a tale of tails, tenacity, and tedium, as told by me, usually barefoot and bellowing

Monday, March 12, 2012

Plumber's Nightmare

I have no pictures...oh, I wish I did!  While I was minding shop Saturday, Hubby and Andrew were doing some repairs. 

As is our good luck around here, in an old house, and with few skills, something always goes awry. 

A simple replacement of a board, lead to a leaky pipe, which led to a rusty nut, which lead to a broken pipe.  See what good pictures I missed and, I'm sure, some colorful language by hubby, who is not a plumber.

We live in the middle of nowhere and on Saturdays, the sidewalks roll up at noon.  After two trips to the only open store in town that has some plumbing supplies, Hubby and Andrew load up for the big city thirty miles away, armed with all the old accursed parts in hand.  Requesting a plumber at Home Depot, he is supplied with all the correct parts to do the repair...with an extra measure of pipe to be sure he has enough, they leave to finish repairs...except for an elbow, which broke after they began the repairs.  Thank goodness, the local store had an elbow!

The guys are just finishing up when I get home.  I over hear them talking.  Hubby says, Is it leaking?  Andrew says, no.  Hubby says, something's wrong, I couldn't have done it right!

Hubby asked Andrew what he had learned.  His first reply was, when repairing water pipes, every one has a plumber's behind...wrong answer.   His next observation was, water doesn't run up hill unless a pipe is broken.  Hubby gave up.

See, I shoulda had pictures!  Oh, and the board...still not fixed.

16 comments:

Unknown said...

The first really important lesson I learned about plumbing is that "stuff" doesn't always run downhill. This led to the second really important lesson, which is to always get somebody who knows about this beforehand.

Lynne said...

You seem to approach difficult situations, (which would probably freak me out) seem like a "no problem" adventure. Your fix it guy and his partner, waiting in the wings, step right up and presto, (after the trip for parts) problem fixed!
Sounds like it turned out to be a good day . . .

Amy Dingmann said...

I'm sure those would have been great pictures, and I'm sure the language was quite colorful. :) But its probably best you weren't in there with a camera, or things might have gotten uglier!! I know when my husband is in the middle of a "disaster", the last thing he wants me doing is standing there with a camera! :)

Stevie Taylor said...

So true! A broken pipe can flow uphill. And squirt you in the face with the force of a fire hydrant. Personally, I buy every plumbing fitting in the store when I have a plumbing repair. I can always return the extras. or use them for the next break!
Stevie@ruffledfeathersandspilledmilk.com

Unknown said...

It's amazing what we can deal with when we have to. We had to live a couple days without water while the entire underhouse galvenized piping was replaced with copper. I remember carrying a bucket to the neighbors hose so I could get water to make the toilet flush. One of those time I was glad that the houses are elbow to elbow here!

TexWisGirl said...

oh dear me! i'd have had to call a professional...

Nezzy (Cow Patty Surprise) said...

Heeehehehe, those answers of Andrew's are sooooo teenage boy! Great!

Yep girl, ya could'a used your camera but I got a good picture of the story through your marvelous words.

Have an extremely great weeks void of any drips!!! :o)

Farm Girl said...

Oh, shivers, plumbing around here is not for the fainthearted either. It just makes me cringe when we get a drip. :) I loved the plumbers observations though. That is good. :)

OmaLindasOldeBaggsandStuftShirts said...

Used to when we had a plumbing dilemma, I would leave the house because Sweet Man always lost his mind. He hates plumbing.
It always reminded me of that game that kids play where they have a bat in front of them standing on end, put their foreheads on it and turn around it....and then try to stand up and walk straight. Ain't gonna happen without some kind of insanity.
So glad my daughter is dating a "jack of all" repairs. Otherwise, I'd have to spend alot more money with everything around here falling apart at one time.
No need for pictures.....mental ones are covering this one.
Oma Linda

Dreaming said...

Andrew sounds like quite the comedian! Sometimes humor is not appreciated, however!

Susan Anderson said...

Gotta love Andrew.

We always have plumbing disasters around here, too. My hubby is just not handy. Yet he cannot resist jumping in with tools and testosterone. Hours later, he regrets it...but never seems to learn his lesson!

=)

LindaG said...

Haha. Hopefully the plumbing is working. :-)

Tracy said...

hahaha, I have the same type of photos to share but mine are of my kids doing a tornado drill NOT plumbing...does it count anyway!?
:)

StitchinByTheLake said...

It sounds to me like you shoulda' had a tape recorder. :) blessings, marlene

Tess Julia said...

Oh, funny story! Reminds me of my husband changing out a toilet and breaking the pipe off before the shut off! That was a flood, let me tell you:)
I left you some awards on my blog, if you're interested!

jp@A Green Ridge said...

Oh dear! You should have called the Prez...he knows/does all that stuff...plumbing, electrical, framing...an all around jack of all trades!...:)JP

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