If it Ain't BROKE.. DON'T FIX IT..

[iMickey503Participant 12465]

It all started out with a DRIP..

And I just finished something I started at almost 6am in the morning when I was ready to get some shut eye..

My mom told me about a drip from a facet. Well. the next day, (this Morning) I noticed that the her Power outlet was not only NOT a GFI, but was also lose and had a small piece of plastic missing from it. It could not hold up a small night light without falling out.

So I go up there to replace it. Oh the Pain of “ITS NOT THERE ITS SOMEPLACE ELSE”… For those of you who happen to be Asian? You know what I’m talking talking about…

An hour goes by just looking for the GFI outlets I had purchased a while back that were “Moved”.. Hmm.

Find them. Great.. NOW.. THat damn “High end Luxury” GFI with custom plates does not fit.. WHO PUT NAILS THROUGH an OUTLET BOX? and a METAL ONE AT THAT? That’s the WRONG DAMN BOX? WTF??!!!!!

Hammer, A chisel, a punch, Bend down the nails a bit or the FAT GFI receptacle, Move it in place, Boy this thing is a C~~~ to work with. Finally get it ALL in and looking perfect.

THe DAMN thing does not even come with a WALL PLATE. THAT’s EXTRA! $48.50 PER OUTLET MANG! Whatever.. It looks great. ANd is a PAIN IN THE ASS TO INSTALL. But looks Perfect on the bathroom wall. Built to Medial grade standard. Still..

THis, but in a slate gray color.

So.. Then the DRIP in the facet.. Oh Man.. THat drip turned out to be SO MUCH MORE.. Instead of Rubber bushings? Or washers? The whole damn thing needed to be replaced.

Turns out the Locking collar where the cartridge goes into was just Crappy Plastic. Or the THINNEST CHEAPEST Chinese POT METAL I have ever seen. It was cracked. And as soon as I loosened it? The Box of washers she purchased were useless. There was no way to fix it. SO another one had to be purchased.

Also, the main valve was shot. It would not close all the way. I also bought some valves as well.

I get to doing the install, CLEAR OUT ALL THE JUNK that was under the sink.. THEN.. pull out the valve asembly to see if I could replace any bushings on the Hot side. Pull it out, and their is CRAP in the line. ANd looms to be what was left of whatever was in there. RUst and some other FOD.

Now its time to flush it, So I do that. Get a Hose from my SHop vac, and divert the water to the tub. Looks like Something out of a horror movie was pouring out of there. CLeaned up the valve seat area, and just reinstalled the old valve. I could not for the life of me get out the Valve assembly.

Go downstairs, turn off the hot water inlet to the water heater,turn of the water heater, GO back up stairs, and start the process of actually installing the new Facet. The one I helped my mom pick out was a nice one of course, no cheap junk.

THing is? THis one does not have a Sink stopped per say. It’s built in to the sink drain by pushing on it. Okay. It was actually easy to install. But then? I had to cut the pipe length.. Get out my Grinder, cut the pipe to fit and align up with the rest of the catch drain. Line it all up… Do it about 5 times over to get it right, and THEN.. THEN I could start to install the Facet. Pull it all out, and install the lines. MAN. THERE IS LIKE NO ROOM TO GET ANY WRENCH BACK THERE!

Finally get it all tight, and then I have to clean up the rust stain from the old unit off the sink porcelain.

THat took my Drill and a Polishing pad and some Mild abrasive cleaner and some CLR. Takes about an hour to get that all done. Wheew..Okay. NOW its time to Install it again. Get it all set up and tight and flush… Connect it all up .. THEN???

TIme to test it.

Everything works okay but there is still a misalignment with the drain. Pull that off, get more towels, and redo the drain again, grind some more, and cut some more and align it some more and THEN.. FINALLY. I think it has no leaks. GO down stairs, turn on the hot water, turn on the breaker, and everything is good as new again. Cus it is new..

THEN its clean up time. MAN.. HOW MUCH CRAP I moved out of there just to get the Job done….

AND NOW ITS CLEAN UP TIME!

Get the Bathtub all cleaned up. Scrub the thing, and do the same with the sink, and then FINALLY Vacuum it all up and throw the old parts in the new box. Mop, vacuum, and sweep and then mop up with a towel to get all the areas that the mess from all the rust that came out were.. GOt it ALL CLEANED UP..

It took me DAMN NEAR 9 hours to do it all!

