We learned some hard lessons about sewer problems when we had a sewer line clog and and overflow in our basement. We had another close call last month when our neighbors were having their sewer line replaced. The contractor ground out the tree roots blocking the line, in preparation for a trench less replacement, butRead more about Sewer proofing the house[…]
Our house has only one water heater for the entire place. It is a (pretty big) 75 gallon unit in the basement. To avoid wasting water by having to run the water to get it hot, we have two circulation loops in the house. Being very long loops, they take quite a while to circulateRead more about Re-circulation pump timer – old school vs new school[…]
Sigh. Yes, we had another major plumbing issue that cropped up in December and finally got resolved last week. This wasn’t as bad as the one that did a big number on our basement, but it has left us with a sense of PTSD for fear of other issues. It’s hard to imagine at thisRead more about The next (and hopefully last) plumbing disaster[…]
It’s been over two months since my last entry on the house progress. It was partly the business of the holidays with six family members visiting, and Christmas with three kids, partly another major plumbing issue slash disaster, and part just plain fatigue with all things building and our house; it’s been almost three yearsRead more about Yea, I took a break from blogging (and it’s been a slow couple of months)[…]
Unfortunately, we discovered a rash of new plumbing issues this week. The first, and potentially most serious, is an issue with our sump pump. The sump pump is hooked up to two lines. One goes to the vent (to get air behind water to allow it to flow) and the other, the outlet. It seemsRead more about More plumbing issues, oh my[…]
Late last week, we thought we were done with the basement reconstruction after the water leak and resulting flood. But alas, it was not to be. The company that did the repairs, did a pretty poor job at floating the walls and ceiling after the drywall was installed, and there are lots of visible issues. Read more about Basement – two steps forward, one step back[…]
Now comes the fun part, trying to get the insurance company to properly reimburse us for the damage the plumbing leak caused. A particular point of contention are the personal items. Insurance companies don’t want to pay for something new. In cases like this, they claim to reimburse for cash value of the affected items. Read more about More plumbing leak damage – personal property[…]
It has been a long road to recovering from the catastrophic plumbing leak that occurred two months ago due to our plumbers over-tightening a plastic fitting. For starters, the leak itself turned out to be just the tip of the iceberg when it came to our plumbing issues. We had another plumber come and inspectRead more about Pluming leak update[…]
It’s been almost a month since we had the plumbing leak. We are still trying to get the plumbers insurance company to pay up. Despite admitting they have responsibility for the claim, we have yet to see any money. We’ve reached the end of the remediation efforts, with the last of the dehumidifiers and fansRead more about Water damage update[…]
We’ve had a porta-potty for the duration of construction. Finally, after more than 18 months without a proper toilet here, our toilets are all plumbed in and working. But, I realized last weekend, after visiting a friends construction site, it didn’t have to be this way. They simply made their own outhouse, and probably savedRead more about Outhouse style[…]