Multiday Homeowner Nightmare

[Methanolandbrats]

Last week the wife noticed some drywall bubbling the living room. That wall is on the other side of the kitchen sink. So I go under the sink and don't notice any leaks. The next day I poke the damp drywall on the living room side just above the baseboard. Water ran out, musty, nasty water. So I put two large fans in the window to blow out of the living room, hang some plastic and grab the respirator. Three days later and I'm getting somewhere. Turns out a brass pipe before the soil stack split lengthwise. It had a pinhole from rubbing on a stud when the garbage disposal ran. I had a lake below the false bottom of the sink cupboard, three inches of water in the wall cavity and some moldy drywall. Took the drywall down and bagged it. Sopped up the water and scraped out the subfloor. Cut the drywall two feet higher than the damage. More good news, it ruined a few feet of the underlayment for the kitchen floor. Just finished digging that all out so I can put in new underlayment and lay tile. Patched the plumbing with plastic and hub connectors. :mad:

[Don Quixote]

Sometimes I wonder if indoor plumbing is really worth it. Had a similar experience several years back with a pinhole leak on the supply line to the dishwasher. Water was going beneath the false bottem below the sink and just sitting there. Sounds like you got me beat on the damage.

[Andrew Longman]

FIL paid a guy who turned out to be a coke addict to install an upstairs bathroom in the weekend house on Long Island Sound.

Turns out he must have been short a copper elbow so he just kinked a pipe.

A few months later the FIL arrives on a Friday night to find that water has been leaking most of the week. Ruined that bath and the one below on the first floor.

One bath cost the price of three.

[stroker]

Last week the wife noticed some drywall bubbling the living room. That wall is on the other side of the kitchen sink. So I go under the sink and don't notice any leaks. The next day I poke the damp drywall on the living room side just above the baseboard. Water ran out, musty, nasty water. So I put two large fans in the window to blow out of the living room, hang some plastic and grab the respirator. Three days later and I'm getting somewhere. Turns out a brass pipe before the soil stack split lengthwise. It had a pinhole from rubbing on a stud when the garbage disposal ran. I had a lake below the false bottom of the sink cupboard, three inches of water in the wall cavity and some moldy drywall. Took the drywall down and bagged it. Sopped up the water and scraped out the subfloor. Cut the drywall two feet higher than the damage. More good news, it ruined a few feet of the underlayment for the kitchen floor. Just finished digging that all out so I can put in new underlayment and lay tile. Patched the plumbing with plastic and hub connectors. :mad:

That really sucks ass, M&B.

If it's any consolation, the fact that DIDN'T happen to me makes me appreciate my day all the more.

[Methanolandbrats]

****ing nightmare. I'm gonna go on weekly leak patrol in my house after this ********. I just cut out the drywall under the vanities in the bathrooms so I can see what is going on between the sink and soil stack. There is no need for drywall "under there". All you dudes and dudettes with 40-50 year old houses, I guess it was the fashion to use brass for wastewater until it entered the wall. The they inserted a s***** 7 inch piece of 1 1/2 inch copper as a connector. Problem is they ran it through a tight hole in a stud at a -15 degree angle. That means the pipe is wedged in there and when the garbage disposal runs, is slowly saws the pipe in half.

[cameraman]

Further (unneeded) proof that idiot plumbers existed 50 years ago. The problem was the install not the materials.

[dando]

Further (unneeded) proof that idiot plumbers existed 50 years ago. The problem was the install not the materials.

Further proof that idiots in general are timeless. ;) :saywhat:

-Kevin

[Andrew Longman]

I feel for you M&B, but save a little gratitude for the fact that at least you were capable of making the repair and doing it right.

Seems almost no one, especially younger people, today know enough to even use a hammer

Doesn't make you chore any more pleasant tho, I know.

[dando]

I feel for you M&B, but save a little gratitude for the fact that at least you were capable of making the repair and doing it right.

Seems almost no one, especially younger people, today know enough to even use a hammer

Doesn't make you chore any more pleasant tho, I know.

Funny. One of the guys running here for the House or Senate was quoted recently about bringing back shop class to high school and that vocational training is not a bad thing. Spot on.

