I was just reading out loud to my husband what I'd written here (showing him how good it was to vent) and when I did, he pointed out that I made it sound like I was complaining that the water heater's water wasn't hot enough. In fact, it's ice cold. Just wanted to clarify! :) The plumber called me back and had us hit the reset button which did no good so I guess he'll be out tomorrow (Sunday).

Theresse

It is so frustrating when you don't have hot water and
small children. Not to take away from your story but
simply to sympathize. Perhaps make you laugh too.

Years ago we had terrible plumbing. water pressure
and hot water heater issues. The heater and home were
2 years old. For some reason the prior owners in their
plan to save money converted a Gas Water heater to a
Propane heater. The system would clog or get jammed with
tiny particles and the propane could not burn. This caused
the heater to shut off. And with hot water heaters you
don't know you are out until you go to use it.
(I don't need to tell you!)

This propane hot water heater was not recommneded for a
4500 sq foot house but the moronic prior owners did not
care. They converted it.
After our first four months living there, 6 times of the
hot water heater not heating, and having to restart it
over and over again...(it was under warranty) DH wanted me
to wait until the plumbers sent the bad product to the
main office to get the warrnaty parts a 2nd time and then
if that did not work we would wait another few months to
get the new hot water heater for free through the
company. Like you, I was heating water to bathe my
children, cook, care for the home, clean....

I consider myself a fairly calm, easy going lady but
it was hearing my DH on the phone with a co-worker.
That caused me to loose it.

He said.
"I am flying out two days early to that meeting in NY. Our
hot water heater is out and I need a decent shower. It's
been hell here without hot water. "

I was LIVID. I was the one who did the dishes after heating
up water, I was the one who washed the children, carried
buckets up stairs to make sure my children could bathe in
warm bubbles. I had to deal with the plumbers and their
very condescending attitude. They thought I was crazy or
causing the issues.

Rather than loose my cool verbally, While my DH was on the
phone, I held up a large hand written sign with the
intials of two bad works on it. With small children in
the house learning to read I could not use words.
The letters Rhymed with Duck Poo.

DH realized how angry I was about dealing with the hot
water heater in our home. He got off the phone with this
co-worker and ordered me two hot water heaters to be
installed that day! And we never waited for the silly
warranty issues. In the process we discovered there were
pressure issues too. All in all this was a huge plumbers
dream to come fix all of it and pocket our cash.

I do know how you feel.(((hugs)))
And You are NOT being difficult or picky. Don't let
anyone say you are complaining. NOt having hot water is
hard. Plumbers are not cheap. They charge lots of cash
and I think you SHOULD get the handles to be the direction
you want, you SHOULD have proper water pressure that they
should fix and NOT charge you. This is part of the original
problem. They should not keep adding up their charges to
you. UNFAIR.

Be firm and get what you want.
~boxerpups

More sympathy from me, too. The plumber was the only sub I didn't like in our entire huge remodel. He had to do some stuff with the plumbing in the upstairs hall bath (we were moving walls downstairs, so some pipes and whatnot needed rerouting) ... when he was finished, the bath faucet started dripping, and it got worse and worse over the weekend, to where we could almost fill the tub within a few hours.

Of course he denied that he had done anything, and when asked to check on it, tried to sneak out the house without telling us he was finished. Then said, Nope, not my fault. Your faucet just wore out.

And maybe he was telling the truth, but I really had no way to know (and he knew that).

Anyway, it was no huge deal (much smaller than yours), but just leaves a bad taste. Good luck with your situation -- I just love your faucet, and I'm sorry it's been a pain. I look forward to seeing how it turns out, though.

I feel for you, being at the mercy of contractors is aggravating.
I'm lucky that my husband, while he is no plumber, is very handy. He was able to install our new water heater and faucet. Our was probably much simpilier than yours, but after years of watching my husband replace/repair leaking sinks, showers, and even doing all the plumbing on our remodeled bathroom - I've learned one thing - it may not always be easy, but with skill or perseverance (perseverance in my husbands case) all of your faucet alignment problems are fixable. I would NOT pay a plumber who couldn't plumb vertical or horizontally! Think about it, look up "plumb" in the dictionary :)

I don't know about your flow problems, but perhaps there is an angle in the pipe going to the faucet that restricts flow?

