I’d been hearing a suspicious drip whilst working downstairs in my study/cell when Dorie Ann was running water in the kitchen sink. We’d never been able to find any sign of water damage until…
One happy day she noted that the carpet under the writing desk was wet and in the immortal words of the KJV, “it stinketh.” We were pretty sure it wasn’t a feline accident because a) they are well behaved around cat box issues and b) they’d have to be the size of one of the Sanctuary tigers to release that much urine. Over several days I moved four six foot bookshelves, a writing desk, a computer table, two occasional tables, two office chairs and an etarge into the main downstairs room to set up my “study in exile.”
The carpet was in bad shape and we were planning to replace it, so that went as well, leaving us the evidence of the extent of the saturation.
The leak first appeared to be a failed joint in one of the hot water heating pipes so we turned off the downstairs zone, relying on a couple of space heaters to keep it habitable. On Friday I called a plumbing/heating service we’d used before and was told they could get their heating specialist to us on Monday. Saturday I pulled up the carpet pad and tore out some drywall to see if I could spot the failed joint. Turned out the joints were fine but the kitchen waste pipe seemed to be leaking.
First thing Monday I called the plumbing firm with the new information and was not surprised to learn that this would require a different tech who could get there Tuesday between noon and 2pm. He actually arrived around 2:05pm. More of the drywall had to go. First discovery: one of the elbow joints had broken at the joint. Second discovery: the remaining pipe below that joint seemed to have been cobbled together from spare bits of pipe the building had back in 1978 and it was breaking where the pipe went into the cast iron bell. That needs an adapting gasket. No they didn’t have one in stock. The tech jury-rigged a stub out from the upper waste pipe that could drain into an old recycling bin we had.
This is a fragile fix so: 1) no dishwasher use; 2) no disposal use and 3) it would be better to wash dishes in the bathroom sink. The good news is that the parts needed should be here Thursday and it’s not a complicated repair. And then of course, we need a drywaller to restore the damage. Then paint the room. Then put in new flooring. It looks like I’ll be in exile for a few weeks. ?