-Kevin

[nrc]

Sounds like you need to get that Kunuckastani contractor guy, Holmes, on the case. I've learned a lot about what not to do from him. :gomer:

[Andrew Longman]

Funny. One of the guys running here for the House or Senate was quoted recently about bringing back shop class to high school and that vocational training is not a bad thing. Spot on.

-KevinOne strong point to that is you can't offshore jobs like plumbing and auto repair.

At my kids school theY still teach woodshop. One of the few schools in the state that still does. Almost impossible to get into tho because it is so popular. They do some pretty cool stuff.

[chop456]

Where I grew up, the county runs a vocational center that teaches a huge number of things. Everything from auto body to electrical work, cosmetology to criminal justice to nursing. It's a well-funded and respected program. Any HS student in the county is eligible to go there, and even some from outside the county.

There's obviously a lot to be said for learning a trade. I have a friend with an economics degree that gave up on it for an apprenticeship in HVAC and he says it's the smartest move he ever made.

I don't know how to do anything. :gomer:

[extramundane]

I don't know how to do anything. :gomer:

I've learned over the last 7 years that I don't know how to do anything, despite what I thought I knew. This thread is one of the reasons why I'm throwing in the towel on the 1946 tract-home horrorshow and going back to Condo-land. Whoever "renovated" this place in the '90s deserves to be charged with war crimes. It'll make a nice meth lab sometime soon. :\

[Methanolandbrats]

I'm lucky the way I grew up. I had an uncle who was a builder. I worked for him sometimes and another uncle who was a well driller. The well driller had a huge shop with a welder, a lathe, drill press, everything for wood and metal working. He also built race motors for the local short track guys. My dad also was pretty good at fixing stuff and the only repairman I ever remember coming to my childhood house was the TV guy. Add in a grandfather who had a farm where I helped repair the farm equipment and take care of chickens and cows and it all added up to a lot of valuable knowledge. I don't think very many kids these days have a chance to do that kind of stuff.

[sadams]

When I was in high school, graduated in 72, the auto shop class was run like an auto repair shop. We fixed all the teachers cars. We did brakes, oil changes, exhaust, and tires. We had work orders the whole nine yards. It was a great experience in preparing us for work in the real world.

Fast forward 40 years.

Went back for the schools fiftieth anniversary and talked to some of the teachers. Seems they had to stop working on teachers cars in the early 80’s because they were afraid the students would sabotage the cars! I don’t blame the school for stopping it due to the liability issues. How are the kids going to learn a valuable trade if they are not going to do it right? They have screwed themselves.

[TravelGal]

A timely thread. The choice this year is new horizontal plumbing under the house (we redid all the vertical plumbing when the walls were opened up due to earthquake repair) or a new roof. I was pretty set on the new roof. But now I'm wondering. Roof isn't visibly leaking but it sure smelled musty after the last torrential rain. Plumbing is held together at most joints by green slime. I figure I can afford either a roof or a new pipes. A new subfloor is not in the budget so maybe I should lean more toward toward the plumbing. :confused:

[G.]

A timely thread. The choice this year is new horizontal plumbing under the house (we redid all the vertical plumbing when the walls were opened up due to earthquake repair) or a new roof. I was pretty set on the new roof. But now I'm wondering. Roof isn't visibly leaking but it sure smelled musty after the last torrential rain. Plumbing is held together at most joints by green slime. I figure I can afford either a roof or a new pipes. A new subfloor is not in the budget so maybe I should lean more toward toward the plumbing. :confused:You're going to need King Solomon for this one.

Let's see, water damage or water damage... hmmmm.

Can you blame the roof on the quake? Get ins to pay?

Not knowing more info, I'd go with the roof. In an emergency you could always shut off the water supply, but if the roof is leaking, you can't shut off the rain. If I'm wrong about the rain thing, I need to talk to you about Memorial Day. :tony:

[TrueBrit]

Last week the wife noticed some drywall bubbling the living room. That wall is on the other side of the kitchen sink. So I go under the sink and don't notice any leaks. The next day I poke the damp drywall on the living room side just above the baseboard. Water ran out, musty, nasty water. So I put two large fans in the window to blow out of the living room, hang some plastic and grab the respirator. Three days later and I'm getting somewhere. Turns out a brass pipe before the soil stack split lengthwise. It had a pinhole from rubbing on a stud when the garbage disposal ran. I had a lake below the false bottom of the sink cupboard, three inches of water in the wall cavity and some moldy drywall. Took the drywall down and bagged it. Sopped up the water and scraped out the subfloor. Cut the drywall two feet higher than the damage. More good news, it ruined a few feet of the underlayment for the kitchen floor. Just finished digging that all out so I can put in new underlayment and lay tile. Patched the plumbing with plastic and hub connectors. :mad:

That sucks dude...

