Water, water every where, nor any drop to drink

[CDNSushi]

I don't suppose Samuel Taylor Coleridge was idly waiting for the water company to come to his house when he wrote his Rime though. Don't suppose they had running water back then...

Well, here I sit -- waiting for someone to come fix the broken water main outside my house. I doubt yesterday's typhoon had anything to do with it but with all of Japan's earthquakes, something's bound to get shaken loose sooner or later.

I was just leaving my house, heading off to work when I noticed the water coming up out of the ground through cracks in the concrete. At first I thought my wife had left the garden hose running, but as I came closer I realized I had no such luck. When I removed a nearby concrete storm drain cover, it hit me that it was about to become a very long day... Hope the repair crew bring their pick axes.

So here I sit, writing stream of consciousness drivel on the Off Topics forum as I wait for someone to bandage up my hemorrhaging house! Guess that's life huh? At least my boss was understanding when I called him with an indeterminate arrival time for work today. At this point I think I may as well change out of my shirt and tie into something more comfortable.

Well, since I'm sitting here bored, does anyone else have any interesting tales of home repair? Maybe a clogged toilet that exploded or something a bit more cool than this?

[ChattanCat]

This one won't be fixed by the landlord. We have a pressure problem, we are in house that has two apartments. When one flushes the toilet the other losses pressure. Just have to wait for the pressure to come back before finishing a shower...

[Bugbear]

Plumbing story... Oh where to start!

Galvanized steel water pipes are the root of most plumbing evil out here. Then most of the steel is connected to copper tubing with brass fittings which causes even more problems. Once the steel crumbles, all the pipes have to be replaced. When I bought the place, I replaced everything with CPVC and copper. It took about a month, and until then I had a garden hose hanging through the bathroom window for a water supply. Thankfully, it was during the summer.

I could go on and on and on, but I'll shut up now.

[Rex_Tremende]

My BF returned home from a trip up here to see me. He called to let me know he arrived safely, and while we were chatting, he put a load of laundry in to wash. At that precise moment, his hot water tank decided to fail and gush water into his kitchen. I advised him to locate the shut-off valve on the intake, but none could be found. Well, then, shut it off on the house where it comes in, but there was no valve. Meanwhile water still gushed across his kitchen, and disappeared into the cracks. Try the crawl space, I suggested. Nope. Not there either. He called a friend in for help. Some 45 minutes later, they found one, buried in the front yard under a layer of sand and acorns.

Regards,
Rex.

[vipermcgee]

I am told that when I was a child, about 2 or 3 maybe, we had some toilet trouble in our home. My dad went to purchase whatever it was that was broken. While he was gone I decided I would help. I found the only tool left in the area, his hammer, and.....

I bet everyone can figure out where that was going

Robert

[MacMillan of Rathdown]

When I was about five years old I watched with fascination as my slightly older cousin flushed his father's/my uncle's signet ring down the toilet. One beating later, along with ten yards of pipe ripped out of the lawn, the ring was recovered.

Several decades later, while still living in Ireland I was witness to the aftermath of a toilet falling through the floor and crashing into the room below at Clondafoy Castle. The cause of the disaster was dry rot, and the weight of the commode finally causing the floor to give way beneath it. Fortunately no one was hurt (although I secretly think death or a sever injury would have been hilarious) as we were all outside sipping Pimms at the time. It wasn't until the next morning that the damage was discovered.

[CDNSushi]

Wow! Great stuff guys! Anyway, the construction crew just left. I tried to clean up as best I could so the wife doesn't have a heart attack when she gets home from work. The garden is her pride and joy and they had to tear up the lawn. They got to the leak fairly quickly and didn't bash up as much concrete as I thought they might. Good to have that fixed now!

[Pleater]

Ah - good to hear that your pipes are repaired - and your boss was understanding of the problem.

Grass mends - it is renowned for it.

Although my ability to create an environment of stability and harmony is nowhere as strong as that of Madam Pleater at the MHICE, it does seem to extend to the house here. We have not had any entertaining plumbing incidents.

We have had the sink drain blocked up - but a dose of biological washing powder works wonders. It works for blocked toilets as well, though more slowly than many might wish if it is the only one in the house. (If the toilet is slow to empty toss a couple of cups of washing powder into it before it blocks completly. It saves so much anguish later, though it doesn't work at all quickly on clothing or toys it does eventually work on dead puppies. Trust me on this.)

We do all the plumbing and repairs ourselves - maybe that has something to do with it.

At the moment I should be clearing the kitchen in order to prepare it for the re-laying of the floor and installation of the new cabinets - but I paused to heat up a pot of nourishing soup and thought I would eat it in front of the computer.

Anne the Pleater :ootd:

[Jack Daw]

I woke up one morning in December 2007 to the sound of spraying water. I opened the bedroom door to find that the kitchen plumbing had sprung a leak and that all carpeting was sopping. Long story made short - all carpeting was replaced by an excellent ceramic tile floor and some strategically placed area rugs. My homeowner's insurance was adequate.

[Pleater]

I woke up one morning in December 2007 to the sound of spraying water. I opened the bedroom door to find that the kitchen plumbing had sprung a leak and that all carpeting was sopping. Long story made short - all carpeting was replaced by an excellent ceramic tile floor and some strategically placed area rugs. My homeowner's insurance was adequate.

I just spent time wondering how on earth you could know what had happened in the kitchen when standing at the bedroom door.

Eventually the penny dropped that some people live in places where bedrooms and kitchens are conveniently adjacent, though then I couldn't stop laughing at myself.

One does get SOOOO acustomed to having corridors and stairs, y'know, though they are such a nuisance when the knees are playing up and the doorbell goes.

Anne the Pleater :ootd: