Thanks to Chuck the Home Improvement Friend
This Saturday started out much like any other. I picked up my 16-year-old brother-in-law around 8:30am from his parents’ house and brought him back here to work on the basement finishing project. (It’s currently his only venue for earning money).
We had a few errands to run and we were waiting for Ethan to head over, so we didn’t end up walking downstairs until around noon. The plan was to get started on installing the second area of radiant heated floors.
Then, Disaster Struck…
We turned the corner at the bottom of the stairs. Saturday’s plans changed. About half of the basement was covered in 1/8″ of water (the basement isn’t completely level). The likely suspect turned out to be guilty: we discovered a pinhole leak in the bottom of the hot water heater. All things being equal, the damage wasn’t so bad. The leak was slow and apparently we caught it early. This was a blessing. My basement is completely water tight and has no sump pump; if a pipe ever springs a real leak, we’re going to have an indoor pool.
We quickly vacuumed up the excess water, turned off the breaker for the hot water heater, turned off the main water cut-off, and began draining the heater through a hose to the back yard.
And then I called Chuck.
Enter Chuck
Chuck’s the kind of friend every person needs.
He and I met at work about 6 years ago. He was one of my first project managers. He’s about 25 years older than me, and has wisdom and experience in many areas, particularly home improvement.
When we still hardly knew each other, I mentioned that I wanted to install hardwood floors in my living room but had no experience with that kind of work. He said he’d done it a few times and it was a relatively easy job; he’d walk me through it. He devoted four weekends to helping me get the project done (it wasn’t your typical hardwood flooring job). From that project on, Chuck and I built a friendship. Most of that friendship involves me asking him for advice. More recently, he’s borrowed a couple of tools. (I’m glad I can offer something back).
When I first moved into this house, Chuck and I replaced a non-working main water cut-off, a job most people wouldn’t even consider doing on their own. But, Chuck said we could do it. And we did. So, I figured a hot water heater replacement would be a piece of cake. I called Chuck right at noon. He dropped what he was doing and was here by 12:45. That’s an awesome friend.
Within a matter of 3 hours, Chuck, Ethan, and I had gone to the big box, bought a new hot water heater, removed the old one, and nearly finished the installation. Oh, and we got pictures and videos of the whole thing–expect a few articles in the next two weeks. I couldn’t pass up an opportunity to build a how-to guide for replacing an electric hot water heater.
Going Above and Beyond
Note I said we nearly finished the installation in 3 hours. Around 3:30, Kim and I were already an hour late to a wedding we were supposed to be attending that evening. The only thing that remained was to install the pressure-release down pipe on the back of the heater. I told Chuck and Ethan that I really needed to go and was happy to finish the job later in the week. Neither would hear anything of it. After I left, Ethan and Chuck stayed another hour finishing the job without me.
That’s friendship.
Thanks, guys!
Some Final Thoughts
Chuck has made an enormous impact in my life. I hope you’ve got a Chuck in your life. Everyone needs someone who can provide a little wisdom and perspective. It’s even better when they can get the hot water flowing back to your shower.
What do you think? Do you have a Chuck in your life?
Comments & Conversation on this Article...
4 Responses to Thanks to Chuck the Home Improvement Friend
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February 25th, 2008 7:18 pm
Fred….just wanted to let you know we know the feeling of finding water in the basement…we do have a sumppump(sp) thank God all our water headed that way….nothing like walking down to your basement on a Sunday morning and hearing water running and you know it isn’t the washing machine.
Lisa
February 25th, 2008 8:01 pm
Thankfully, the “Chuck” in my life is my Dad.
I just wish he wasn’t on the other side of the city. Then again, I’d probably never get to do anything myself if he lived too close, so it’s probably better…because he’s trained me well to be a “Chuck” too, for anyone who might need it. Though I have a long way to go to live up to his “Chuck-ness.”
February 26th, 2008 5:41 pm
Andy,
That’s awesome. My dad is quite handy too-but is getting a little older now.
Sounds like our situations are really similar. Chuck is ‘training me to be another Chuck’ by example. That’s one of the reasons I love to write about home improvement – you get to help someone else with the same projects you’ve already tackled.
February 26th, 2008 8:25 pm
Same here. Just trying to share with whoever the tips and tricks (and the mistakes) I’ve made…mostly because, well, there’s a lot of nothing out there on some things…and, of course, every little bit helps.