Home > Lawrenceville.Talk > Archives > 2006 > May > 09 > Entry
Why I hate ‘Trading Spaces’
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Here are my nine easy steps to hating “Trading Spaces.”
Clean and organize garage — using tips from “Trading Spaces” episodes.
Later discover a leaking water heater has turned garage into a large pond.
Ignore situation and use gigantic 10-pound stockpot given to you as Christmas present to pour hot water into bathtub.
Burn fingertips carrying gigantic 10-pound stockpot filled with scalding water up and down staircase to bathtub.
Admit defeat and shop for new water heater at Home Depot, Sears and Lowes.
Argue with salespeople about extra installation fees based on ZIP code.
Realize it is impossible to lie about ZIP code to save money since water heater will be delivered to home.
Cry at VISA charge of $611 for new water heater, expansion tank, installation and mysterious Gwinnett County water heater permit fee.
Realize “Trading Spaces” made homeownership seem cheap by renovating spaces for under 1,000 bucks.
This list reflects a true story. The names of the stores have not been changed to protect the innocent because there is nothing innocent about charging mysterious water heater permit fees based on Gwinnett County ZIP codes. I felt like they were collecting fees on behalf of the city/county just like taxes.
There is nothing innocent about the city of Lawrenceville attaching a $120 permit fee to a resident’s sales transaction claiming this covers the cost of an inspector verifying the water heater was properly installed. The great mystery is whether these inspectors actually show up.
Thankfully, by some random act of planning and zoning, my street is actually outside the city limits, although I still call Lawrenceville home. The cost of my permit fee collected on behalf of Gwinnett County? $30.
I only survived this episode because of emergency questions phoned into Dr. Ken, Medicine Man. This is my brother-in-law, acclaimed do-it-yourselfer, able to surgically install water heaters all alone.
The one question the Medicine Man couldn’t answer from his home — 1,700 miles away — is why the city of Lawrenceville would charge $120 when Gwinnett County only charged $30 to approve a water heater install.
“Is this just another way to rip people off, Dr. Ken?”
“But of course.”
I thanked Dr. Ken for his diagnosis. For giving me tools for Christmas. For telling me which seasonal bug killer to buy after being under contract with a pest control company for an entire year although ants still spent summer vacation on the first floor of my home. And thanks for the gigantic 10-pound stockpot that can fill a bathtub.
Is “Trading Spaces” guilty of making homeownership look cheap? Or as someone living OTCL (outside the city limits of Lawrenceville), should I just be happy I saved $90 by not living ITCL when I needed a water heater installed?
In short, what do you think of these water heater permit fees?
Permalink | Comments (14) | Post your comment | Categories: Jacqueline Bullard
Comments
By Tracy
May 10, 2006 08:23 AM | Link to this
I would like to know what the Medicine Man had to say about the ants.
By Barbara
May 10, 2006 08:56 AM | Link to this
All counties need to STOP these uncalled-for fees for every little thing. Come on now…even $30 is too high, when all the guy does is step out of his vehicle, into the house, look at the connection, and presto! He’s all done! The county commissioners should have to put a vote to the people on “reasonable charges for miscellaneous items” such as these.
By Karen
May 10, 2006 10:27 AM | Link to this
I just went through this living in Gwinnett. On a Tuesday my water heater went. Tuesday evening I’m at Loews and Home Depot comparing prices. They were the same so I went with Home Depot. There is a number I had to call to make arrangements. Fine. I called and the rep. asked all kinds of questions like the location of the heater (garage or basement); are there stairs? I had to measure the old water heater and give dimensions. The list was endless. I was surprised I wasn’t asked to give a pint of blood and sacrifice my first born. By the end of the interrogation, a $269 water heater was going to cost me $832 to have installed by Home Depot. I raised my voice a couple of octaves asking what all of that covered. There were fees for everything: permits, county, expansion tank, walking more than ten paces to the basement, etc. I called on my own “Medicine Man.” All of my investigating took 4 days, but we survived it and it didn’t cost no stinken $832 and I got other things taken care of in the house.
By Brett
May 10, 2006 12:01 PM | Link to this
That’s Lawrenceville for you. Besides their speed traps and their new Taj Mahal municipal building, they also like to rip off people who are on their gas system outside the city limits. You can have triple-A credit, yet they still want to hold a $100 deposit for as long as you have their gas service, even if it is 30 years—and no, you can’t switch to Gas Guy. Lawrenceville is a master at deferring the cost of running the city from its residents.
By Kristen
May 10, 2006 01:30 PM | Link to this
Jacqueline Bullard,
Can you please tell me which bug killer your brother told you to get? I too have ants on ALL floors of my home, depsite also being with pest control for a year with no results. Please please save my home and sanity!
On topic, though: I too think Trading Spaces is “off the rocker”.
By Billbo
May 10, 2006 01:51 PM | Link to this
I’ve been through this with Duluth. The logic is that a poorly installed water heater can cause major damage, including flooding and explosion. When I had this happen to me, though, the stores weren’t assessing the fee at the time of purchase. They gave me a form to submit to City of Duluth for the inspector. The form is still in my drawer.