"For some reason the prior owners in their
plan to save money converted a Gas Water heater to a
Propane heater."

Usually, gas appliances come plumbed for N.G. and with a kit to convert to LP. From the brief description it sounds like the line was not clean AND the water heater was not sized for the house. Saving money could have been an issue when sizing the heater but the fact that it was converted probably didn't have anything to do with anything.

Thank you SO much Boxerpups, Segbrown and Nansea57!! I had no idea how upset I've actually been until I read your responses and felt the contrasting relief, if that makes sense! Reading your words felt like I was given "permission" to feel bad or angry or just...getting that acknowledgment, makes me feel so much more sane.

Boxerpups, you're right - that is a funny story!! I love how your husband got it, and got the situation resolved. ;) You say they shouldn't charge me but I don't know what I'd have to make sure they're accountable if they don't want to be (?). I don't exactly have a lawyer hanging around on stand-by you know? Of course I could fire them but then I'd still have to hire someone and pay someone to get it done right. If it's indeed the fault of the faucet, I suppose we'll know as soon as it's examined by the company (and the company has a good reputation so hopefully they won't be dishonest).

Segbrown - yup - I completely relate to your situation. What I hate the most is when they're about to install something that will involve the home-owner's preference (e.g. how many outlets or what type of water line going to the fridge), but they don't discuss it w/ you and just decide for themselves how they think it should be done - if they even care at all. I've been reading other posts which suggest women aren't being treated fairly by a lot of these guys...that they're treated w/ condescension and intimidation in a way - and I see that happening in my house. It's subtle but it's there - I find myself not wanting to seem to controlling or petty and not wanting to be too much a nuisance or the home-owning female caricature so often portrayed in movie scenes (you know what I mean?)! I always think of the woman having her kitchen worked on in the movie Sleepless in Seattle - the scene w/ Rob Reiner and Tom Hanks and another guy or two.

The problem w/ not hiring my own electrician and plumber et al - and with having my contractor sub-contract out himself - is that my contractor's a little on the passive side (he's very nice and I do like him) but also that he has a well-established relationship w/ the plumber and it seems like he doesn't want to upset him so I feel a tad compromised. That said, it's well worth working out if it can be worked out - and so far nothing *too* bad has happened in terms of conflict. While I'm not thrilled to find that a new water line and hot water heater didn't solve the water heater pressure, I was aware it was a gamble...but I haven't yet asked the plumber to straighten out the faucet free of charge. I'm frankly, really freaked out about asking him to fix that cause not everyone would even notice. I mean, he apparently didn't! I don't know how big a deal it would be/how much work (how much time)!

Nansea57 - you're so lucky to have such a husband! I'm glad you think my faucet alignment problem is fixable. I mean of course it's fixable but hopefully not a huge deal time-wise?! I'll look into your thought about the angle in the pipe - thank you!

pinchme,

What are you trying to say?
You wrote: "....didn't have anything to do with anything?"

The size, heater, brand or even clogging issues are not
the point. I was simply trying to help the OP know they
are not alone with hot water frustrations. I should not
have said anything about the type of water heater and
what we did to fix it. There was a specific warranty
issue and we chose not to wait. In all fairness I am
NOT a plumber. I just hire them.

I was trying to be supportive in no way giving specific
information about water heaters.

~boxer

Theresse,

I just wanted to reiterate that you are not being too picky, you should get what you want, and you should not have to pay more to get it. I can handle a great deal, but I cannot tolerate water issues in my home. Hang in there and get what you deserve.

The letters Rhymed with Duck Poo...LOL...that is exactly what I would be saying.

My heart goes out to you...what is wrong with these "so-called" professionals. For gawd's sakes...they can't even get handles on straight...that is just totally insane (along with the other ridiculousness). You are correct in handle placement...part of it is for safety, you should know if you are on or off, hot or cold, so people (and children in particular) don't get scalded.

In this economy, you would think people would do their best to provide a quality job, but apparently these folks are unphased. They have low standards and are sticking to them.

Hang in there, be persistent...you are the one with the brains and the money!!!

During my renovation, the plumber opened up the bathroom sink faucets to help drain the system when he turned the water supply off to the kitchen. When he subsequently turned the water back on (midafternoon), he turned off the cold water faucet but not the hot in the bathroom. When I arrived at the house at 7 am the following morning, the hot water in the bathroom was still running full blast.

