With the “without-hot-water” portion of our closet renovation complete, and the memory of many cold showers still fresh in our minds, we have all been enjoying the reinstatement of hot water in our home. AND it seems that the new insulation in the exterior wall is already improving our water heater efficiency. I was talking to Steve last night, and I think we are going to be able to turn the thermostat down on the water heater, which makes me happy. Improved water heater efficiency = lower bills.
During the renovation, I kept hearing a trickling sound every time I was working in the back of the closet. Steve finally peeked under the house, and saw that one of the pipes appeared to have a small leak. There is no freaking way that either of us was going to crawl under the house with the cave crickets and black widow spiders, so we splurged and called a plumber. He fixed the leak and inspected the rest of the plumbing under our 100-year-old house and said it looked good (peace of mind? Priceless). AND because he was a nice guy, he cleaned out the drip line of our AC unit!
Overall, this project was costlier that I estimated, even before the addition of a Sunday visit from a plumber. Still, I feel that the long-term payoff is going to be well worth it. Increased water heater efficiency, no cold air leaking in from the closet in winter, and more usable storage space are all returns on the investment that we have made. Now if I can just get the front part completed, we can actually start using that storage space!