Choose Strong
For Tim.
Apparently, cleaning the two-year-old Rinnai tankless water heater and replacing
its condensate neutralizer were too trivial for the half-a-dozen plumbers that I
contacted first until one from Redwood city took up the job.
"You could do it yourself, you know." said he at the other end of the line.
"I'm a newbie and don't want an expensive mistake."
"OK. I'll take care of you." he promised.
Two weeks later (there was some shipping delay), two guys showed up in a Ford
Transit around 11:00am. 5'7", hunky, and in his 30s, Freddy was out-going and
did most of the talking. Frank was younger, lanky, and quiet. Both were
friendly and OK with my taking photos and peppering them with questions. I was
curious about more than the water heater.
"What does it take to get into plumbing?" I started once work was underway: "Do
you need to go to a trade school first?" I heard Jordan Peterson recommending
trade schools instead of the ivies and Garrison Keillor suggesting three years
in a hotel room with classic literature rather than a degree in English.
"Yeah. That'll work." said Freddy. "But you can just show up in a shop and start
apprenticing on the job assuming, of course, they like you."
"Wow. That's interesting." Used to the hiring process for programmers, I was
genuinely surprised and then pointed out the assumption that one had to speak
their language, to which he agreed matter-of-factly.
"You guys are in high demand these days. It was hard to find someone willing to
do the small jobs like mine." I continued "Maybe after watching you today, I
could put up a sign at the nearby dog park and offer the same service with a 50%
profit margin."
"You definitely could!" he nodded.
We were told, back in Jan 2020, upon moving in that the Rinnai needed cleaning
once a year. But maybe three people didn't consume much or the local water was
soft. Today, the water filter showed very little sediment on the screen. I would
have decided to wait for another two years had I known. A tankless is supposed
to save on gas and electricity but maintenance cost could seriously dilute the
savings (In my case, the flushing kit alone could set me back $150 and the
condensation unit, P/N 804000074, $200).
Meanwhile, we kept chatting.
"Say, why do you plant a tree on top of the waterline?" Frank pointed to the
pine sapling to the right of the garage door and before where the pipe breaks
ground and enters the house. "It's going to be a big mess when the tree grows."
"You serious? Don't ask me. It must be the work of some landscaping genius." I
added: "I live here, sure, but know nothing about anything outdoors. Come to
think of it, I don't know much about the indoors stuff either. It doesn't feel
much of a living, by the way."
"I hear you, boss. We have to call Rinnai's tech department if we have to open
the box. The inside is a big headache to us."
Everyone has to specialize.
"Look here." Freddy called out, squating over some letters etched in the
concrete floor near the garage opening, which read
POST TENSION
SLAB AND FTC
DO NOT CUT
OR CORE
"What does it mean?" I couldn't help again showing my innocence.
"Tensioned steel cables run under the slab and if you accidentally cut them,
you could level the whole block or more."
"Wow. I already feel the tension. Do you sell sleeping pills besides plumbing
services?"
We laughed. In one hour, the job was done, I wrote them a check of $518, and
everyone went happily on his way, trading life away and becoming even better
at what he does for a living.
"I don't know much about the indoors stuff either. It doesn't feel much of a living, by the way."--:))) You are humorous, by the way. Have a great weekend!