Thumper
08-07-2013, 09:02 AM
Lynn did some laundry Sunday and the last load into the dryer was a bunch of bath towels. When she came home from work yesterday, she pulled the towels from the dryer to fold them and put them in the linen closet. Well, she enters the laundry room and hollers for me. I go in and she points to the large globe lamp on the laundry room ceiling and asked, "What is THAT?" This is a very large globe ... 16" across and maybe 6" deep ... and it was full of water! In a slight panic, I went into the den which adjoins the laundry room and there was a wet area on the ceiling about a foot long and about 6" wide. Dammit! Worst case scenario, we have a water pipe or tub enclosure leaking (the upstairs bathroom is above this area). Most likely cause? "Hopefully" ... a leaking wax gasket at the base of the upstairs (master bedroom) toilet. Either way, we had a bit of a mess, but at least no "major" ceiling damage.
I removed the globe from the laundry room ceiling and watched ... no dripping water (a good sign). Then I had Lynn flush the upstairs toilet ... nothing ... I wait a bit and here it comes ... drip ... drip ... drip ... then a small stream ... then back to a few more drips and then nothing. CRAP! (no pun intended) I went upstairs to shut off the water valve to the toilet and ... DAMN! The thing wouldn't budge! I couldn't shut the water off. I went outside to where the water shut-off valve is entering the house, tightened it to the closed position and turned on the garden hose. Huh? The water drained from the house but there was still a steady stream coming from the hose. Damn! TWO VALVES are bad??? I venture into the garage for the water shut-off tool standing in the corner and made a trip back outside to the water meter to shut off the water supply to the house. Unbelievable! It wouldn't budge! I put my full weight into it ... nothing! I went back to the garage for a "cheater bar" and cranked on it some more. The whole tool started twisting but the shut-off still wouldn't budge! Dammit! Why do relatively simple projects always have a way of turning into major projects? I stretched the garden hose across the yard toward the curb, turned the hose bib on wide open and let the water run into the street. I went back upstairs, turned the water on in the bathtub and (good news) ... no water!
I gave Lynn a large cup and instructed her to start scooping the water out of the toilet tank and bowl ... then soak up the excess with an old towel. (didn't want to flush the tank dry for fear of damaging the den ceiling worse than what it already is) I returned to the garage wondering where I stuck the "emergency" wax ring for situations like this and finally located it in a workbench cabinet. I grabbed the ring and necessary tools, dragged everything to the upstairs bathroom and went to work. I managed to disconnect the toilet feed line, unbolted the toilet and lifted it from the floor. Ok, by now I was wiped out. My back was SHOT! I assumed a supervisory position and handed Lynn the scraper and instructed her on how to clean out the old wax ring material. We got it all cleaned up, installed the new ring and it was all I could do to lift the toilet while she laid on the floor guiding it into place. I tightened everything down, turned the water supply back on and everything is back to normal ... EXCEPT for that big ol' soggy wet spot on the drywall ceiling of the den. DANGIT!
'Course, after all that, I told Lynn I was starving and asked, "What's for dinner?" :D
Today I'm recovering ... nursing the sore back and tending to the black eye I got when Lynn hit me with that crescent wrench! :(
Today, I need to call the county and have them replace the valve at the water meter (it's between the meter and the street, so IMHO, it's THEIR responsibility (?). I don't even want to attempt replacing the hose bib or shut-off valve at the toilet. The way my luck has been running, I'll twist off or strip a dang water pipe!
I removed the globe from the laundry room ceiling and watched ... no dripping water (a good sign). Then I had Lynn flush the upstairs toilet ... nothing ... I wait a bit and here it comes ... drip ... drip ... drip ... then a small stream ... then back to a few more drips and then nothing. CRAP! (no pun intended) I went upstairs to shut off the water valve to the toilet and ... DAMN! The thing wouldn't budge! I couldn't shut the water off. I went outside to where the water shut-off valve is entering the house, tightened it to the closed position and turned on the garden hose. Huh? The water drained from the house but there was still a steady stream coming from the hose. Damn! TWO VALVES are bad??? I venture into the garage for the water shut-off tool standing in the corner and made a trip back outside to the water meter to shut off the water supply to the house. Unbelievable! It wouldn't budge! I put my full weight into it ... nothing! I went back to the garage for a "cheater bar" and cranked on it some more. The whole tool started twisting but the shut-off still wouldn't budge! Dammit! Why do relatively simple projects always have a way of turning into major projects? I stretched the garden hose across the yard toward the curb, turned the hose bib on wide open and let the water run into the street. I went back upstairs, turned the water on in the bathtub and (good news) ... no water!
I gave Lynn a large cup and instructed her to start scooping the water out of the toilet tank and bowl ... then soak up the excess with an old towel. (didn't want to flush the tank dry for fear of damaging the den ceiling worse than what it already is) I returned to the garage wondering where I stuck the "emergency" wax ring for situations like this and finally located it in a workbench cabinet. I grabbed the ring and necessary tools, dragged everything to the upstairs bathroom and went to work. I managed to disconnect the toilet feed line, unbolted the toilet and lifted it from the floor. Ok, by now I was wiped out. My back was SHOT! I assumed a supervisory position and handed Lynn the scraper and instructed her on how to clean out the old wax ring material. We got it all cleaned up, installed the new ring and it was all I could do to lift the toilet while she laid on the floor guiding it into place. I tightened everything down, turned the water supply back on and everything is back to normal ... EXCEPT for that big ol' soggy wet spot on the drywall ceiling of the den. DANGIT!
'Course, after all that, I told Lynn I was starving and asked, "What's for dinner?" :D
Today I'm recovering ... nursing the sore back and tending to the black eye I got when Lynn hit me with that crescent wrench! :(
Today, I need to call the county and have them replace the valve at the water meter (it's between the meter and the street, so IMHO, it's THEIR responsibility (?). I don't even want to attempt replacing the hose bib or shut-off valve at the toilet. The way my luck has been running, I'll twist off or strip a dang water pipe!