MY GOD… WHAT a MORNING..Not a LAZY Sunday.. BUT one HELL small problem that just went to FULL DAMAGE MODE.

That small little drip.. Turned out to be some MASSIVE problem. Thankfully, there was just enough threads so that the whole valve did not pop out. That would have been a Disaster just waiting to happen.

And the WHOLE TIME… “THat water dripping is costing me money!” OMG… REALLY? How much did I spend today and time to get this fixed? LOL!

Oh…LORD!

You know, on the way back from the store, I was going to get a Big mac or a double CHeeseburger. But the damn line for both the drive thru, was 2 car lines deep around. SO I go inside? They took down the Kiosk to order menus…. So I would be behind 12 other people. I look at who is working. See nothing but women.. I just leave.. The C~~~s took down the Electronic ordering menu! WHY?

So with all that. I’m about ready to get some shut eye.

Moral of the story? Sometimes… That little problem? Is just a BIG BIG PROBLEM just WAITING for you to discover it.

And in my own home one day? I’m going to have nothing but PEX TUBING.

You know, you could make a TON of MONEY just selling home water FLushing of pipes. Amazed by how much crap is in the water lines.

And I hate PLUMBING! I HATE PLUMBING! I HATE PLUMBING!

But at least its all done. And now? Back to fixing electronics and phones. And I was thinking about waxing my car today with the buffer. I guess that’s for another day… LOl. I’m Pooped!

You are all alone. If you have been falsely accused of RAPE, DV, PLEASE let all men know about the people who did this. http://register-her.net/web/guest/home

[AwakenedParticipant 35202]

Sounds like a TYPICAL Home Repairs…..NOTHING IS SIMPLE, and EVERYTHING Usually takes More Time, and Costs more Money than it does when You’re Looking at it…

The WORSE part is when You have to Spend Your Time, Energy, Effort, and Cash Cleaning Up the Last Guys Mess…

In a World of Justin Beibers Be a Johnny Cash

[SandalsParticipant 4253]

Awakened wrote:

The WORSE part is when You have to Spend Your Time, Energy, Effort, and Cash Cleaning Up the Last Guys Mess…

Sloppy seconds?

[Joey CusackParticipant 1044]

Your plumbing day wasn’t as bad as this guys!

[MonkParticipant 16994]

Awakened wrote:

Sounds like a TYPICAL Home Repairs…..NOTHING IS SIMPLE, and EVERYTHING Usually takes More Time, and Costs more Money than it does when You’re Looking at it… The WORSE part is when You have to Spend Your Time, Energy, Effort, and Cash Cleaning Up the Last Guys Mess…

Man, does that strike a chord.

I can see the appeal of a cave in the Himalayas.

[GeraldParticipant 3623]

Plumbing is always bad news. Especially in older homes. Good work getting it all together and fixed.

No longer can we walk away, we must run. Remove the motive power.

[iMickey503Participant 12465]

Joey Cusack wrote:

Your plumbing day wasn’t as bad as this guys!
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If you want to know what its like having 2 marines like Sidecar and Gravel pit in their young years? Living in Barracks (Small mini apartments) This was my Weekend.. Those DAMN MARINES would find a way to break some kind of plumbing each weekend.

You are all alone. If you have been falsely accused of RAPE, DV, PLEASE let all men know about the people who did this. http://register-her.net/web/guest/home

[RumpoleParticipant 994]

My dad used to say, “I need your help with a five-minute job.” Dad had a weird sense of time, for his “five-minute jobs” often turned out to be three or four hours.

[WPLParticipant 2390]

Tell me about it… between a 90-year-old house, a 45-year-old shop building, and two 20+ year-old vehicles (both of which formerly lived in the Salt Belt before following me to the South), ANY repair is going to be an “adventure” (free tip for the day: a carbide-tipped drill bit WILL drill through that steel bit that broke off in a snapped bolt. It’ll take a little while, but it will work).

[GrumpyParticipant]

For me.
If I “have” to repair something/anything. I isolate the issue first, then do a “temp fix” while I trace the entire line for further required repairs.
It always ends up being the failed part is only the beginning of the fix, because there are ALWAYS hidden faults, and ALWAYS something done “good enough”. Not 100% correct, just “good enough”.
I always go for the worst case and prepare for that. Then do the complete fix to surpass current “codes” for my piece of mind.

There was a time in my life when I gave a fuck. Now you have to pay ME for it

[Author]

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