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More Water Woes

So, the plumber cut a 2.5 foot section out of the rotten pipe and spliced in a new piece. He turned the water on. His new pipe held beautifully, but water bubbled out of the ground at the house side of the pipe. There is obviously yet another leak and, judging by the rush of water, it isn’t a small one. The new leak is somewhere under the foundation of the house.

The plumber turned off the water and said, “Well, this is the best I can do for now, but you can still use the water. Just come out and turn the water on at the street while you shower and stuff, then you can turn it back off, after.” Yeah, right. We pay the water bill. I don’t think so, dude!

The landlady came over and repeated what the plumber had said. I told her, “Too much leak.!” Then I turned the water on. Sure enough, water flowed rapidly out from under the foundation, plus the old pipe ruptured just beyond the street side repair and shot water straight into the air. My landlady teleported about four feet backward into the middle of the driveway and yelled, “Shut it off! Shut it off!” I shut it off.

So, in the contact of plumbers, most say they will come out to do the estimate next week. The company that did the pipe repair said they can start next Wednesday — note, that is not tomorrow. Our landlord has the knowledge and talent to do the job himself, but he works 12 hour days as a stevedore and after loading and unloading cargo ships all night, he’s just not up for digging ditches all day. However, in two more days he has a three day weekend.

Our landlord did put us up in a hotel for a couple of nights. The room was small, so were the beds, and all of our meals had to be eaten out. Plus there was no internet — or there was internet at $10.00 per day apiece. We chose to come home. Apparently internet and home cooked meals are more important than running water.

About replumbing the house — the good news is, the house is a couple of feet above the ground (we’re on the far edge of the flood plain) so they aren’t going to crack the foundation. They are just going to put the new pipes in under the house and only bury the stuff that goes through the yard. This can be done in Hawaii since it never freezes here.

29 Comments

  4. Fly me to Hawaiii and I will dig ditches. LOL How long before your lease is up? But at least your landlord paid for your room for the weekend. So you must have a good landlord, which from my experience before we finally bought a house. Their hard to find.
    .-= Thena´s last blog ..Emily =-.

    1. Thena – -we have great landlords. They care about their property and come instantly and fix whatever we have a problem with. They just aren’t able to do this one instantly. And we are moving to the mainland in January — even if we weren’t, I don’t think we’d be in a hurry to move. We like our home and we’ve never had a problem with maintenance before.

  5. we don’t have town water or sewer here, thank god.
    having to pay the plumber AND the water bill would send me into fits.

    i have had to dig up my well a couple times
    and the septic cover WAS buried about 4 ft down.
    only dug that up once!
    raised that stupid thing up so the handle sticks out of the ground…

    digging is not fun
    but it was better than paying the septic guy or the well guy to dig

    no water suckth
    .-= tilden´s last blog ..Ruby Tuesday…Updated =-.

  6. Well, at least the end is in sight… even if it’s going to be a while. It seems a shame that your internet service and meals weren’t included in your accommodation, y’know? But ugh, you poor things meanwhile. Will your landlord fix it this weekend?

    Sorry I laughed about the water shooting up in the street!! LOL
    .-= Susan at Stony River´s last blog ..Portrait of Words: Into the Rainbow =-.

    1. Susan — the street side water is actually still in our yard, just this side of the Mock Orange hedge and the sidewalk. And yes, the end is — supposedly — in sight, though we’ve not gotten a time commitment.

  7. Wow. They should give you some money off of your rent for all of this trouble, like the amount a hotel room would cost for the same time period.
    .-= Nessa´s last blog ..Tutu Tuesday =-.

    1. Nessa – -the hotel room thing they’d do if we actually went to stay in it. And, they’ve invited us to use their laundry facilities and their bathroom as we need.

  8. Hope your Water Woes are over soon. Sounds like you have a Good Landlord that seems to care. I think if it was me, I’d be staying at the Hotel, at least there is water for showering and such. Though it must have cost a bit to dine out each time.

    1. Bill — two people, three meals per day, plus whatever snacks — and there is no such thing as a 99 cent menu on this island, most especially in Waikiki where the hotels are. Food would run, at the least, $60.00 per day. After a couple of days that is no longer a trivial expense.

      And I didn’t even mention the $15.00 per day it costs to park the car in Waikiki. Or the tips. Or the noise 24/7 of the continual party.

  11. Ah well…I am reminded that probably over 50% of the world doesn’t have potable water, indoor plumbing, electricity or internet…

    and if I wake up tomorrow and my internet is out (like it was on Monday a.m.) I will NOT, repeat WILL NOT, have a hissy fit. I will think of Quilly and Amoeba who are just DEALING with life…and I will be calm.

    Aren’t you glad you don’t have toddlers running around?
    .-= southlakesmom´s last blog ..Visual Pun #4 =-.

    1. Kelley — don’t give us too much credit. Well – -don’t give ME too much credit. I have been doing plenty of whining!

  12. Well…. it’s coming along… prayers are being answered. Landlord’s doing everything possible… sounds like ya can’t ask for MUCH more than that! Just another one of life’s little happenstances… By the time ya hit the mainland it will be nothin’ but a memory!
    .-= Melli´s last blog ..Pumpkin Patch =-.

    1. Ah, Melli, you know you can say that with confidence because we were talking in email, and you know the plumbers are under my house right this very minute!

  13. I just read the wholz story. I had crappy Internet all day yesterday, AND a photography class in the evening, so I did not get to visit you. I’m so glad that’s fixed now!!!

  14. Oh, you poor babies! I’m so sorry. I miss my kitchen sink but no water at all is a dreadful state to be in. And people clumping around gets tiring after a while too. The linoleum guys are having a cigarette break right now after working for about 20 minutes. It’s cold out and the fan is on in here. I’m tired and cranky. But I’m lucky to have water. I hope you get repairs sooner than next week.
    .-= Raven´s last blog ..Another Photo-less Update with Photos =-.

    1. Raven — you are so lucky. I wish you could have the joy without the stress — but if there were no bad we’d not appreciate good. Believe me, our lack of water reminded me of that, big time! I’d forgotten to appreciate the joy of water on tap!

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