Posted By FarmerJ on October 12, 2008

One thing I’m sure you’ll quickly realize as you spend more time with us is that we’re Project People.  We love projects.  It seems we cannot start and finish one project without taking on yet another.  My darling Husbie has coined a phrase for this ~ it’s “Projects Be-get Projects.”  We have to be very careful when we begin any type of project, because undoubtedly another project is going to stem from it.

Project Water Heater Turned Tank is a perfect example of Project Be-get Project.  We are in the beginning stages of winterizing the OSB Palace (our barn-style house).  We had purchased some of the fancy foil-covered bubble wrap to make an insulated blankie for the water heater, and yesterday seemed like a good day to undertake this project.  It was getting late in the day and a simple task like wrapping a water heater shouldn’t take too long.

Now, the water heater lives in the large closet space under the stairwell along with the well water pressure tank.  Back up for just a moment ~ I had been in the closet space for something earlier in the day and had noticed a certain dampness in the area of the pressure tank.  I mentioned it to Husbie when I returned upstairs.  Okay, fast forward to undertaking Project Water Heater.  As we begin to carefully measure, wrap and secure the fancy foil bubble wrap around the water heater, Husbie takes note of the little puddle of dampness in the area of the pressure tank.  He felt around the pipe fittings for obvious wetness and came up dry.  He gave the tank a little wiggle…just to see, I guess.  Heehee!  Nothing monumental there.  I know he’s made note of the pressure tank and so we carry on with the water heater blankie.

Satisfied with our labors and hopeful our foil blankie efforts will make a difference in the electric bill this winter, Husbie takes a glance at the pressure tank before turning off the light.  Hmmmm…seems the little puddle of dampness is now a puddle of water.  See?  Projects be-get projects.  Now we immediately roll into Project Water Pressure Tank.  I mean, it was absolutely fortuitous that we cleared all the storage boxes out of the way in order to work around the water heater, so Husbie had a nice straight path to the pressure tank anyway.  Why waste a good opportunity, right?!

Well, a few minutes into standing on his head and contorting his body into positions no man ever should in order to get a good view of the tank fittings and seal, Husbie announced it was time to pay our respects to this tank and advised me to grab the keys and the checkbook if I wanted water in the house throughout the night.  You see, it was getting late in the day and with it being a Saturday, places roll up the sidewalk a little earlier around here.

So, in about three and a half hours including driving time, another 45 miles on the truck’s odometer and another notch in Husbie’s plumber’s toolbelt, we not only have a nice cozy water heater but a nice shiny new well water pressure tank!  Two projects when we planned on one.

In all seriousness, I praise God I am married to a man who can work on and fix practically anything.

Categories: OSB Palace Projects
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