Jun. 20th, 2011 10:01 am
Adventures in non-home ownership
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mizarchivistSo, we're still getting used to living at Swan. Noises, patterns, light switches,... and plumbing.
I'd noticed some interesting blorp noises coming from the system in the past several weeks. I thought nothing of it, particularly. However, Friday, there were LOTS of blorps and when I went into the basement (for the first time in quite a while what with the promise to myself to stay calm and the status of the basement and the temporary chaos therein is not calm-making) to discover water on the floor. .... Um, bad.
What you say? Ah. There's a toilet in the basement that is there particularly so that one can dump excess water from the heater. Ideally it'd be a sink, but someone from the distant past went with the other bit of plumbing. So, clearly, was wrong, as the water level isn't supposed to be that high, much less over the lip of the bowl. Eeeech. I will leave it at that. But we had to go to work. It didn't seem to be in current active overflow any longer.
Flash forward to Saturday- I take a shower,![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
purple_terror takes a shower with some overlap to mine. I hear waterfall noises. This is a badness. Turns out this is not going to be a one time thing. I do some damage control with a mop, we have informed the landlord somewhere in all this and quiet_elegance has been on hand to review the situation and do damage control.
QE comes up with a plumber who's rated highly on Angie's List. Landlord sits on that for a while as he is making up his mind, eventually counters with another company. In the meantime, it's now Sunday. The consensus is, if we are very sparing in how we use the water, we can take showers. ... Or not? I take mine. The next shower, however, causes waterfall sounds to emanate from the basement. Oh- the pipe attached to the laundry is overflowing with water. BAD. This is now an emergency.
I'd called QE's choice and got a call back in less than 5 min (on Father's Day Sunday morning) and I had not yet deemed it an emergency. I got assurances this guy would come out- but it'd be emergency/Sunday rates- please let him know if it was likely so he/his family could alter dinner arrangements if need be. You know, Father's Day. (augh!)--
Once we have the waterfall, we talk to Landlord, and he says call his guy first. I do- no answer. Time ticks. I start getting twitchy. Calls to/from Landlord- we can call QE's- and we get a call in the time it takes for the phone service to relay the message. He'll be there in an hour. It's now 10:30am.
Other company ends up calling after 1 that afternoon to see if we needed help.... Not anymore, bub.
The Angie's List fellow was there for an hour and a half, and cost 500 bucks. Estimate to get the problem fixed, 3200. OW. Why?-- Well, the system is old, it has a U bend like in a sink- a house trap- which dates back to pre-1950s tech. The snake needed to fix the blockage in the sewer line can't get around that *and* clear the block properly. Also, that trap system is no longer legal, and the entrance to the trap was corroded enough to break when gaining access. I have now seen pictures of it, and yeah-- corroded. The trap needs to be taken out- anyone doing the work would have to break open the concrete to get at it and take the trap out, clear the blockage and put something more modern in. In the meantime, we have an unsecured sewer system, which could easily back up if overly agitated, and then we'd be dealing with hazardous waste in our basement... again. Also, we have to be very conscientious with how we use the system until it's fixed. Laundry is not really an option. Showers should be short.
I guess with 500/3200 price tags, it's not that surprising that the landlord had a minor spaz over the cost. He ended up going back, reviewing our plumber and found write ups on Yelp and Better Business Bureau. Someone had written some horrific reviews, so Landlord is nixing any further contact with him. *sigh*. The thing is-- Angie's List is a really well-respected resource- (hey, just ask NPR ;) Yelp? Anyone with a grudge can leave a troll message. BBB is a structure where (according to QE) the businesses end up paying some amount of money to be listed. In the end, it' s just difficult to deal with the quasi-parental situation we're currently in with the landlord. He's never seemed to truly trust that QE is a professional and has exceptional judgment on dealing with repair, construction, and maintenance. It's exceptionally galling for QE to have to feel like he's being armchair quarterbacked and overall undervalued. We may have had our issues with the previous landlord, but one of his saving graces is that he without doubt respected QE. New guy has never met us in the flesh- and may never- and comes from a radically different part of the possible cultural universes. It's tough. Overall, I feel like we are still on probation, and I guess we are. I know we are reliable, but hey. Me saying so doesn't make it so, I suppose.
Today's upshot is that Landlord has recalled he Knows A Guy- someone who'll come out this afternoon/evening to review the situation and determine how he feels it should be done and how much it'll cost. The invoice and the pictures of the bad pipe have been sent off so there will be reimbursement and there's full documentation. So, it's being dealt with. The landlord is the one footing the bill. He really does have a right to explore the other options. Ideally, he can just say flat out "that's a lot of money- I want a second opinion" without looking for issue with the first plumber's competence.
I will be glad when this adventure is done.
I'd noticed some interesting blorp noises coming from the system in the past several weeks. I thought nothing of it, particularly. However, Friday, there were LOTS of blorps and when I went into the basement (for the first time in quite a while what with the promise to myself to stay calm and the status of the basement and the temporary chaos therein is not calm-making) to discover water on the floor. .... Um, bad.