By MrLiberty
May 10, 2006 02:01 PM | Link to this
The only people who should care about proper installation are you and your insurance company. If you ever sell you home, the home inspector and future owner should care. Gwinnett and L-Ville are both just interested in the money.
The government claims that these permits are for our safety, etc. but they never stand behind their inspections. Don’t believe me, then try blaming the county for problems your builder left. Even the builder won’t take responsibility. People scream when wise libertarians want to do away with government in favor of private options, but at least when UL tests a device and certifies it as electrically safe, they stand behind their certification (with money if needed). Good luck finding any government agency that will do the same.
Government is a failure at everything it does. This has always been the case and it always will be. For all of its failings, the private sector at least has an out - I can sue and recover my losses, I can boycott the provider and try someone else, and I can spread the word until they are out of business. Good luck with any of these approaches in regards to a government program, license, etc.
This piece brings up an even better point however and that is the fact that home ownership is expensive and not for everyone. We have everyone from our emperor down to the lowest city council types pushing home ownership. We see the unconstitutional Federal Reserve inflate the money supply and devalue all of our dollars so that more money is available for loans. Then we see lenders doing everything possible to get folks into a home. The emperor even comes up with a plan to provide financial assistance to this end. Now it takes little more than a few hundred dollars saved to be able to afford a home. While the screwed up tax code certainly benefits the homeowner over the rentor, the reality is that if you cannot manage to save more than a few hundred dollars on your salary, then you CANNOT afford a home. A new water heater, a new furnace, a failed septic system, a new roof, a lawn mower, a hedge trimmer, even a gallon of paint and a brush all cost real money. If you can’t save enough for a down payment then likely you do not have the financial resources or financial discipline to plan for the inevitable costs associated with home ownership.
Home ownership and all of its responsibilities are not something that can be thrust upon somebody simply because it is indicative of the “american dream.” Some folks should own, and others should rent, and the government should keep their social engineering tax code out of the decision-making process.
Owning a home delivers a great deal of satisfaction, but as you point out, it costs a great deal of money.
By JACQUELINE
May 10, 2006 02:55 PM | Link to this
To Tracy and Kristen, use Ortho Home Defense Max with InvisiShield and follow directions EXACTLY. The price for this diagnosis? Send the link to this page to everyone you know.
Brett, same thing happened to me!
Billbo, you know the inspector never came to my house, right?
Mr. Liberty, don’t forget the govt. is pushing homeownership because homeowners are most likely to pay taxes, vote and spend thousands buying stuff (all the gadgets you mentioned) for the home. But you’re right, it’s expensive and I tell people that all the time. Don’t do it until you are financially ready and can’t stand another minute listening to entire conversations your apt. neighbors are having in the middle of the night. But I can’t help but complain about the ridiculousness of the permits that mean nothing, just like you said.
By MrLiberty
May 10, 2006 03:31 PM | Link to this
Jacqueline:
No need to remind me of these things.
Today’s loose credit (aka, monetary inflation) is all about getting everyone to buy, buy, buy. Virtually every law, tax code, tax incentive, etc. is about “encouraging” human activity in the direction that benefits some “friend” of the government. Just wait until these adjustable rates start moving up and personal bankruptcies go crazy. Frankly even bankruptcy has been too easy an option thanks to government laws that discourage personal responsibility.
The government is by far the worst example of fiscal mismanagement that you could possibly think of. 8.4 trillion in visible debt and by some estimates another 40-80 Trillion in Social Security, Medicare and other program debt and they are the last folks to be encouraging spending on anything that someone cannot afford.
I assume you are also the author of the original posting. It would be great to see you do a piece on private, free market alternatives to county and city permits. These kind of ridiculous “protection rackets” don’t go on in every area of the country. No doubt there are other ways of handling safety inspections, etc. that don’t involve this kind of government involvement and waste.
By Jefe
May 10, 2006 03:34 PM | Link to this
Actually, the $832 for a water heater replacement (I assume 40 gallon gas) is not bad. I own a plumbing company and I charge more than that.
By Dusty
May 10, 2006 04:45 PM | Link to this
Thanks for the pest control advice. We don’t usually get the nasty ants until the fall, but this year, they’ve started early.
We have a tankless water heater. Best investment you could make. We don’t have to worry about it exploding or leaking everywhere. It’s mounted on the outside, back wall of the house. Whoever invented it was a genius as far as I’m concerned.
By justin case
May 10, 2006 07:44 PM | Link to this
Jefe you charge way too much. No way I’d contract with you for a water heater, even if you are my neighbor.
By Sharon Lane
May 11, 2006 05:34 PM | Link to this
Hi Jackie!
Remember me? The blog’s great, but where’s the BOOK?
By Michael H. Smith
May 14, 2006 04:28 PM | Link to this
Yup, I got the blues on these low down water heater blues, living OTP. Waiting for the Lawrenceville broken widows’ blog, anytime soon, hint, hint?