It's Rant Time! (Frustrating Plumbing Content)

[Katastrophe]

So, Mrs. Katastrophe got the idea that we needed a new faucet in our bathroom. As usual, she was right, as our home is old and needs a little "fixer upping."

"I got this," I said, summoning up as much male swagger as possible. "It's nothing to pop in a new faucet. Pull the old one out, pop the new one in, hook up the water lines and it'll be done in a jiffy."

Plumbing, my friends, can be humbling.

The old faucet pops out with ease. After I pull out the old faucet, I noticed the ceramic on the sink had chipped off, causing the sink to rust under the base of the old faucet. It's still solid, and will work for now, but I was thinking, "Crud. Gonna need a new sink soon." That little operation I don't know how to do. There's gonna be some money out the window.

The new faucet goes on no problem. Here's where the rant starts. The @#$@#@#$ water connecting lines are too small, and won't fit with the new faucet. On to the local hardware store. They're closed, and going out of business. We go to the local Wally World. They have the correct connector lines, but they're 20" long, and I only need about 6" lines. I'll make it work. Besides, they're braided steel and should last a while. They go on without a hitch.

Water starts flowing, and my wife cheers. I am truly happy that I have accomplished at least part of this task, and we have running water. I feel manly and proud of myself.

Then the drip starts.

It started small at first, at the elbow under the sink that connects the sink drain to the main drain line. Then it began to trickle. The wife runs out to get a bowl to catch the water. She comes back and I *touch* the elbow. Part of it disintegrates in my hand.

Now I have to go back to Wally World and get a new elbow, but I noticed the pipe that IT connects to is corroded and needs replacing, so I'll have to get it, too. More money. Great.

I relay all this to Mrs. Kat, and she says that the faucet looks great, and that we could modernize the bathroom a little bit with a new mirror and some other stuff. More money. Fanfreakin'tastic.

So, my $50.00 faucet replacement "honey do" is now gonna cost me a bathroom remodel of an untold amount. WHAAAAAAAAHAAAAAAHAAAAAAA!:

[Rocket]

Sounds about right!

[mrmudcat]

Hec yea just bend over and take like a man brother!!!!!

:

[Spudman***]

One word - Outhouse




But you are right. I'd rather be shafted by Paypal than to do plumbing at my house.

[luvmyshiner]

Kat, I feel your pain brother. Shiner's rules for do-it-yourself projects:

1. Estimate how much time the project will take you. Multiply that by 10 to get a more realistic estimate. Be prepared to throw the estimate out the window about halfway through the project.

2. Use the same formula to estimate cost.

3. Use the same formula to estimate the number of trips you'll need to take to Lowe's, Home Depot, Wally World or wherever.

4. After reviewing the above estimates, forget about it, grab a beer, and play guitar.

[Tim]

I have been very busy around our new home. The basement bathroom had a strange order. So I started to tear out old carpeting. To my amazement I found several troubling things.

1. A new toilet was installed on top of a second carpet underneath the top carpet layer. Not a good thing to do. The toilet was not secured properly allowing it to move whenever someone was doing any reading or heavy contemplating.

2. The sink/cabinet was also installed on top of the older carpet, nor secured to the wall.

3. The drain line had a small hole after the trap allowing water to drip down and find it's way to the carpet, which was found damp.

4. The small hole in the drain line allowed the fumes from the sewer to leak back into the bathroom, adding to the smell. Changing the complete draining system took 3 trips to the local hardware store alone.

5. Because of the constant water and humidity under the cabinet, the hot and cold shut off valves and plumbing must be changed out.

After tearing out all the carpeting and padding, I find that there must have been an over flow which allowed water to sit under the 2X4s which make up the wall structure.

I have squirted a 50/50 mixture of clorox and water to try an eliminate the order. I was told to look for a product call either "smell begone" or "urine eliminator". According to the hardware employee, if you apply the product in a larger than normal amount, it will find it's way under the 2X4s and eliminate the odor. I hope he is right.

Over the years I have come to hate plumbing of any kind. Like Kat stated, it always cost more then you think it should, along with more than one trip to the hardware store.

[Katastrophe]

Tim, I feel your pain, brother. We had a sewer line crush and had sewage back up into one of the bathrooms last year. That was a fun clean up, with tons of bleach to clean everything out. It's funny (not so much, really) how such small problems seem to expand once you start digging a little.

[oldguy]

Kat, we did the same project here not three weeks ago. Ours started with the daughter "tossing" something in the cabinet under the sink, breaking the old sink trap pipe. Got a new pipe. Connector to sink also rusted out. Took it apart. Sink corroded and chipped. Got a new sink. Faucet connectors shot. New faucet.
I count my lucky stars..... my wife used to work maintenance/repair at a rental apartment complex, where she learned to do plumbing!:
When I get pi$$ed enough, knuckles bleeding, cussing up a storm.....she says "Here, let me take a look at it"..........This is where we go to the last half of step 4 in Shiner's post.