What you say? Ah. There's a toilet in the basement that is there particularly so that one can dump excess water from the heater. Ideally it'd be a sink, but someone from the distant past went with the other bit of plumbing. So, clearly, was wrong, as the water level isn't supposed to be that high, much less over the lip of the bowl. Eeeech. I will leave it at that. But we had to go to work. It didn't seem to be in current active overflow any longer.
Flash forward to Saturday- I take a shower,
purple_terror takes a shower with some overlap to mine. I hear waterfall noises. This is a badness. Turns out this is not going to be a one time thing. I do some damage control with a mop, we have informed the landlord somewhere in all this and quiet_elegance has been on hand to review the situation and do damage control. QE comes up with a plumber who's rated highly on Angie's List. Landlord sits on that for a while as he is making up his mind, eventually counters with another company. In the meantime, it's now Sunday. The consensus is, if we are very sparing in how we use the water, we can take showers. ... Or not? I take mine. The next shower, however, causes waterfall sounds to emanate from the basement. Oh- the pipe attached to the laundry is overflowing with water. BAD. This is now an emergency.
I'd called QE's choice and got a call back in less than 5 min (on Father's Day Sunday morning) and I had not yet deemed it an emergency. I got assurances this guy would come out- but it'd be emergency/Sunday rates- please let him know if it was likely so he/his family could alter dinner arrangements if need be. You know, Father's Day. (augh!)--
Once we have the waterfall, we talk to Landlord, and he says call his guy first. I do- no answer. Time ticks. I start getting twitchy. Calls to/from Landlord- we can call QE's- and we get a call in the time it takes for the phone service to relay the message. He'll be there in an hour. It's now 10:30am.
Other company ends up calling after 1 that afternoon to see if we needed help.... Not anymore, bub.
The Angie's List fellow was there for an hour and a half, and cost 500 bucks. Estimate to get the problem fixed, 3200. OW. Why?-- Well, the system is old, it has a U bend like in a sink- a house trap- which dates back to pre-1950s tech. The snake needed to fix the blockage in the sewer line can't get around that *and* clear the block properly. Also, that trap system is no longer legal, and the entrance to the trap was corroded enough to break when gaining access. I have now seen pictures of it, and yeah-- corroded. The trap needs to be taken out- anyone doing the work would have to break open the concrete to get at it and take the trap out, clear the blockage and put something more modern in. In the meantime, we have an unsecured sewer system, which could easily back up if overly agitated, and then we'd be dealing with hazardous waste in our basement... again. Also, we have to be very conscientious with how we use the system until it's fixed. Laundry is not really an option. Showers should be short.
I guess with 500/3200 price tags, it's not that surprising that the landlord had a minor spaz over the cost. He ended up going back, reviewing our plumber and found write ups on Yelp and Better Business Bureau. Someone had written some horrific reviews, so Landlord is nixing any further contact with him. *sigh*. The thing is-- Angie's List is a really well-respected resource- (hey, just ask NPR ;) Yelp? Anyone with a grudge can leave a troll message. BBB is a structure where (according to QE) the businesses end up paying some amount of money to be listed. In the end, it' s just difficult to deal with the quasi-parental situation we're currently in with the landlord. He's never seemed to truly trust that QE is a professional and has exceptional judgment on dealing with repair, construction, and maintenance. It's exceptionally galling for QE to have to feel like he's being armchair quarterbacked and overall undervalued. We may have had our issues with the previous landlord, but one of his saving graces is that he without doubt respected QE. New guy has never met us in the flesh- and may never- and comes from a radically different part of the possible cultural universes. It's tough. Overall, I feel like we are still on probation, and I guess we are. I know we are reliable, but hey. Me saying so doesn't make it so, I suppose.
Today's upshot is that Landlord has recalled he Knows A Guy- someone who'll come out this afternoon/evening to review the situation and determine how he feels it should be done and how much it'll cost. The invoice and the pictures of the bad pipe have been sent off so there will be reimbursement and there's full documentation. So, it's being dealt with. The landlord is the one footing the bill. He really does have a right to explore the other options. Ideally, he can just say flat out "that's a lot of money- I want a second opinion" without looking for issue with the first plumber's competence.
I will be glad when this adventure is done.
Tags:
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no subject
You have my sympathies; I hope that the Guy He Knows is honest enough to confirm the first guy's assessment. After all, 60-year-old tech isn't going to drift back into code.
no subject
Seriously. THIS is exactly why I did not want to sign up for home ownership and parenthood in the same year.
Sunovabeech
And, um, yeah. Showers are good things. If you want to come use ours you're certainly welcome. Likewise laundry. Shaz does her laundry at our place on a semi-regular basis anyway.
*hugs*
Re: Sunovabeech
no subject
S'true
no subject
As it happens, we also have a toilet in the basement (as well as a laundry sink and two washers. Hope our house doesn't *also* have a trap...)
no subject
no subject
I have showered. Plumber comes tomorrow to FIX. One of the landlord's choosing. It's nice to have options.