On Sun, 18 Nov 2007 01:16:31 -0600, wrote:

On Sat, 17 Nov 2007 23:30:23 -0500, "Edwin Pawlowski"
wrote:


"Malcolm Hoar" wrote in message

I reckon you're looking at 1-2 days labor plus parts plus permits
and taxes. You'll probably need an electrician on top of that.


More like 3 - 4 hours. Plumbers here are about $75/hr.


You're nuts. Try that, and people will die. Water heaters are
extremely heavy with all that water in them. They are also top heavy
so they must be moved with extreme accuracy and precision.

My company will spend at least a week just stabilizing the tank and
removing the water and gas pipes. We will then have inspectors insure
they are safely removed and capped to prevent an explosion or water
leak. Then we will spend another 3 or 4 days analyzing the path of
the move, testing for asbestos, radon, carbon monoxide and lead.
Every square inch of the floor will be photographed and a computer
generated graph of high and low spots will be detected and charted
using infared technology. We will also determine any electrical
wiring in the path of the move, and have a licensed electrician
temporarily disable these circuits.

The third week, we will run a laser across the perimeter of the floor
and xray the concrete to insure stability. It may take more than one
week to chart everything. The area is charted down to 1/64th of an
inch to allow for particles and grains of sand in the concrete which
could cause the heater to overturn and cause catastrophic disaster,
possibly resulting in death.

The fourth week we build a ramp and scaffolding to assist in making a
smooth move. We apply tracks and our electrical magnetic pulse motors
which act to move the tank one millimeter per magnetic pulse, and each
pulse is computer timed to the chartings of the floor surface. We
then apply a silicone coating to the concrete and buff it into the
surface. The entire tank is then strapped to the scaffolding and
leveled within 99.999965% accuracy.

The fifth week we begin the actual move. The tank is moved no more
than 1/4 inch per hour, and an electronic level maintains constant
monitoring. If the tank is more than 0.0000000001% out of level
accuracy, we shim the tank until it's properly in line. A 66.82%
level of helium is pumped to the low end of the tank to lighten the
force against the abrasive floor, and all used helium is sent into a
special helium recycling plant which is constructed outside the home.

The sixth week we may or may not have the tank to it's new location
depending on the distance and condition of floor. If not, the move
continues for days or weeks more.......

The last week we move and re-attach the pipes as required. To prevent
losing even one drop of water, we use a special chemical compound that
causes the water to turn to a gel inside the pipes. Once complete, we
begin tp move and replace pipes. Once all pipes are moved and
re-attached, we have the system inspected, and bring in our certified
team of valve handlers to turn the water back on.

For the following two weeks we have a special team of drip specialists
who watch the heater 24/7, to insure there are no drips or other
problems. They use highly technical electronics to look inside the
tank and the pipes which functions similar to a MRI, which gives xray
images of the flow, rates the GPH, pipe wall thickness, thread stress
of fittings, and temperature ratings at 200 critical points within the
system.

The gas flow is also monitored and any amount of gas exiting any part
of the system, even one molecule of gas leaking into the surrounding
atmosphere will signal our security team to shut down the entire
plumbing system, disable gas within a three miles radius, and shut
down all electrical systems to prevent any sparks.

If everything passes with 100% accuracy, the system is given the seal
of approval, the building inspectors are called in to approve the
work, and the following week is spent dismanteling the scaffolding and
electronic monitoring systems. At this point the electricians return
to re-power all wiring in the path of the move. We also send in out
cleanup crew which removes any marks which may have been left on the
floor during the moving process. The concrete floor is them
sanitized, and waxed. All walls near the water heater are then
painted and sealed to insure that no water enters the structure from
the outside, which could cause the water heater to fail.

After this is completed, the homeowner's keys are returned to them,
and they are allowed to re-enter their homes.

After this, we have our our inspectors enter the house on a weekly
basis for the duration of a year, to insure everything is working
perfectly.

Total time period involved to complete job, 11 to 18 weeks.
Total cost of job anywhere from $350,000 to $600,000 estimated labor
cost. Parts and equipment use are extra. You'll also need a costly
building permit.

I'm a professional plumber. This is a professional estimate.

Please send payment in the amount of $12,900 for this estimate, plus
$1,689 S+H. Net 10 days. We accept, Cash, Check, Credit, and
Money Order. Sorry, no Paypal accepted.

Al (CEO)

Al's Plumbing & Heating


I think you are most definately a professional since you know the
exact procedure that should be used to move this water heater.
I have a friend in the plumbing business and I assisted him on a job
very much like this, after one of his employees, who was in the army
got sent over to Iraq. He did the job just like you, but when he was
doing the job, he also had the water tested, both before and after the
job was finished. I remember him saying "one spider gets in the tank
and the water becomes contaminated and people get sick". One can
never be safe enough. You really should include these water tests for
that kind of money. Just my un-professional opinion.

Larry