Plumbing Story: Perhaps the First of Multiple Installments

So hubby and I have had this plumbing issue kind of hanging over our heads. It's one of those pesky little issues you would love to ignore, and ignoring it works as long as you can keep from reminding yourself that you are paying for it in the long run. We had one of these in our house in Topeka. It was a minor leak under the sink. When we moved in, I fixed it and refixed it. I bought new pieces. I bought new washers. After about a week of fussing with it I put a bucket under the sink and just dumped it every time it got full. It was a little leak. Easy to ignore.

As we were prepping to sell that house, I decided I was going to fix that leak once and for all. I went through the entire process of taking it apart and putting it back together, sometimes switching this piece for that, or that piece for this. We didn't have use of the kitchen sink for three days. I finally called Pat the Plumber (he was a good guy, I might as well give him some props). It was infuriating that I couldn't fix that simple little leak myself. But there's only so much time you can spend cussing at it and, unfortunately, cussing doesn't fix a leak.

When the Pat came, I told him I was going to watch over his shoulder to see how he fixed it. "Sure," he said. "Do you mind if I just cut the whole thing out and start over?"

And that's what he did. He cut the entire under the sink drainage system out and replaced it with all new. No fussing with the one joint that insisted on leaking. He just made a whole new plan.

Lesson learned.

By I've gotten sidetracked. This current problem has been around for... a little over two months now. It's not our house, but an investment place. More than once hubby and I have gone over there, stood with our heads together looking at it... and left again. We've discussed the merits of calling a plumber. We keep coming back to doing it ourselves... mostly because we really can't afford a plumber... and a plumber would see the obvious problems, plus a dozen more that we probably really don't want to know about.

Here's the thing. I come from a family of extremely competent and talented individuals. My brothers and my dad, they can and do build everything. I grew up watching plumbing get plumbed, wiring get wired... room additions, new roofs, entire houses. It seems like there was always something getting built or fixed in our house. And you know what? My mom could handle a power tool, as well. I consider my sister more of a growing things goddess, but she's never been afraid to dive in and get her hands dirty, as well.

So I look at this problem--a leak and another leak that is causing damage to the floor in the bathroom--and I think it's really something I should be able to handle myself. I've watched stuff like this get fixed dozens of times. Yet, it was pretty easy for me to find excuses to do something else.

Well this morning I ran out of excuses. With the words of Pat the Plumber echoing in my head, I tackled the problem with a saw.

Step 1: Cut the problem area out.

Once I got over my initial hesitation, it was kind of fun. I basically redesigned (just a tiny bit) the problem area until it looked more like something that might be (fingers crossed) NOT leaky. Only took one trip to the hardware store to get all the right replacment pieces!

Step 2: Tackle problem area #2.

We started out thinking this next part would be easy after what we had just accomplished. Our one leak in a short area of pipe, however, turned out to be four rather major leaks in about 20 feet of pipe. So the demolition part grew, and after two trips to the hardware store, we still don't have the puzzle put together quite right. I am filled with new confidence, however. Exhausted, but happy that I made it through the day with relatively little cussing.

I'll let you know what happens when we actually get the water turned back on.