[Tone2TheBone]

Yeah we spend more time running around for projects than we do actually accomplishing anything. I feel your pain man.

[Jampy]

Anything that has to do with plumbing in a 20+ year old house will suck big time.

We need a new shower liner as the moron that owned the house before us must have been the worst "handy" man in the world and cheap to. So we have had this yellow (used to be white) nasty shower insert for over 3 years now and fighting all the mildew and mold that tends to sprout up off it in a matter of hours no matter how much bleach we use, also when you run your hand over it and feel the "tiled" wall underneath I now know why it was covered he must have tried to tile himself and did a horrible job so the easiest thing to do was simply cover it. So after thinking about this little barrel of monkey's for a week or two I did the only thing possible.. Called a professional to do it.

So new shower for me due March 24 with a lifetime warranty

I learned my lesson with our laundry sink..

[Rocket]

I did the only thing possible.. Called a professional to do it.

That's right... support your local economy! Well worth the peace-O-mind to have a job done right (on the first attempt).

[piebaldpython***]

MURPHY'S LAW (that whatever can go wrong, WILL) applies to almost ANY home improvement project, no matter how seemingly simple. Most MEN understand this. Most wives don't!!! And therein lies the rub. The great thing about hiring somebody to do it is that if something goes wrong, you call them and they come back until they get it right!! : Which of course, gives US less stress and more time to play guitar.

[Jampy]

That's right... support your local economy! Well worth the peace-O-mind to have a job done right (on the first attempt).

Well I look at it this way.

Job is going to cost $3000.00 that includes EVERYTHING and I have it all in writing. The job will be done in one day and I have that in writing to.

No for me to do it myself.

Insert $1200.00
repairs $150.00
Gas spent driving to HD ten times $50.00
Beer (due to stress) $25.00
The satisfaction that I took on a job i should have never even looked at "Priceless"

$3000.00 well spent in my book, I know where to draw the line, plus they offer a product I could NEVER get my hands on, the quality is second to none and there workmanship is top notch.

To end this my Girlfriend is very happy..

[sumitomo]

Ah yes the beauty of home ownership,I feel your pain.Sumi

[Bloozcat]

I'm sorry Kat, but I did laugh...a little anyway...

I have done several remodels on homes I bought for that purpose...buy 'em, fix 'em, and flip 'em. Plus I've owned several rentals and four homes of my own as well.

You learn after a while....

Now whenever I approach a job like this, I check everything in line that could possibly break, rot, crack, or just plain go wrong. If I don't know what I need exactly, I bring the old parts with me. Now the jobs go pretty routinely.

Oh yeah, another thing...

Never, ever, tempt the gods of home repair by arrogantly saying, "No problem, easy job. I'll have it done in a jiffy". Many a mere mortal has met his end testing the gods this way...

[Cal]

That's right... support your local economy! Well worth the peace-O-mind to have a job done right (on the first attempt).

Rocket hits the nail on the head again.

We all tend to have our own sweet ways:

• If it ain't broke don't fix it. = No problem 'til it breaks THEN you need to SPEND big time (albeit for a professional... or the usually higher cost of fixing your own mistakes as you go).

• Regular (annual, biannual, whatever) inspections and maintenance. = Hey, it's maintained and if there's a problem it's spotted and fixed. Bit of a no brainer... but only implemented by the VERY few.

Sorry guys, I'm an engineer and a detail freak. I always get an inward smile when my colleagues ask me when I'm going to get a new car and in the same breath are complaining about their 6 month old one. It's also fun to park my very clean, shiny and throbbing-with-power little (19 year old) car beside theirs (for the hell of it). I guess all in all it's just great that everyone's so different - stops us from getting bored. :

[Katastrophe]

Man, I'm glad I'm not alone here...

My house was built in 1952, and moved to it's current position in sometime in the 60's. The house has been remodeled twice. Since moving in we've resided the exterior, painted the exterior, and started working on getting the landscaping up to snuff, which included the purchase of a chainsaw (pounds chest and grunts). Ms. Kat has embarked on several "accent wall" adventures (&*^%^$ cable decorating shows).

I'll keep everyone posted on how the rest of the replacement goes... I'm going to the local hardware store for the going out of business sale tomorrow.

[Jampy]

Man, I'm glad I'm not alone here...

My house was built in 1952, and moved to it's current position in sometime in the 60's. The house has been remodeled twice. Since moving in we've resided the exterior, painted the exterior, and started working on getting the landscaping up to snuff, which included the purchase of a chainsaw (pounds chest and grunts). Ms. Kat has embarked on several "accent wall" adventures (&*^%^$ cable decorating shows).

I'll keep everyone posted on how the rest of the replacement goes... I'm going to the local hardware store for the going out of business sale tomorrow.

No you are far from alone

[Kazz]

I used to work for a plumber...and it plain out sucks....but when the job needs to be done at the Kazztic casa.....I can get in there and get it done and save money that can be spent on bourbon and guitars.