Back on the Roof!

Last Wednesday this is where Dave spent most of his day.  He was up on the roof snaking all the pipes.  The previous Sunday we had major issues with toilets overflowing and the bathtub backing up.  Our plumber came over late Sunday and snaked a couple pipes and finally got a hold of some roots.  He left soon after that saying that we needed to call someone else with a camera to get a better look.  

Tuesday we still had issues. More gurgling. By now we had the routine down of what to do to avoid major overflowing.  On top of that, when Dave was trying to fix things he found more issues with the master bath plumbing and all the fixes he did with the sinks came apart.  We called the plumber again.  We could tell that by now he was over us. As if we were breaking the pipes on purpose just to annoy his ass.  But by now I was about to fucking lose it. Nothing worse than having young kids and having basic stuff like faucets and toilets not work.  

Monday Dave and I got into a huge fight over how to tackle all the problems. Dave was annoyed because  he felt all our pipes needed was more snaking.  He had snaked the same pipe the plumber snaked when he found the root knot.  He had moved past the ball of roots so the problem couldn't be that huge if his snake got past the clog.  Dave didn't want to spend $500 minimum to get a guy to tell him  A: the problem was already taken care of or B: they'd gouge another $2000 at least to break ground and repipe.  But the other option was for him to do it and Dave had to work and was feeling awful from allergies.  

We finally came to a conclusion.  I'd call our regular plumber and get him to fix the minor issues. Then I'd call a company to come and look at our pipes with a camera but we'd schedule it for Thursday.  Wednesday after working half day Dave would come home and try snaking it himself but I'd call one of our handymen to come help him with the process.  And so that is how Dave spent most of Wednesday on the roof.  He ended up doing it himself. No one was available to help.  But he fixed the problem BIG TIME!!! 

In one of the roof pipes Dave found about 16" of old garden hose!  He thinks it has been there for a long long time.  I think otherwise.  I swear about a month ago I heard someone on our roof.  Dave thinks it was a possum or raccoon but I swear it was a human.  Dave says the hose is super old and not thrown in a month ago.  I think someone threw an old hose down our pipes. 

Anyway, he solved the problem and our pipes have been great since.  During the process of trying to unclog our drains we did put down an entire box of Borax.  I was told it can unclog the thickest of drains and it kills roots. It's also the only thing that kills ivy.  

Everything seems to be ok and back to normal.  Well, everything but my choice of a plumber.  I'm pretty annoyed that he obviously didn't want to help us when we were literally in shit.  Even when he came over the third time to fix the minor things he didn't finish what I needed him to fix.  I had to leave him at the house while I picked up P from school and when Dave got to the house not long after I had left he was already gone.  The wax seal on the guest bathroom toilet wasn't fixed as I had asked him to do. I called him to ask him how much I owed him and no return call or anything.  

Finally he called yesterday to let me know he had been back on Friday but we weren't around.  He said he went up on the roof and snaked more pipes!  I find that rather ballsy to get up on someone's roof, when they're not around,  without permission, and then go two full days without telling them.  I'm sad to not use him again. I liked him but this last visit upset Dave and then caused a fight between the two of us and then this up on my roof without asking is just too weird for me.  I already have a new name and number with many validations.  NEXT! 

Making the Best of It

Today was Sunday.  A long weekend Sunday. It was suppose to be the kind of day where we would be able to meander through the chaos of two young kids with patience, fun and understanding.  There's a big mess in the house. They've been building forts and creating master pieces but we'd tackle it in shifts.  One cleaning while the other entertained the mini artists with a trip to the park or a nearby museum. We were also suppose to take naps in shifts. Instead, not long after waking, toilets began to gurgle and then overflow.  Water was everywhere and the first layer of creative mess in the house was quickly covered with a second layer of wet mess. 

The same thing happened two days ago on Valentine's Day.  While Dave was taking a shower in the guest bathroom both toilets overflowed and the bathtub in the master bath backed up.  The plumber came but the problem was obviously not solved.  Today we urgently called and texted our plumber. We didn't hear back so Dave went off to Home Depot to rent one of those long metal snakes.  

