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Slartibartfast Loyal user Southern Illinois 230 Posts |
My daughter has her college graduation today with a degree in graphic design. This is a big deal in our family so my dad and his wife came out from Colorado to be here. They are staying with us for the week. Today we have a party planned after the graduation here at our house. Yesterday, about noon, an aromatic brown liquid started coming up from all of the lower level drains. especially the downstairs tub and toilet. Anytime any water is run in the house, more brown liquid gushes forth. First thing I did was to go out to check the septic tank, which involved digging down about 3 feet to the lid and prying it open. Yep, that is a septic tank, all right. Seems to be OK as I stick my head into it with a flashlight looking for blockages. (Ever stick your head in a septic tank?)
We call some local plumbers who do not seem all that anxious to come take my money and who not seem to recognize the critical nature of the situation. We finally get ahold of Roto-Rooter who promise us that they will be here in about an hour or so. Eight hours later he finally shows up with his magical roto rooter machine and proceeds to go to work. Of course, the cleanout is inside the house so we get the lovely aroma wafting through the house as we try to have a late dinner. He finds several clogs in the main line and cleans it out as far as his machine will go (about 100 feet.) We test the drains and...success! We can flush agai....OH NO! Here we go again with the flooding as everything overflows again. We get it all cleaned up again as the Roto-Rooter guy goes and makes a call for a consultation. Their best guess is that there is another major plug further down the main pipe (how many clogs can one pipe have?), but the guy does not have the longer snake that he needs since it broke last week and he hasn't replaced it yet. So we pay the guy for the service call and he is on his way. During these conversations, our 12 year old son, who somehow was apparently oblivious to what has been going on right in front of him all day decides to go to the bathroom and flushes the toilet, causing a huge flood as the tank runs on and on. We proceed to mop up about 5 gallons of water off of the floor as we do our reenactment of Noah's flood. They are supposed to be back here sometime this morning with a longer snake to clean it all the way out to the septic tank (about 140 feet.). However, we have to leave by noon to get to the graduation and I am not optimistic that they will be able to get here and get the problem fixed before we have to leave. I am afraid that I am going to miss my only daughter's graduation because of a blocked poop pipe, but I need to be here since I am the only person who knows the plumbing in this (130 year old) house. And after the graduation a bunch of people are coming back here, to a house where we cannot use sinks, tubs, or toilets. "Hi! Welcome to our home. The tree for the boys is over there, and the tree for the girls is that way. You can wash your hands in the hose over there." Soooo..... How is your weekend?
If you can pull it off in a biker bar without being violated by a corn dog, more power to you.
-- Gwyd, the Unusual "YOUR Signature...speaks volumns (sic) as to your lack of understanding." --T.V. |
Slartibartfast Loyal user Southern Illinois 230 Posts |
So my son offered to let us use his house for the after graduation party. We called off the Roto-rooter man and told him to not bother coming today. My concept of "morning" seems to be very different from their concept of "morning".
I will be able to attend my daughter's graduation, we will still be able to have the party (albeit at an alternate location), but we will be without plumbing for yet another day. Oh, well... Things could be worse, I guess.
If you can pull it off in a biker bar without being violated by a corn dog, more power to you.
-- Gwyd, the Unusual "YOUR Signature...speaks volumns (sic) as to your lack of understanding." --T.V. |
Destiny Inner circle 1429 Posts |
You'll always be able to taunt your daughter about the $&!t you went through when she graduated.
Congratulations on the big event, have a great day and just laugh about the other $&!t. Destiny |
davidpaul$ Inner circle Georgetown, South Carolina 3086 Posts |
This too shall pass. Boy Oh boy what a day.
I remember once my wife asked me to tightened the kitchen faucet. It was a little loose and so I grabbed my faucet wrench and Channellock's. I was getting ready for a show but thought I could squeeze this little job in. Little did I know that all the chromed drain tubing which looked great from the outside was all corroded on the inside. I inadvertently hit the tubing while trying to position the wrenches and it all started to crumble, then some of the water feed connections started to spray water everywhere. I won't elaborate any further. Anyway Slart----- (how did you come up with that username) let us know how things work out. I'll be curious to hear the rest of the story. (blockage) Oh and congratulations to your daughter.
Guilt will betray you before technique betrays you!
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Destiny Inner circle 1429 Posts |
All this discussion of plumbing reminds me I should get the cold water tap on my shower fixed.
Not that it doesn't function properly, but the aesthetics are not good. It does not sit out straight from the wall but is on a 45 degree angle toward the floor. Apparently a hammer is not the correct tool for changing a washer but after 20 minutes of failure with everything else, my patience wore thin. Destiny |
Chrystal Inner circle Canada/France 1552 Posts |
Yikes! I really felt for you while reading your post and glad you were able to make it to your daughters grad. I recently discovered my front lawn was a wet sodden mess 2 wks ago. A call to the city and their inspection revealed the line was on my side and thus my responsibility by a mere inch. I'm 1800 dollars poorer as a result and my front yard resembled a huge dirt pit. It could have been worse however as they discovered the leak before a sink hole developed in my yard. I don't have a septic tank but it was the main water line to my house..so thanks to your story I'm grateful for that and see it could have really been worse! Forgive me for chuckling at your humorous yet stressful situation as you have a talent for allowing the reader to visualize the occurances at your home through your writing.
