TOLD YOU SO

When the appraiser came to look over our house two weeks ago - with Melissa and I desperately hoping for a greenlight on our refinance proposal - he reported back to the bank one thing that HAD to be corrected before he could give his blessing.

It concerned the water heater. It needed "a drain line on the overflow valve".

Melissa suggested I call my brother, owner of the family hardware store to see if it was something I could do myself.

A drain line - connecting what to which drain? 

A plumbing project worthy of holding up the bank proceedings? Do it myself?

I couldn't imagine. 

Besides, the top of the water heater looks to be held together by hard water deposits. Even if this necessary drain line turned out to be a problem most people could DIY, I pictured myself spending hours on the project, buying a whole bunch of tools, and ultimately wrecking the water heater itself.

So I didn't call my brother, I called a plumber.

Better to have a professional do the job right.

Right?

After canceling once last week, the plumber came this morning. He attached a brass fitting to the valve on the side of the tank and from it he dangled a couple of feet of blue plastic pipe, open-ended and pointing to floor. 

Like this:

Ten minutes later, he wrote the invoice and said, "I won't charge you for the parts, since it was such a simple thing."

Nice! Thank goodness, because I felt foolish.

Him: "... no parts - just the minimum visit fee and labor: $191.25."

Me: #@&%!!!

To her great credit, Melissa has - so far - resisted the urge to say "I told you so".