The story of the day involves plumbing.
About the Plumbing
pictures documenting the process.
We noticed yesterday that there was a puddle in the basement. I tried ignoring it, but it didn’t go away. So I ripped out some parts of the floor / ceiling to see more clearly where the leak was coming from, and it turns out that water from the guest bathtub had been hitting this crappy piece of plywood that had been tacked up to conceal the plumbing, running several feet under the floor, and then soaking through. Lovely.
We opened up the closet whose back conceals the plumbing for the guest tub, and found that yea verily, the leak was running down the outside of the tub and into the basement. We also found out that the plumbing in our house sucks, but that’s not really news at this point.
We spent the rest of the afternoon disassembling the tub fixtures (in some cases by tearing them apart). For example, did you know that you can frequently remove a tub spigot simply by putting a hammer handle in the mouth and turning the whole thing counterclockwise? I did not know this. Now I do. Sadly for our spigot, I learned by tearing it apart with hammer and tongs and then going “oh, there was an easier way.” Also, vice grips are the absolute best tool ever. Not kidding. No exaggeration. Vice grips, they get the job done.
Another thing I learned: Household vinegar dissolves the lime buildup on plumbing fixtures. However, your wife will not use a toothbrush after you dump vinegar on it and use it to scrub plumbing … not even if you wash it really well afterwards.
Went to the Home Despot and picked up one of each part they offer for this particular job. We decided to replace everything that could be replaced without soldering. We also picked up a new toothbrush at Target.
Replaced all the crap, turned the house water back on (oh yeah, forgot the part where I can’t seem to turn off the water *just* to the tub. I gave up after three failed attempts and turned it off at the meter) and found that we had no hot water in the tub. Hot water in the sink, yes. No hot to the tub. So we glared at the fixture, took it apart again, and discovered evidence of a “limiter.”
On the other hand, at this point the leak was gone. Huzzah!
We then got into a solid row over exactly which piece needed to be loosened in lessen the limitation of the limiter. We both knew in our hearts that the other was wrong. In fact, according to the directions (which we consulted in a huff after about half an hour) we were both right about the other being wrong. There was a third way which actually controls the hot water. So, adjusted the limiter, and it promptly started leaking, but INTO the tub this time. At this point it was about 10pm and we said “fine, great.” It’s a smaller leak, and it’s inside the tub rather than through the floor.
During this adventure, the toilet tank’s water broke, and produced a puddle on the floor. Don’t get me started.
In other news, I’ve come through on my New Year’s resolution, and produced this short essay this week. One for one. Huzzah. I’m going to bed.
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