That's 1300+ gallons of water out of my well and into my septic system overnight, all nicely heated to 130 degrees by my furnace.

Imbeciles.

I'm assuming you're replacing an old faucet with a new one? New faucets are now built to supply only 2.5gpm. If you're expecting it to fill that new sink quickly, I'm sorry it won't. I get reminded of this when I go to my Mom's house and use her sink. The pressure's enough to put dents in the sink.

Whoever did the plumbing rough-in should have gotten the pipes level. Otherwise the wall has to come apart to get to them.

Have the plumber move the handles and watch him do it. Make sure they go the way you want.

Thank you Sumnerfan, Vampiressrn and Weedmeister, for your kind and supportive words!

Weedmeister, I will DEFINITELY be watching next time. Here's my big big question: how level does level have to be? The bubble in the middle of the level is centered but a little to the left. Meaning, it sits mostly within that center area but to the left of the center area, if that makes sense. Tonight my friend came by and looked to see if she could see it and she couldn't really tell, although did see that the level's bubble was a little off-center. She also admitted she can never tell whether her Xmas tree is straight though so who knows. I do know one thing: I'm being fairly picky. You don't notice it right away I don't think - unless you're either like me or else are looking for it.

Anyone know how these levers' bubbles work (whether there's a realm of acceptability)?

Thank you...

Does anyone here know if the water-saving device inside the faucet can be removed in most faucets - in case that turns out to be the problem? Where we live, we don't have draught issues, otherwise I wouldn't ask. This is not to say we should waste water, nor that we won't someday in the future have to conserve more water as they do in L.A....

the bubble should be IN THE CENTER. when he redoes it (free) put the level on it (with him there) and see if it is IN THE CENTER. let him know (firmly) that for the money you are paying for this you expect it to be done right - and to your satisfaction.

"I find myself not wanting to seem to controlling or petty and not wanting to be too much a nuisance or the home-owning female caricature"

your house, your money - if they think it is 'controlling' to want the job done correctly, that is their problem. Don't let it be yours. unless they are willing to take half pay for the job?

I hired a woodworker once to do some woodwork in an older house. he was to divide the upstairs (mainly 1 huge room) into 2 - adding closets and woodwork. When I went up to check it the corners of the baseboards were just butted up to each other. this guy was recommended by my sister - he did her cabinets and did a great job. I checked them out before hiring him. I just looked at him and said 'what's that? it's not mitered.' he said he'd forgotten his mitering stuff. oh well, that excuses it... not. I told him 'you bring it tomorrow and you can redo it all.'
he was also to repair some dings, cracks etc in some of the walls before I painted them. they looked like crap. so as we walked down the hall and stairway I tapped on a few and said 'while you're at it deduct the charge for this stuff from my bill. I can do a better job myself'.

and I could have cut some baseboard straight and butted it together myself also. I hired him so it'd be done right and fit in with the other nice woodwork in the house.

He'd never get a recommendation from me - not even to build a doghouse.

Hahaha desertsteph - you go girl! Ah, to have your ability to deliver w/ such confidence!! ;)

I really should take a picture and show you all what I'm talking about. I'm not even certain you'd see it yourselves in the photo. As I said, my friend wasn't even sure she could see it herself and she was standing right there in front of the faucet! The bubble at first glance also looks to be in square in the middle but as you look closer you see that the tiniest portion of the far left side of the bubble sits just a hair over the left line (of the left and right lines that frame the center) and that there's a tiny space on the right side of the center, before the right line, that has nothing there. But I digress... I rant...

Thanks for much desertsteph. I'll try to post a pic tomorrow (or today, by the time most of you read this)!

theresse,
He noticed. He just didn't care. Many times workers get away with this kind of thing because so many people are hesitant to complain or insist, or they believe it when they are told it has to be that way or can't be fixed. If it's a big pain to fix he should have been extra careful to get it right the first time. Act sympathetic. Say, "It's too bad this will be so difficult for you to fix. But it really has to be done right." So what if he doesn't like you? After this is over you'll never have to see him again.

Well, the faucet doesn't have to be precisely level in order to work. I mean, you could mount it at a 45* angle and it would work (kind of), but it would look ugly as h.ll.

