Sunday, June 11, 2017

One step forward, two steps back

So. We got the septic tank dealt with.  The drainage issues did not abate, and the hall toilet kept flooding. 

The hall toilet proved to be a simple issue: the bolts had corroded to the point they were rust powder, and there was NO wax ring left.  Just a little bit of residue.  Given that the toilet guts needed replaced as well, we went ahead and replaced the toilet. 

We dredged the washer drain every other load, and kept getting...lint and hair, Odysseus thought. 

The sinks, and bathtub, and shower kept gurgling and backing up. 

We did research, and finally found a plumber with stellar reviews, and I called.  I called on Tuesday, and he came out on Thursday.

Y'know, it's a really bad thing when the plumber comes out from under the house, giggling and shaking his head, and says "It's a DIY nightmare under there.  The ONLY thing that was done right was the toilet.  It'd be cheaper, easier, and faster to rip it all out and do it over."

Friday, they started on it.  They finished it Saturday.  The plumber actually doing the work said, "I took out twice the linear feet of pipe as I put in, and it was all the wrong size for the job it was supposed to do."

So, that issue is fixed.  Fully, for the time being.  We shouldn't have to worry about backing up drains for a while.  Reasonably priced, too. 

Also on Thursday, Odysseus went to the old house to go get our push mower to get the trim work and inside the fenced in Scotty-dog yard all done.  And came back absolutely steamed: someone had stolen the mower and the gas can. 

All told, that's set us back financially a bit more than I was calculating, for this point.  It's not a disaster, but it's definitely discouraging.  However, that said, this will hopefully be the last big maintenance costs until after we get the other place fixed and sold.

8 comments:

  1. I'm glad you got the septic tank thing fixed. Nothing is as upsetting and emotionally draining as problems with that, with water, or with power.

    Somebody stole your mower? And a push mower, at that. That's pretty much down at the bottom of the totem pole, even for bottom feeders.

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    1. We suspect the neighbors we moved away from. And hope it breaks on them.

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    2. Years ago, we had a Sheriff here who liked lawn mowers. What he would do, if he was mad at you, was have his deputy go steal a mower from someone's property, then he would put the mower on your property that night. Next morning, acting on a tip, he would arrest you for possession of stolen property. When his deputy finally decided he might be the next one to wind up with a mystery mower in his garage, he squealed to the GBI. (Georgia Bureau of Investigation." They had to let eight people out of prison when all this came to light.

      I remember when elections came around, his deputies would come to the house and knock on the door. They'd say "you gonn'a be votn' for XXXX, ain't you." I always said hell yes, he's my candidate. I was pretty sure that when you voted the people counting the paper ballots let him know who was naughty and who was nice.

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  2. Hoo boy, DIY plumbing NEVER ends well. At least you found it now, not 6 months from now in the dead of winter! And that's a pisser that somebody would steal a used lawnmower AND the gas can.

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    Replies
    1. Exactly. Although, we knew there was something wrong, with the way all the drains were acting up at once.

      It was a push mower. A 19" trimmer. Yeah, it's not expensive to replace, but still more than I'd budgeted for the time being.

      Delete
  3. We're very lucky....the guy across the street is a VERY good plumber, and a family friend to boot.

    There were several times when he came over and fixed things, and wouldn't take any money.

    When he had computer problems and then needed some help getting his new TV and audio/video set up, I was over there in a flash!

    And I refused the money he offered, just as he refuses mine....

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    Replies
    1. Our former family plumber passed away last month. It took a while before I could stand to do research, and by the time I was ready to, Odysseus had two names to call.

      It REALLY wasn't as bad as it could have been.

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    2. You have my sympathy.

      Finding a good plumber is like finding a good mechanic.

      Our neighbor saved us a truckload of money last year when we needed the sewer line from the garage to the house replaced. It was a 45' run, and the typical charge for that is $100 per foot, plus materials.

      He called some of his buddies who came over with their sons who wanted to learn the plumbing trade, and the kids did all the hard work while the elders supervised and TAUGHT them how to do this stuff. It was great to watch these "old guys" like me pass along all the tips they knew, like ensuring the line ran downhill from Point A to Point B, how to get under a sidewalk without digging it up, how to properly join the sections of pipe, etc, etc, etc.

      We provided them with lunch and cold drinks, and the bill was only $1100 including materials. They saved us at least $3000, and we all had a great time.

      The kids even thanked us for being so patient because they knew they were doing it slower than a "Real Professional like my Dad" would do it.

      I thought it was marvelous to see the knowledge being passed down......

      Delete

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