A few days ago, I noticed that we had "instant on" hot water. I knew that wasn't good (normally, the shower takes a minute or two to warm up). I looked and listened for leaks to no avail. On Sunday afternoon I was in one of the bathrooms and I could hear water running in the wall (separating two bathrooms). Then I noticed that the tile under my bare feet was warm (double f#@k!). I made a "few" exploratory holes in the wall and discovered a quite a bit of water in the wall and around the bathtub. Very warm water! I found the source; copper hot water pipe, but the leak appeared to be in the slab (triple f#@k!). Turned off the hot water at the water heater, allowing for cold still. Called my local plumber yesterday morning knowing full well that significant demolition (jackhammering) was coming. I was extremely stressed, but not about the cost. i had money in the emergency fund. The guys showed up in a couple of hours. Out came the toilet, hole in the opposite bathroom drywall, portion of wood framing, ceramic tiles (thank God I had more. Pro Tip: if you put in tile, get EXTRA) and a bunch of concrete. Two hours later, the leak was discovered (6-8" down) and repaired. I told the guys that i would do the concrete, replace the tiles, re-install the toilet, drywall, etc. For their efforts, it was just under $500 (I thought I got off cheap). Fortunately, I was able to write a check without any undo stress. $20 at Home Depot got me mortar, wax ring, sand, etc. Today, i reinstalled the toilet. The drywall repairs will come later as that skill is not in my repertoire. All-in-all, I survived and have no additional new debt.
Submitted November 19, 2019 at 06:07PM by erkevin https://ift.tt/37piLFc