# Happens as they say, but how we deal with it makes us stronger in the long run. I'm not thrilled about the bill but I see it could have been worse, thanks to your story. Like Plastic Destiny humorously said, it will be something you will laugh about in the future. Your poor kid he must have felt he really messed up when he flushed the toilet! He too will laugh about it some day! Ah the memories! The really wonderful thing was you were able to make it to the graduation - now that's a once in a life time thing and glad you didn't miss it. Glad it all worked out! |
Slartibartfast Loyal user Southern Illinois 230 Posts |
We made it to the graduation just fine. Our son needed to clean up his house for the party (bachelor living alone - 'nuff said...) so his girlfriend and our oldest son's girlfriend went over to shovel as much stuff out of the way as possible while we tried to prepare things here. They then came over here so that we could all go to the graduation together. Unfortunately, tickets were distributed to get in, and we did not have enough for everyone that showed up. Rather than telling these ladies (who worked all morning cleaning his house) that they were not welcome, we all headed over there and hoped that we could talk our way in somehow. We get there and I see that the place where they take tickets and the place where you go in were separated far enough that a little bit of misdirection would get us all in (Hooray for magic skillz). So we all filed in and took up an entire row and got to see her graduate. Whew.
After graduation, we came back to our house to pick up the stuff for the party. We planned on taking our big gas BBQ to cook the burgers. We have a small utility trailer that we use to haul things, so I get it out and hook it up to the Pathfinder. As we were getting ready to load the BBQ, we notice that the trailer is listing to one side - one tire is completely flat. I unhooked the trailer while saying a few new four letter words that I didn't even know I knew and we loaded up a bag of charcoal to use the grill that was already at his house. We load up the Pathfinder and my wife is getting ready to go when she asks "Should the tailpipe be that low to the ground?" Sure enough, the tailpipe had come loose and was about an inch off of the ground. By this time I was ready to go crawl into bed until this nightmare decided to finally end. Instead, I went and got a coat hanger and fashioned a high-tech tailpipe supprt assembly to hold it high enough off of the ground to get us there and back. We get to our son's house, and the BBQ is big enough to cook about 6 burgers at a time. I start cooking while my wife is trying to decorate the cake and get the rest of the stuff ready. Even though we ate about an hour later than we hope, the party was a success. The entire time, my wife and I were reassuring each other that "It's not about us, it's about her" and we were able to pull ourselves together to make it a good day for our daughter. Roto-rooter just called, and the second guy should be here in about an hour. Hopefully we will have indoor plumbing again shortly thereafter. This "use a tree for number 1, go to McDonalds for number 2" is getting old.
If you can pull it off in a biker bar without being violated by a corn dog, more power to you.
-- Gwyd, the Unusual "YOUR Signature...speaks volumns (sic) as to your lack of understanding." --T.V. |
Slartibartfast Loyal user Southern Illinois 230 Posts |
Well, not one but two Roto-rooter men showed up...
..AND NEITHER ONE OF THEM BROUGHT THE EXTRA ATTACHMENT TO REACH THE CLOG. AAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
If you can pull it off in a biker bar without being violated by a corn dog, more power to you.
-- Gwyd, the Unusual "YOUR Signature...speaks volumns (sic) as to your lack of understanding." --T.V. |
Slartibartfast Loyal user Southern Illinois 230 Posts |
Operation Poop Pipe has been successfully concluded. Apparently some roots had grown in right at the junction of the septic tank and the main line. The Roto-rooter guy was at the absolute end of his second line before finally busting through. We had the septic tank lid open and saw the floodgates open when it finally was cleared. Hooray! Welcome back to the wonderful world of indoor plumbing.
Interestingly, we were talking with the Roto-rooter guy (a very nice older gentleman) and he told us that he is an independent contractor who get only 30% of the bill, with the other 70% going to Roto-rooter, Inc. Out of that 30%, he has to buy his own equipment, truck, gas, etc. Based on the $119 bill for today, that means he worked two hours (not counting travel) in a sewer line for $36 gross. I will never, ever, complain about my job again. Quote:
On 2008-10-26 23:15, davidpaul$ wrote: If I have to touch plumbing I just go ahead and take the day off. I know that it will take at least 10 times longer than I expect, and that I will have to go back to the hardware store a minimum of 3 times. My username is from The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. Slartibarfast was one of my favorite characters. Quote:
On 2008-10-27 00:23, plasticdestiny wrote: Believe me, I have been there. Nothing frustrates me more than plumbing. I once attacked a stubborn fitting with a sledgehammer. Turns out that is not a good idea. Who knew? Quote:
On 2008-10-27 01:01, Chrystal wrote: The choice was to laugh about it, or go to the clock tower with a high powered rifle. I chose to laugh. Thanks to everyone for your good wishes and for putting up with my pity party. Dan
If you can pull it off in a biker bar without being violated by a corn dog, more power to you.
-- Gwyd, the Unusual "YOUR Signature...speaks volumns (sic) as to your lack of understanding." --T.V. |
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