Level, especially for a large faucet like yours, is for aesthetics. My only concern at this point is that if someone starts to push up on the pipe on one side, a joint might separate and start leaking down the road.

regarding doing things right -
many uears ago o read a poster that said something like

'if you don't take the time to do it right the first time, where are you going to find the time to do it again ?

I remember this several times every when I see how things are not done correctly, or even almost correctly

Excellent advice, Sally, Weedmeister and Muspic!

Well I left a voice mail for my contractor, explaining what I want done. I was slightly apologetic but said it mattered enough to me. He called me back and was very nice, saying it's not a big deal to have that adjusted, and that I don't need to worry - that he and I are a team. :) Ain't that great? I could have hugged him through the phone for how stressed out I'd let myself get (more cause I feel apprehensive about dealing w/ the plumber). But anyway it was a relief to know my contractor supports me - regardless of that fact that it's a given that he should. Ha.

I'll let you know how the rest turns out. Meanwhile I took pics and will post shortly.

Thank you!

Ok here's a picture of the faucet. I don't know if you'll see how it's uneven or not! Also, in that same series of house pictures, see the pic w/ the level showing the bubble's a bit off. I'll include that here, too, even though it's not a direct link:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/49559819@N00/4810222603/in/set-72157624195005445/

Here is a link that might be useful: Ever-so-slightly uneven wall-mounted faucet

You know... that last photo of the uneven faucet isn't taken evenly, ironically. I can see I wasn't holding the camera straight enough. I think this one's more accurate (can you see that the faucet's uneven, or is it harder to tell?):

Here is a link that might be useful: Maybe more accurate photo of slightly uneven faucet

It SO matters how the faucet looks to you. If I've learned only one thing from this remodel it's that I need to be here when certain things are done. Our faucet was installed last week when I was out of town, and unavailable via cell phone or computer. I specifically asked that it be done on Friday when my DH would be here, but the plumber (a good, if a little nutsy, guy who stands by his work and WILL come back) was mixed up about his calendar and had to come on Thursday. I wanted the faucet installed with the handle on the left. When I got home on Saturday afternoon the first thing I noticed was that the buttons on the pulldown spout were in the front. My DH said that he noticed it looked a little strange, but didn't pick up on that. That got resolved with the help of our GC and, fortuitously, the guy who did our floors, who just happened to be here at the same time and fixed it (it didn't just swing around to the back like you would expect.) Last night when I went to wash dishes in the (yea!) big sink I realized that to get hot water I had to push the handle back-and it hits the wall. And this is without the backsplash or windowsill and trim. Hmm-so, I'm hoping it can be rotated to work, without placing it on the right.
My GC and all his subs are really good, but I too, have noticed a subtle difference in how they treat me vs DH.

I am always incredibly polite and try being gentle the first time, but I am also desertsteph all the way! When anything goes wrong needing customer service, or we want to return something, there is never a question of who will handle it in our house. I am always reasonable, but always get my way. I am not concerned about being liked or thought of as a b*tch. If asking for what is fair makes me a b*th, then I am one with no shame. I find that many companies will test to see if they can get away with doing less and/or saying something can't be done. That is only the start of the conversation to me. I go up the chain until I am speaking to someone who will do something.
If I ever we to get a tattoo (never in reality), it would be "that is unacceptable" because that is my catch phrase in so many situations. I have also learned to say that and just pause. Let them speak next. You also need to know what you actually want done before calling sometimes. Often, the company will offer to do more than I was expecting and the pause is what gives them the chance to do so. If not, then I state clearly what would be acceptable and where I draw the line. They sense someone who is firm and means business. It is almost a game at times. There have been quite a few times that dh is nearby almost in full giggle and when I hang up we are both hysterically laughing.
I never get loud, curse or call names. I am more polite the more annoyed I get. It can be chilling.

I think you are entitled to functioning plumbing and anything that is to be centered is to be centered. You are being charged for proper installation, not "almost" well done. I make it clear that anyone who does right by me gets references and referrals (and really do), but that anyone who does substandard work will be known for that among people I know.I usually leave the second part unsaid, but if someone is giving me grief, that becomes quite evident.

Stay firm and you will get it done the right way.

Theresse, the photos are gone! What happened with your faucet?