[Don Quixote]

That sucks dude...Don't just feel sorry for him. Drive up there and give him a hand. Geesh. :shakehead

[emjaya]

You're going to need King Solomon for this one.

Let's see, water damage or water damage... hmmmm.

Can you blame the roof on the quake? Get ins to pay?

Not knowing more info, I'd go with the roof. In an emergency you could always shut off the water supply, but if the roof is leaking, you can't shut off the rain. If I'm wrong about the rain thing, I need to talk to you about Memorial Day. :tony:

You can always throw a big tarp over a roof if it rains. :gomer:

[TravelGal]

You're going to need King Solomon for this one.

Let's see, water damage or water damage... hmmmm.

Can you blame the roof on the quake? Get ins to pay?

Not knowing more info, I'd go with the roof. In an emergency you could always shut off the water supply, but if the roof is leaking, you can't shut off the rain. If I'm wrong about the rain thing, I need to talk to you about Memorial Day. :tony:

Good point about the choice, G. Insurance paid for THIS roof after the Northridge quake. Probably not the best quality shingles but hard to say anything would have lasted a lot longer. 18 years baking in the sun @ 100+ degrees for several months a year tends to make them a tad brittle. Then the little pebbly bits (love those scientific terms) just cascade off in the rain. Makes the sidewalks all gritty so you can see exactly how much is no longer protecting the house.

[Methanolandbrats]

Good point about the choice, G. Insurance paid for THIS roof after the Northridge quake. Probably not the best quality shingles but hard to say anything would have lasted a lot longer. 18 years baking in the sun @ 100+ degrees for several months a year tends to make them a tad brittle. Then the little pebbly bits (love those scientific terms) just cascade off in the rain. Makes the sidewalks all gritty so you can see exactly how much is no longer protecting the house.

If the little pebbly bits are coming off the shingles, the shingles are done. The pebbly bits scatter the UV light that degrades the shingles. Reading your post, why replace the pipes under the house if they are not leaking? Trying to plumb in a crawlspace sounds horrible. Put a roof on to protect the rest of the house. Maybe a metal roof? I wish I had done that last time. They last forever.

[WickerBill]

Metal shingles -- look into them if you're going to stay in the home.

[TravelGal]

Metal shingles -- look into them if you're going to stay in the home.

Doubt we'll be here for say, 10 more years. Sad to put it this way but we must stay while TravelMom is alive. To be sure we have a place for her if she needs it. I expect that to be within the next couple of years. I mean, she's 98 now. (!) After she passes, it will take me some time (probably quite some time) to get myself together enough to look for another place but it's still probably no more than 10 years. Maybe less than that.

I agree that the missing pebbly bits spell disaster. And there's a large section that's missing them. Larger than last year. :( Another reason to attack this particular project is some dry rot on a back overhang. Like to get that replaced before it gets too far along.

M&B, the pipes are all sort of oozing at the joints. I think I smell damp wood from time to time. We've got a plumber (one who's seen the underside before) coming next week when I get home to say how extremely necessary it is or is not.

As observed, the joys of living in 50+ year old house.

[TravelGal]

PS about metal shingles. Before I look it, asking for personal experience. Does this work when it's 110 outside? Direct sun for 10 hours a day?? Seems like we'd cook even with attic fans. They go full time as it is. Thanks in advance.

[WickerBill]

In your area, you'd probably only be given options with a cool-roof coating (look up Kynar) which are far cooler than asphalt shingles.

[TravelGal]

Thanks, WB. I'm beginning to do the roofing investigation in earnest as the young, competent, and reliable plumber came today and said he didn't see any problems under the house. Sometimes the damp smell is from lint in the lines by the washing machine (that gets cleaned out) or the sprinklers blowing amok during the night. So, on to the roof!

[mapguy]

Sounds like you need to get that Kunuckastani contractor guy, Holmes, on the case. I've learned a lot about what not to do from him. :gomer:

I thought you were talking about me....:gomer: