the pressure relief line? I've seen people use the wrong material and it cracks from the heat.

-1

emery2901mo ago

Yeah I read somewhere that CPVC gets brittle over time with hot water lines. It might hold up at first but then just fails without much warning. That's why the right material from the start matters so much.