When you hear a sound like water running in your house, and water isn't running in your house, it is actually probably running in your house, just not in your pipes. Where it should be.
I know this to be true from waaaay too much first hand experience with pipes and water and such.
Eleven months ago, just four days before Daughter's 18th birthday for which we were hosting a dinner party, a hot water pipe burst. Right under our living room floor.
Which required a leak locator (aka plumber with a divining rod). And a jackhammer, for cutting a ginormous hole in our living room floor once the leak had been found. And shovels and welding and all of that. Which made me cry. Well, it didn't all make me cry, just the part where the burly guy with the jackhammer made a precious family portrait fall, and shatter on the hearth. I don't usually cry easily. But that did it.
So this time, this time hubby and I, who are way too familiar with hearing the sound of water running in your house when it actually isn't supposed to be, then reacting with a HOLY SHIT! Do you HEAR that??? Is that what I think it is??? And then taking a deep breath and going outside and turning off the water to see if that makes the sound stop, and then really going FUCK! when it does because you know that means a pipe has broken. In your house. Again.
We actually found the leak ourselves. It was beneath Son's closet floor. You could feel the heat in the slab. It kind of made me sick to my stomach when I felt it because it confirmed our suspicions.
Then there was the calling our friend the plumber who deserves a(nother) gold star for helping us fix this mess on a Sunday. SuperBowl Sunday.
He arrived at 8 a.m., concrete saw in hand, verified the location of the leak, complimented us on our detective work, then fired up that saw that sounded a LOT like my dad's chainsaw, and in fact belched out exhaust that smelled the same. Something about the gas/oil mix, I guess. And left a film of concrete dust the likes of which I've never dealt with...all over the house. EVERY surface had some, some worse than others, and getting it up has been interesting.
First hubby ran the shop vac over every surface he could reach. Then out came the furniture polish and rags...and hours of spritzing, wiping, etc.
Good gawd.
Late Saturday night, when the problem/probable solution was becoming clear, I texted my friend JL. I was overwhelmed in kind of a numb way, and needed to share with someone who wasn't my hubby who was trying not to overfreak out over yet another plumbing issue so soon after the last one.
She was amazing. And she invited me over to spend the morning or as long as I needed to to stay out of the way and not cry again and to just be. Hubby jumped on that, and made me accept immediately.
He needed me out, I needed to be out, and it worked out well.
I spent an amazing morning, then brunch time with JL and then another friend we met for brunch. It was unexpected and lovely and fun and certainly not the stress filled smoke filled noise filled dirt filled environment that would certainly have characterized my home environ at that moment.
Hubby called right before lunch, and announced the breach had been fixed. And that we'd address the other stuff later...filling the hole with concrete, patching the sheetrock, etc. And he encouraged me to go to lunch with my friends in lieu of rushing home, which was extra sweet.
During the course of things...we decided, that since most of the stuff was out of that room, we should probably fix it up a bit. Spruce it up.
Right now that'll look like this:
Replace hot water heater (it needs it, this reminded us it's probably time. I realize this isn't spruce up, it's maintenance, but you get it..)
Refinish the walls in the beautiful finish our contractor used in our recent bathroom remodels.
Paint.
Lay bamboo floors.
Install closet organizing system.
Probably replace blinds with something newer and cooler, though they're neutral and may fit ok in the end. We'll see.
I've met people in my life who have the ability to simplify as they make their way through.
Apparently I'm not one of them. And I'm certainly not married to one.
I know this to be true from waaaay too much first hand experience with pipes and water and such.
Eleven months ago, just four days before Daughter's 18th birthday for which we were hosting a dinner party, a hot water pipe burst. Right under our living room floor.
Which required a leak locator (aka plumber with a divining rod). And a jackhammer, for cutting a ginormous hole in our living room floor once the leak had been found. And shovels and welding and all of that. Which made me cry. Well, it didn't all make me cry, just the part where the burly guy with the jackhammer made a precious family portrait fall, and shatter on the hearth. I don't usually cry easily. But that did it.
So this time, this time hubby and I, who are way too familiar with hearing the sound of water running in your house when it actually isn't supposed to be, then reacting with a HOLY SHIT! Do you HEAR that??? Is that what I think it is??? And then taking a deep breath and going outside and turning off the water to see if that makes the sound stop, and then really going FUCK! when it does because you know that means a pipe has broken. In your house. Again.
We actually found the leak ourselves. It was beneath Son's closet floor. You could feel the heat in the slab. It kind of made me sick to my stomach when I felt it because it confirmed our suspicions.
Then there was the calling our friend the plumber who deserves a(nother) gold star for helping us fix this mess on a Sunday. SuperBowl Sunday.
He arrived at 8 a.m., concrete saw in hand, verified the location of the leak, complimented us on our detective work, then fired up that saw that sounded a LOT like my dad's chainsaw, and in fact belched out exhaust that smelled the same. Something about the gas/oil mix, I guess. And left a film of concrete dust the likes of which I've never dealt with...all over the house. EVERY surface had some, some worse than others, and getting it up has been interesting.
First hubby ran the shop vac over every surface he could reach. Then out came the furniture polish and rags...and hours of spritzing, wiping, etc.
Good gawd.
Late Saturday night, when the problem/probable solution was becoming clear, I texted my friend JL. I was overwhelmed in kind of a numb way, and needed to share with someone who wasn't my hubby who was trying not to overfreak out over yet another plumbing issue so soon after the last one.
She was amazing. And she invited me over to spend the morning or as long as I needed to to stay out of the way and not cry again and to just be. Hubby jumped on that, and made me accept immediately.
He needed me out, I needed to be out, and it worked out well.
I spent an amazing morning, then brunch time with JL and then another friend we met for brunch. It was unexpected and lovely and fun and certainly not the stress filled smoke filled noise filled dirt filled environment that would certainly have characterized my home environ at that moment.
Hubby called right before lunch, and announced the breach had been fixed. And that we'd address the other stuff later...filling the hole with concrete, patching the sheetrock, etc. And he encouraged me to go to lunch with my friends in lieu of rushing home, which was extra sweet.
During the course of things...we decided, that since most of the stuff was out of that room, we should probably fix it up a bit. Spruce it up.
Right now that'll look like this:
Replace hot water heater (it needs it, this reminded us it's probably time. I realize this isn't spruce up, it's maintenance, but you get it..)
Refinish the walls in the beautiful finish our contractor used in our recent bathroom remodels.
Paint.
Lay bamboo floors.
Install closet organizing system.
Probably replace blinds with something newer and cooler, though they're neutral and may fit ok in the end. We'll see.
I've met people in my life who have the ability to simplify as they make their way through.
Apparently I'm not one of them. And I'm certainly not married to one.
Ohhh, that is terrible. With our new oldoldold house I've come to appreciate the power of water and the damage it can wreak. Holy cow. I'm glad you have a plumber friend who comes quickly, and a husband who can take charge and send you over to your kind friend's house. All the best to you guys.
ReplyDeleteLG - Thanks so much! Water...is life, and occasionally a pain in the butt when it's not where it's supposed to be, no?
ReplyDelete