Drip, Drip, Drip, Goes the Water.

So… the day ended with it raining in the kitchen:

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The hot water pipe going into the upstairs bathtub popped. It flooded the upstairs bathroom, then seeped through the tongue-and-groove flooring into the crawlspace, then through the tongue-and-groove ceiling down into the kitchen.

In the kitchen, it ran through the cabinets and onto the floor. It also ran through all the overhead lighting.

So, the kitchen got an unscheduled bath today.

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And we think we know why it popped: too much pressure. We moved the hot water heater and the washer and dryer to their new alcove today. While doing so, we added a check valve on the cold water supply going into the hot water heater. With no ability to back-flow as it had been doing before, the heated water system over pressurized, and found the weakest link.

Anyway, here’s what the alcove looks like with it’s bits in place:

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The alcove had to be completed first so we could move the washer and dryer from their previous locations. With that done, we could start gutting the rest of the old laundry room and bathroom, which ended up looking like this before the previously mentioned internal rain interrupted said gutting today:

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While gutting the area, we discovered something ugly. Well, uglier than all the mold we found? And uglier than the fact that we found absolutely no insulation in the North-facing walls? We found that the back wall of the house is not sitting on the slab at all. It’s sitting directly on the ground.

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Can you say NOT FUCKING GOOD? Yes. I just cussed.

How did we not notice this on the outside, you ask? The previous owners had glossed it over with siding. Just like so much other stuffs we’ve found that they, and even more previous owners, had done.

So, what started out as a leak in the main water line, turned remodel, has now turned into a major structural undertaking!

Frak.

Until next time...
Erik

8 thoughts on “Drip, Drip, Drip, Goes the Water.

  1. I know the challenge of all the work you’re doin, and I feel your pain. I also feel so glad all mine’s done now; soon you’ll see the light at the end of the tunnel. Keep up the good work. And remember, some people (me) can’t do it all and have to hire out 🙂

  2. Wow! … um, wow. I’m so sorry. Try and look at the positive side. This water break… revealed the lack O’ foundation issue before you sealed up the back wall. Everything is looking great and is done so nicely and this is just another thing that will be done just as well. The two of you will look back on all of this with satisfaction and pride.

    Hang in there, take a deep breath and one step at a time.

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