Category: Life

Sometimes, I feel the need to talk about me (imagine that).

For want of a sink that does not leak, we called the plumber.

For want of turning off the water, the plumber found the shutoff valve did leak.

For want of fixing the shutoff valve, the city was called.

For want of the city testing the external shutoff valve, they found it would not turn.

For want of a working external shutoff valve, the city did this…

To make a short story longer:

  • Over the holiday weekend, I noticed a dripping sound in our master bathroom, but could not locate a source and want setting any sign of water.
  • On Christmas, I noticed a small amount of water behind our toilet, but didn’t see any signs of where it was coming from. All the places I thought to check were dry, so I feared it was a leak inside the wall.
  • We scheduled an appointment with our plumber for the next day, and I worked from home to let them in.
  • Before they got here, I cleared everything I could out of the bathroom and discovered the leak was actually I’ve of the supply valves under the sink.
  • The plumber arrived and have me two quotes.
    1. One to fix it on the cheap.
    2. One to fix it right.
  • As I could have done the on the cheap fix myself (and likely had the same problem later down the road); I chose the later option.
  • I then took the plumber down to our basement to show him the shutoff valve for the house.
  • He quickly pointed out that valve also had a slow leak and needed to be replaced.
  • As valve is the main shutoff to the entire house; so to replace it we need to shut the water off outside. Unfortunately (?) in our town, that external shutoff valve is owned by the city.
  • The city is contacted and they say they won’t just schedule a time to come out to turn it off; they require a test of the valve first.
  • They came out today but were unable to turn the water off from their valve.
  • Fortunately (?) as they own that valve, we don’t have to pay to have it replaced.
  • Unfortunately, to tear out that valve they had to tear out the fresh concrete we had put down earlier this year to fix up our driveway.
  • Fortunately they will replace that as part of the job for fixing the valve.

Hence, my coming home to the pictures above. From what Michelle tells me, the city will be back tomorrow to finish fixing the external shutoff valve. Then we have to wait until next week to get the repairs done inside the house.

Ain’t home ownership just grand? *sigh*

Does it say more about me or more about my co-workers that an opened, and not quite full, bottle of scotch could sit on my desk all day without a single comment?

After a very busy spring at work and busting my brain far too much, I decided to finally take some time off. Not having the funds to go on a cruise or jetting around the globe, my plan has been to stay home and just chill. Maybe catch up on my podcast listening, maybe play some video games, and definitely do some more reading. Oh yeah, and maybe work on a couple of house projects I’ve been meaning to do for a while.

ToDo

  1. Cut down the weeds along the back of the house: Done!
  2. Strip and refinish backdoor: In Progress, my second coat of finish is currently drying. I should really do a third coat but I don’t think that’ll happen tonight.
  3. Recaulk windows in backdoor: On Hold, I’m waiting for the finish to dry and may take a stab at this tomorrow.
    1. New (related) task added: clean all the old caulk and new finish the spilled over onto the glass.
  4. Edge the sidewalks: In Progress, but it got too hot.
  5. Replace outlet and patch hole in the wall: Fail *sigh*
  6. Patch a different hole and try fixing the tile on the other side: This bit of “fun” is left over from some plumbing work that we had have done and have just covered up until we have a chance to actually repair the wall.

Potential ToDos

  • Paint the kitchen: I was feeling more optimistic about doing this before failing on task 5, but we’ll see. At the very least I could finally go back and repaint the crown molding[ref]Seriously, RED crown molding? What were the previous owners thinking?[/ref].
  • Paint the sunporch: This one feels more likely at this point, though it comes with its own site of problems (cleaning out the porch, scraping the flaking paint, etc).
  • Build a “nice” bench to use at our dining table. If I knew what I was doing, maybe a variation of Ana White’s Fancy X Farmhouse Bench. Since I I don’t really know what I’m doing, maybe try her 2×4 Truss Bench? Part of the problem is we need a taller bench (our table is counter height).
  • Build some bench seating on the porch with space below to store firewood. For this I was thinking a simple frame of 2x4s screwed into the porch itself (maybe painted white?) with a top built of more 2x4s with a dark finish (probably a polyurethane, because it’s easy and durable).
  • Trim the legs on our bar stools/dining room chairs a bit.

In regards to task 5, mostly hidden by our microwave (next to the outlet) is a small hole in the wall. As that outlet has always been a bit awkward to use (cords on the counter); I’d found a recessed outlet box online that I’d hoped to replace the existing one with and then planned to patch the hole next to the outlet with some scrap drywall we still have sitting around from this old project[ref]Wow, I hadn’t realized that was 5 years ago now. Apparently we need to go through and get rid of old scraps more often (or do something with them anyway).[/ref] I’d done some measuring and was sure the new box would fit… until I actually tried to put it into place. While the wall space is deep enough to fit the box, due to trim work and the back of the counter; I can’t get the new box in there. For extra fun the bit of wood I can see in the wall and had planned to attached my drywall scrap to fill the hole is apparently only barely held in place by a single nail. When I pushed my drywall scrap up against it to try drilling pilot holes for the drywall screws; it felt like I was about to pull the wood out of the wall. *sigh* So I closed the hole up best I could and hid it once again behind the microwave. We’ll have to save our pennies and maybe someday completely gut/redo the kitchen. Till then, that hole well it’ll be our little secret. One the bright side I was able to attach the existing outlet box more securely in place, so at least it doesn’t wiggle any more.