plumbing

Pumped

Posted on by Josef Havelka

Today I took apart our pool pump to check the seals inside. It had been leaking recently and I was a bit concerned that it may be something bad.

After watching some YouTube clips, I realized that taking apart this pump isn’t that difficult. I also learned that the seals are pretty much the parts that fail the most on these. That was a relief. It only took about an hour to take apart and reassemble.

After putting it together, I filled it back up with water and fired it up. There was a bit of a leak along one edge, so I tightened a couple bolts just a quarter turn more and it seemed to stop. Now only time will tell.

I do like doing my own repairs, but plumbing is not one of my favorites. Hopefully this will be resolved for a few more years now. I guess we shall see.

What I Won’t Miss When We Move

Posted on by Josef Havelka

I will miss this house once we leave. I have enjoyed the peace and tranquillity that our country living has garnered us over the years. But there are some things that I am ready to say farewell to. First and foremost are the trees.

Not because I don’t like trees. It’s more the dead branches and the dead trees that I won’t miss.

This tree has been dead since long before our time owning this house. It has been home to a variety of birds over the years, so that’s been nice. But at some point this tree really needs to be taken down. It is far too close to the house. It is only one of many that are too close now.

This tree is above the cable and power line that runs to our home. I circled a dead branch that has been precariously hanging for a couple of years now. It’s larger than most people’s Christmas trees. One day it will come down. I have been waiting and watching for it every wind storm.

Besides the trees, I’m looking forward to different plumbing. We have constantly replaced and repaired pipes and joints throughout the home on a regular basis. By regular- it’s about every three months that something has gone wrong. I’m really hoping we get a couple of years or more with no leaks in our next house. To the point that I may forget how to do plumbing repairs.

I know I don’t usually write about the negative. I’m trying to mental check with myself that we have made the right decision to sell. Financially I think it will be good in the long run. Emotionally will be challenging at first, but we will make the next place as loving a home as this place was.

Hopefully with less frustration.

Tanks A Lot

Posted on by Josef Havelka

Yesterday I mentioned how on Facebook it reminds me of my Yearly Bad Day in the memories section. It seems that the universe likes to throw curve balls at me every year around this time. Only this year was off by a day. Must’ve been a leap year of evil or something.

Last week I blogged about my Budget Friendly Kitchen Reno. Today I planned on finishing it up in order to clean the downstairs. In between coats of paint I decided to check on a slow leak we had coming from our pressure tank that helps pump the water into our home from the well. We had a plumber come out to fix it about two weeks ago. Only there was more than one leak- as I had discovered after he left. So I went behind the tank and checked the leak.

I figured out that I could fix it on my own. So I sent my wife to Home Depot for a part. While she was out, I turned off the pump and drained the water from the house. I proceeded to cut the pipe. Only I didn’t quite have all of the pressure out of the system. 40PSI Of water “BOOFED” at me as the knife cut through the pipe.

Soaked with ice cold water I scrambled to get some towels. My wife came home and I replaced the part easy as pie. Turned the water back on and a few minutes later I crouched down to check on my handiwork. Of course, I noticed a small leak still coming out. As I twisted the pipe to try and wedge it in a bit tighter, “BOOF” a different part exploded- this time with the pump on- our laundry room flooded. 20 times more ice cold water covered me.

I lost my shit!

I ran to shut off the pump. And returned to the tank to see what happened. And then a second piece snapped off. Soaked and angry, I had to go to the Home Depot and spend $20 to fix it. I came back home and my kids and wife had cleared out the laundry room giving me some space to repair the pipe again for the third time.

Five minutes later, everything is fixed and working. Now there are no leaks.

Just an angry Joe trying to catch up on his day.

Am I a Writer or a Plumber?

Posted on by Josef Havelka

I procrastinated for about two days before finally starting on a home repair project.  More Plumbing issues.  Old house- new problems.  It seems to always be plumbing issues in this home.  It’s the one thing that drives me to want to throw in the towel and sell.  Today, I didn’t want to even start this project, just in case.


Today was a repair needed for the pipe connection that goes directly into the hot water tank.  It seems the water from our well is rather rough on the pipes.  The hot water tank was new in March 2012, so I can time the corrosion to about 5 years.  Which seems about right for each repair I’ve had to do.  

So this morning, I took a shower, then washed dishes, filled the kettle, and filled a couple of jugs & pots with water.  (You know, just in case I really eff this one up.) Then began the water shut off followed by a draining of pipes and hot water tank.  After some internal debate with myself “You can do this Josef! Nope.  Better call a plumber!” I finally pulled out the hacksaw and cut the pipe. 

Some elbow grease and the part was removed.  It was off to the Home Depot and search out the replacement part(s). I found what I needed to make the repair work.  There are these fantastic parts called Shark Bite that are amazingly easy to use and haven’t caused me any grief in the past.  Within a few minutes of getting home, the repair was completed. Then the moment of truth. Turn the water back on to the house.


Success.  No more leak. I was so happy that I decided to write about it.  I’m not a plumber, but can make do.  I’m not quite a writer yet either.  I enjoy writing way more than plumbing that’s for sure. Having a basic knowledge of both skills has gotten me this far in life.  Heck, I even understand electrical work and other home improvements.  I have also studied books on writing and taken courses on the subject.  Yet somehow, I can’t get myself to write the novel I want people to read. It’ll come to me eventually.  When it does, the creative waters will flow!

Plumbing

Posted on by Josef Havelka

I love my home.  It’s an original custom built brick house from the early 1970’s.  It has a lot of character and I couldn’t imagine living anyplace else.  But with its uniqueness comes its flaws.  Most notably- the plumbing.

I hate plumbing.  Always have.  I hated doing it in my last house.  We had issues with the water to the home there as well as drainage issues.  But I hate doing plumbing here.  Hate.  Hate.  Hate.


Every couple of months, we spring a leak.  After the first couple times of having to rush out and pick up repair pieces- I now have a collection of clamps, pipes, and adhesives for the next leak.  Most of the leaks occur at the joints because of the corrosion caused from our well water.

About three years into owning this home, our pump stopped working.  So we installed a new one only to find the pipe from the well to the house had collapsed. Almost a week without running water… we resorted to heading over to the in laws and I was showering at work.  Pipe fixed.  Pump works.  But our driveway got ripped up to do this.

Broke because of plumbing repairs.


A year after that- our holding tank in the house couldn’t keep the pressure.  So we had a new one installed.  Yay!  Flowing water once more.  Two years later- our hot water tank died.  My favorite part about that?  We had to buy a smaller hot water tank because a standard sized one would not fit in the place where the old one stood.  Plus something about “building codes”…

As I said- since then there are constant leaks popping up every few months.  We also have a toilet that needs plunging every couple of weeks.  The little quirks of the plumbing make me want to pack up and move.

Adding insult to injury-  we also have radiant hot water being used to heat our home.  Besides the occasional relay/switch stopping from working, we haven’t run into any major issues… yet.

Leaks and plumbing are my nemesis.  I could never be a plumber by trade.  If I could live without water I would.  Except to shower.  I like showering.