The good news is that the plumber arrived at 8:00, worked straight through to 1:30 without a break (love that work ethic!) and left me with functional plumbing when he departed.
No hot water yet. He moved the water heater and the electricians will reconnect that in its new location soon. But since today was only supposed to be a rough-in day, with actual hookups to come next week, I’m not going to complain! The entire process took just only 5-1/2 hours. And now I have a beeeeautiful clawfoot tub with a beeeeautiful faucet. AND the graywater that’s been emptying under the house for years no longer does. O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!
But of course there’s the bad. And the ugly. They are one in the same. The sewer line is leaking. Has been for months, he says. Ick. Clogged? Cracked? Who knows what?
But there’s always something, isn’t there? Always the surprises …
Mr. Plumber will return in two weeks with a camera to send down the pipe and a roto-rooter thingie and we shall see how bad the problem really is.
But for now, after nearly two solid weeks of disruption and uproar, I’m going to take a long afternoon’s break, get out in the sunshine, then come back and watch movies with no tasks to do, no deadlines to meet.
A relaxing break sounds lovely and WELL deserved. The dogs will probably enjoy it too.
Graywater emptying under the house? Sheesh! No wonder there was a major mold problem.
Sewer leaking? Mmmmm … too many variables to hazard even a guess on repair cost. Older property done in the fashion you’ve described? Possibly, clay pipe, not too far down, so easy to dig up. Or, maybe it can be sleeved. The water district here sleeved all the municipal lines in my area last year. Neat process, whereby they insert balloons, inflate them, and cure them in place with UV.
Karen — It was glorious! Robbie and I went for a long drive along the river under blue skies and in 72-degree weather. Seventy-two — in late October! Unheard of. But oh yes, was that a wonderful reward.
Ava didn’t get to enjoy it because she’s at the Furrydoc Hotel. She was going crazy with all those people around — and not one of them throwing a ball for her!. I had to board her for a couple of days to get my work done.
jed — The house was vacant in the year that mold took it over. So not graywater. It was the combo of the soggy climate, stagnant air in the empty house — and the fact that the former owner (known to one and all as Crazy Dick), pulled his tarps off the leaking roof when he knew he was going to be foreclosed on. But before and after that the graywater was certainly helping to undermine the foundation and encourage bugs and rot.
As to the sewer line, all I hope is that the problem is on my property. I share a septic tank with my oddball next door neighbor and if anything ever goes wrong with the tank or the lines leading across the street to it, we share the responsibility. Please, gods of plumbing, whatever it is, make it a problem I can solve without the neighbor’s involvement.
I won’t tell Ava you are enjoying life with out her. She is having a hard time understanding that she is not the center of the universe. I keep addressing as
“Princess Ava”, but she still thinks I should cater to her every desire.
LOL, furrydoc! Thank you for serving the needs of Her Royal Highness Princess Ava Prettypaws. Too bad she doesn’t understand that you have a life that includes everything from taking care of your family to saving other dogs’ lives (“Other dogs?” she says, “Other dogs? What do they matter, compared with Moi?”)
I’ll come get her this morning and (momentarily, at least) give her all the Kardashian-style attention she craves.
Just stopped in to use Amazon link, but very happy to find the bathroom coming right along. See, God’s not dead. 🙂 I believe he was a carpenter, although no reason he wouldn’t do a little plumbing on the side too.
A side comment to Jed: I had never before heard of “sleeving” a pipe. It sounds like a very clever solution. Thanks for the info. (And I hope I never need to actually use it!)
I’m curious how the plumber figured out the sewer line was leaking. And how he figured that without knowing where it was leaking.
Paul — The pipe is exposed under the house and he saw “stuff” backing out of it (apparently at a seam). He didn’t see a crack at that spot so he’s assuming there’s a clog farther down the system. At least this is how I understand what he told me.
This same situation happened to a friend of mine when a pipe leading to her washer clogged up. The clog was farther down the line, but was first noticed by backing up at the kitchen sink.
Also happened with a burst pipe under my house two years ago – made obvious by the water bill for that month – and the maintenance fellow had to go looking for it. And with a sewer system, the ground may (will) be muddy/messy/smelly, or all of the above. That, too, occurred at an apartment house I once lived in. You’re lucky he caught it while remodeling is going on. He may have to just install a short piece of pipe. When was the sewer system last cleaned out, do you know?
Pat — Septic tank was cleaned and inspected about 2-1/2 years ago, just before I bought the place.
Yes, catching the problem early before ick starts backing up inside the house is a good thing!
There’s a lot to be said for not living in the city or suburbia, but septic tanks are not part of it. I’ve been on a municipal sewage system for years, and it’s so much better than dealing with clogs, and back-ups and drain field collapses and pump-outs…
There are a number of different systems for sleeving or lining sewer pipes, but they all essentially coat the inside of the pipe with a high-strength plastic or epoxy, which is not brittle like clay, is a lot stronger than asphalt, and doesn’t rust like iron. It’s a great alternative to replacing pipe.