Plumbing; is it a Necessary Evil?

               It all started when Donna noted that the drain in the bathtub was loose. The bathtub is in the front bath room and does not get used very often. Having worked as a plumber’s helper in my formative years I knew that a loose drain was not a good thing. 

               As I remember it, I did not explain in detail to Donna what a loose drain could do, or that loose drains allowed water to leak out and could cause all types of damage, instead, “I instantly went to the bathroom to investigate” (Donna has a different version).  I observed the drain then I reached in to wiggle the drain and it came out.  Yep the chrome part of the drain in the tub was not connected to the drain pipe below. The chrome part has threads and should screw into the drain pipe. Further investigation showed that it had never been connected (screwed into the drain pipe).

This bath was remodeled about 10 years ago and it appears that they set the drain pipe under the drain from the tub and put a lot of putty on and around it.  The threads on the chrome part of the drain were covered in putty which indicates they were never threaded in. I put my finger in the hole to see if the drain pipe would move and it did, it fell out of sight. That was not good at all. I had to call “the plumber”.  He charged me $39.50 to tell me what I already knew. We would need to break up the front porch then dig under the foundation to get to the tub drain.  

The next day they arrived with a labor to do the dirty work. He knew what he was doing but he was not a fast worker. I am not complaining; if I were attempting to do that work it would have taken me a week.  Who am I kidding; I would never have gotten that work done. I did learn that this fellow liked to talk and I should stay away since I was paying by the hour.

Below; The hole that was jack hammered into the porch, broken up cement removed.

Below; the same hole after he dug a lot of the dirt out. At this point he was able to get totally under the house. He showed me the drain pipe that should have been connected one end to the tub and the other to the drain line; it was not connected to anything.

               Donna is getting ready for a garage sale that will be held at “The York’s” house. Our garage is full of things to be sold and she has explained that she will need to make at least two trips to get all the junk merchandise to the “York’s”.  I would be happy to help her but; I need to stay at home due to the plumbing work.

               Back to the plumbing; there is a man in that hole with his head and shoulders under the house.

They had to pump water out of the hole and then they placed a tarp on the wet ground then they lay on the tarp.  The water came back and they got wet. Once finished they pushed the dirt back in the hold and someone will come out tomorrow to put cement back in the hole.

               How much did it cost, too much. I could have made a down payment on a new car with what we paid. We will be eating smaller portions of dog and cat food for a while.

From the never ending thoughts of            Don Ford      

Thanks.

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