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Give me those nice bright colors
Q: Can you give me the names of three plumbing contractors in Austin who are familiar with and can install demand/instantaneous/tankless/in-line water heaters for residential use?
L. M.
A: Tankless water heaters heat only the water you need when you need it. When a hot-water faucet is turned on, cold water is moved through hot coils and quickly heated to the desired temperature. No waiting except for your home’s internal delivery pipes. Unlike in a conventional water heater, a tank of water is not constantly heated and reheated while waiting for the next shower or load of whites. Over time this heater pays for itself, say the folks at Austin Plumbing Supply, 5520 Burnet Road, where the majority of water heaters sold are tankless and a list of installers is available. In addition to the energy savings, these water heaters, which are about the size of a bread box, can be mounted outside, freeing interior space previously reserved for the hot water tank. These water heaters cost two or more times as much as traditional ones.
Updated info from Noritz: The federal government is giving a $300 tax credit to consumers who purchase a qualifying Noritz tankless water heater. And unlike a tax deduction, a tax credit reduces tax dollar-for-dollar, lowering the total amount of tax owed to the government.
Q: You gave an address in Austin of a person who appraises old eight-sided fly rods. Sorry to say I didn’t inform my wife to keep the paper and it is gone. If possible, please send this address to me as I have a couple my uncle made me more than 50 years ago!
Thank you.
R. T.
A: Take the rod to Joe Robinson, who is happy to give you an appraisal at no charge, at Sportsman’s Finest, 12434 Bee Cave Road.
Q: My wife and I have only two black-and-white snapshots of our wedding 48 years ago (next month). Can you tell us who can clean up and colorize these pictures without damaging the originals?
J. S.
A: Contact Holland Photo, 1221 S. Lamar Blvd. or 442-4274, or Austin Creative, 402-0746 (appointment only). Both retouch photos.
Comments
By L. Stevens
July 13, 2006 11:44 AM | Link to this
I purchased a lot of jewerly findings back in the 80’s and have a large variety of loose stones of various sizes and cuts. I als have a number of pieces that appear to be gold. Can you reccomend someone who can tell me if they have any value
By HL Spinks
July 12, 2006 07:06 PM | Link to this
One thing overlooked in your response is the tankless water heaters have very high electrical power requirements and a lot of existing residences may not be able to handle it without significant, sometimes prohibitive expense on the electrical side.
HLS