Need a New Water Heater.....

So... we live in this old house... not so old that it's full of charm and has been updated... nope... like 70's old...

We need a new water heater.... not a Hot Water Heater... {you see, why would one HEAT hot water}, just a Water Heater... {I need to heat cold water}

The one I have is pretty old.... It's energy guide sticker is dated 1994... it still makes hot water... good hot water... and usually enough... no complaints there... BUT it's brown... yeah... brown hot water... yuck... it stains my clothes in the washing machine... it stains my grout... its gross...

Can you imagine me giving my new baby a bath in his cute little froggy bathtub... with brown water???

Anyway, I've been getting quotes today...  not too much a shock, I know when you enlist professional services {instead of your daddy - which sucks for me, that I cannot}... it can be expensive - I understand, I am a licensed professional now, I would want to get paid for my services to.  Right now, we are looking at anywhere between $700 - $850, depending on who I go with.  Ok... I'm a good financial planner I can make it work if I need too... who cares that I have hospital bills already and am about to give birth next week, right?!?

This is where my fear is....  this service requires the plumber to pull a permit and have it inspected.... did I mention that my house is 70's old?  The cost for parts to "bring the installation to code" are not included in a quote... understandably....  I work in an industry where you have to "C.Y.A" and always say that 'extras' are 'extra' or you get walked all over...

This could be scary... this could  be bad.... there could be lots of EXTRAS

I typically don't let professionals into my home to see how we "fix" things...  who I am kidding, I typically don't let many people in my house at all... I'm a Registered Interior Designer, and my house... lets just say, "needed updating".....

What if someone from the city comes in and sees other things.... oh like how my furnace is taped up with "silver tape" {we did not do this}... they are in the same room....

This could be embarrassing... I have a state license myself... I deal with Wichita Falls City Officials for work...

I guess I have to decide... Brown Water?  OR City Officials in my old house?