To make a long story short, Bert, the plumber called back around 3pm. By then Dave had snaked both toilets and the tub with no luck of finding the cause of the back ups.  The gurgling suggested it could be something stuck in the air vents.  Bert had snaked the pipes on the roof. I had no idea the pipes sticking out on top of the house actually led to lines under the house. Turns out those are the air vents which connect to the toilets and tubs.  

Bert tried snaking a different roof pipe this time and upon his last try found a big knot of roots.  Tree roots are in our sewer lines.  The problem has been pulled out but we need to get a camera and find out how much more needs to be done. I must say it's kind of eerie that we're having these plumbing problems the same week I get a colonoscopy!  It's all too familiar! Will we need to cut out and mend an entire section of pipes which will be very expensive or will we be ok with using root killer every six months or so along with a good snaking?  We need to do more research before answering the question.  

In the meantime, Dave and I were rather bummed and a bit angry. Days like these are when we wonder if home ownership is worth it. We wanted to be spending quality family time not him elbow deep in gutter goo and me having a my "normal work day".  I decided to make the best of it.  

P was due for a new bike so I grabbed both girls and off we went to REI.  We bought P a pink cruiser with a pink unicorn bike helmet to match.  Next we stopped at Chipolte for lunch and then we went to find a nice flat, empty, parking lot to learn to ride a bike.  Fortunately, G fell asleep on the way to Pierce College giving me great one on one time with P.  She's been riding a balance bike. As I expected the next step of learning to use pedals was short and sweet. I called Dave to meet us on his way back from Home Depot. I didn't want him to miss the momentous occasion! 

Today will be marked on the calendar as the day P learned to ride a bike instead of the day our Sunday was ruined with overflowing toilets! It will be remembered as the day Dave and P went on their very first father-daughter bike ride!  

More Pipes Blow

This is how this past weekend went.

Friday: 3pm

A pipe blew in the street right in front of our house.  The fire department came. Then DWP came.  They tried turning off the water for a good hour and a half and no luck. To their credit,  they were trying to make the shut off points as contained as possible so as not to impact many residence nearby.  

Friday 4:30pm. 
I had a brilliant idea. Water was gushing down the street and we were right at the source. I grabbed buckets with P and we made a game of watering our trees with free water!  What do you know?  DWP figures out how to shut off the water within minutes of us filling up our buckets! No free water for me!  I asked one of the men if our house lost it's water and he said half joking, half serious " Yes, you don't get anymore water today. You've had your share."!  

Friday: 8pm

The DWP crew start working on the break.  A few months ago the pipes up the street blew and they worked till 1am. I knew we were in for a long night.  The break was within 30 feet of our bedroom window.  

Friday: 10:30pm

Before going to bed I couldn't resist going outside and taking pictures.  The crew was very friendly.  They know this is not an ideal situation for the neighbors so they're working fast and relatively quiet....as far as construction quiet goes.  I'm concerned for our mature Jacaranda tree. They had to take out a 5 foot section of thick root running alongside the water pipe. 

Saturday 7:30am.

Our water is back on! We all slept surprisingly well. Before living here we lived on Wilshire Blvd, in a high rise.  It was very noisy at night but it never bothered us.  In fact, it took us a while to get use to sleeping in silence when we moved in here.  DWP gave us the city noise back.  


Now all that remains is a dusty, muddy mess.  Our house is going to be dirty for the next couple months. My car as well. It has splashed mud all over from other cars driving by.  Hummm....how do i get a water truck to come hose all this down the street?  

Pipes Blow!

Two weekends ago we had serious chaos going on in the house.  We planned to work on financial paperwork and ended up spending the entire weekend and part of the week dealing with blown sprinkler valves.  We did learn a lot about plumbing along the way.

