Angie and I had an unusual day yesterday. Let me set the scene for you: Yesterday, we both got off work at 2:00, both being done for the day. That almost never happens, so we were looking forward to an evening of relaxation. We both got home. Angie had to use the restroom right before we were to take off for Target.
A few minutes later, everything changed. Angie went to wash her hands, and the faucet bursted into the air. Water came flying into the air and out of the faucet. It did not stop. I ran downstairs to shut it off. In a moment of panic, I thought the shut-off valve was in the laundry room. It wasn't. Instead, I found out that the water had gone through the duct work and into the laundry room, where it was cascading down. I called Bill, my father-in-law. He told me that the shut-off is on the street side of the house, and of course, he's right, so I made it to the other side of the basement to shut it off.
The water is shut off, but there is still work to do. Bill called a plumbing service for us. Meanwhile, there is water in the basement, on the ceramic tile. So, while running to go upstairs and start cleaning up, I slipped and fell on the floor. I went upstairs, and water was all over the bathroom. We had to use every towel in the house to soak it all up on both floors.
About an hour later, the plumber arrived. It turns out that an O-ring corroded on the pipe, and a washer on the faucet fell apart. Those two little things caused all of this.
By now it's about 4:30. The plumber told me what to get, so I went to Lowe's to buy a new faucet, a P-trap, and two hoses. I got home and unhooked the water line from the old faucet, got everything unscrewed, and got the old faucet removed. At this point, Bill felt sorry for me and went over to help.
I should clarify that we have a small bathroom, and a small cabinet area. I should also mention that I'm about 6'3", and Bill isn't much smaller. I twisted myself more than ever before on this project. The pipes didn't quite fit, so Bill had to get a hacksaw to make the pipes fit. Bill spent most of the time working on it, and then I would occasionally tighten things up. Finally, a little after 7:00, the job was done, and the cleanup began.
Thankfully, everything is okay. The only two rooms that had water have ceramic tile, so it did not get on our laminate floors, or the carpeting. I also owe a lot to Bill for helping me out. Plus, I need to thank my father for bringing some fans over, so we could air out the floors and cabinets faster.
So if you ever needed help on installing a faucet, I can now say that I have some experience. Being a homeowner can make life interesting!
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3 comments:
Donnie and I had a similar thing happen while re-doing our bathroom... except it was the bathtub faucet. And, yes, Donnie fell too, in the kitchen on his way to the basement. I know you've never seen Donnie grumpy... that was grumpy-Donnie-day. The funnies part was when he first sent me downstairs to turn off the shut-off.... ha... like I knew where that was... Sorry your relaxing evening flopped. You don't have too many of those left:)
-Sarah
(who hasn't gone by redhedpoet81 in years... way-old-account-name)
Nice to know that I'm not alone. It would have been funny to see Donnie angry.
Hello Everyone,
This is an interesting concept. We went to Home Depot at least three times, talked to two different guys, and tried to figure it out ourselves, even drew a picture to show the sales associate. We wanted to cut off where the adhesive was previously applied. Having fresh pipe to connect to should enhance the seal. You can trying to use the hack saw to cut away at the pipe. Thanks...
San Antonio Plumbing Service
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