We've always had leaking sprinklers here and there. Truthfully we didn't think much of it. We've had bigger fish to fry with this house.  Then D noticed one of the sprinkler valves was really leaking.  He mentioned the leak a few times. I think he was hoping I'd fix it but plumbing and electrical are not my thing.  I fear both.  He finally went out and bought new valves and fixed it all......or so we thought.  

Then the Saturday before last I heard a loud boom and water gushing but I thought it was D playing with P in the backyard.  D ran annoyed through the house to turn off the water at the street. A valve blew.  This happened two more times.  To make a long story short the problem went from leaky valve to water pressure problem from street.  D bought a regulator but we couldn't get it to regulate the pressure. Because we are novices at this we weren't sure if we had the gauge on the right spicket, or if we had installed the regulator incorrectly or if there was another issue all together.  

In the mean time we couldn't turn on the house water. If we did without running the sprinklers, a specific combination of sprinklers, the same valves blew. We couldn't find a valve that shut off just the exterior sprinkler lines. Plus even if we could find it,  our other concern was that the entire house had too much water pressure.  Our water heater is in the center of the house. If it blows we're screwed.  So we had the water turned off from Saturday until Tuesday!  Thank God for neighbors!

We started off confident that we could fix this problem ourselves. Then it got to the point where we should have called a plumber but it would have been admitting defeat so we pressed on. Finally, Sunday late afternoon we were faced with the fact that we were smelly, dirty and D had to be at work the following morning.  We decided we needed to call a plumber. 

Then, of course, we couldn't find a plumber. We called three and no call backs by Monday at 10am.  Finally got a hold of one.  He was an hour late by the time I started making calls at 3pm. Finally got a hold of the plumber we really wanted.  He showed up Tuesday at 8:30am and I was relieved!  He was phenomenal.

Every project in this house comes with a "mystery factor".  The contractor who did the remodel a while back was not too wise.  We base our assumption on the concrete evidence he left behind.  Whether it's wiring, plumbing, painting or tile work nothing was done to code or to the standard of the building industry.  This project was no different. 

The sprinkler system that was laid down during the remodel had a shut off valve but it was buried deep beside a water spicket near the front door.  Shut off valves and regulators are not suppose to be below or near the ground. To avoid corrosion, and to be within code, they are placed a good 10-12" above ground  with the pipes going up and back down in a square "U" shape.  Both the sprinklers and house should have their own regulators.  The house had one but the exterior water pipe had none.  And lastly, the front bathroom which is just off to the right of the front door is connected to the main interior house water line except for the cold water faucet in the sink.  That one faucet is on it's own separate line piped in before the regulator and with no shut off valve. Brilliant!

Here are the things I learned from the experience and the plumber:

1. A water regulator must be changed or cleaned/serviced once a year.
2. To get an accurate water reading you must turn off all faucets, etc. 
3. Water pressure readings are higher in the evenings.
4. Water pressure should read 65psi for interior and 90psi for exterior lines. 
5. if you have a large yard or a pool (ie. you do a lot of exterior watering) you can separate your interior and exterior water lines so you don't pay for sewer service on the lawn and pool water.  It will bring down your water bill. However, you do need a permit to have the city come out and put a meter on your exterior line alone.  

 Bert, the plumber, fixed all our problems.  His price was very fair and he didn't try to create more work for himself. In this circumstance he very well could have.  He also....and I LOVE this about him, took his shoes off as he walked through the house to get to the front or back yard!  Oh, I loved him for that!!! Plus he had no plumber crack and was kind to my daughter and not smelly. All major bonuses for me.  And of course, he was experienced and smart.  If you live in the LA area and need a plumber I highly recommend Bert and you can email me  or leave me a post for his number.

  Regulator and shut off valve to the house water line. They should both be above ground.

This is what it should look like. The regular and shut off valve all above ground, in plain sight and away from moist soil.  This is the kind of stuff I don't pay attention to until there is a problem.  

And the sprinkler valves should be about a foot higher.  They might have installed them properly and they sank as the house settles and moves throughout the year.