I just posted on stress and how 2 moves
in one summer and getting rid of a
life-time's stuff, nearly "done me in."
This is it. Can't get any worse. WRONG.
OH MY GOD. Yesterday I was making my lunch and a
strange bang, followed by the sound of rushing water
sent strange chills through my body. What the....? I ran
around the house like a mad-woman, up stairs and down
in the cellar, searching where water could be rushing.
Nothing. I went back to the kitchen and witnessed
rain from the ceiling, along with falling plaster.
I've never had pipes freeze and burst before, but the temp
has been 25 to 30 deg. below zero for over a week. I was
so shocked, I didn't know what to do first. Call the plumber.
I think the receptionist thought I was having a heart
attack and I almost was.
Back to cellar to "try" to turn the water off, but the
plumber, only last week had put in a full house water
filter and changed the shut-off valves. Oh God.
By now the water was up to my ankles in the kitchen
and spreading to the rest of the house. Cody shot under the
bed and Puss headed for high ground. I struggled to get
furniture and electrical cords to a few patches of dry
floor.
Nice thing about small towns and using the same
plumber. He was here in less than 5 minutes but the
house looked like the aftermath of a tornado. I called
the insurance gal, the people with the big fans and started
draping the floor with towels to soak up the water.
Within an hour guys were buzzing through the house
and did their jobs with great authority. The plumber
found two holes.... both hot and cold pipes, repaired
them and handed me the pieces of pipe, saying save
these for the ins. adjuster.
Big holes in the ceiling and big machines roaring
throughout the house. Just when you think things
couldn't get worse, watch out, they usually do. Haha
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 |
| The kitchen floor, sucking up the water |
 |
| Big machines throughout the house |
It makes a Godawful mess when pipes burst. It happened at my aunt's house a few years back and made a TERRIBLE mess. I also remember them bursting at my junior high school during a cold snap. I remember sitting in English class (second row from the wall) when water started rushing out. The people up against the wall shot out of their seats and everyone else started gathering up their stuff and running for the door. It was mass confusion in the halls because the pipes burst on all three floors. Yeah, we missed school for several days while they get that mess cleaned up. Woohoo. There is a silver lining to every cloud.
ReplyDeleteRobin
DeleteThanks for the story. Just this morning I was thinking, this seems like just a mess (which it is) but, there is always some good that comes out of it. I guess the good thing is that I was home and not in Bozeman like I was a week ago. I saw a house like that once .... pipes broke in a cold snap while the people were away and it looked like that palace out of Doctor Zhavago (sp). Lucky duck kids getting out of school.
Oh dear, I am so sorry that you had to go through all this stress my friend. Not good at all. I do hope that you will be able to get back to normal as quickly as possible, and that the Insurers don't drag their feet at all!! Please take care.
ReplyDeletethisisme
DeleteAt first I was just in shock and then got mad at the destruction. But I was here, had good workers and now the fans are drying the water. Holes all over the kitchen ceiling and they said it would take a couple weeks to repair. I guess pipes are busted all over town and perhaps some are a lot worse than mine. Thanks for the concern. Seems to be going OK so far.
Poor (wet) baby!!
ReplyDeleteFishducky
DeleteI had on sandals and heavy socks but had been wading in water up to my ankles. Then I was running to and from the garage with stuff and I finally looked at my shoes and they were frozen. My feet were almost frozen too, but I hadn't even noticed up to that point. Oh duh....
Maybe someone just wanted you to have an indoor pool
ReplyDeleteYou mean, like a Christmas present from Santa? I'll get that little jolly elf for that. Haha
DeleteWhat a mess. I'd have a heart attack almost to
ReplyDeleteHoly Ghost
DeleteI didn't quite see the humor at the time, but I could have grabbed an umbrella and did a Gene Kelly from an American in Paris.
Ha Ha. Singin' in the rain, just singin' in the rain....
DeleteWow, that is one big arse mess to have to clean up. At least you didn't have to wait hours or days for the plumber to come. lol at Puss and Cody taking off. Hey, maybe the pipes need a diaper...lol
ReplyDeletePat
DeleteIt was actually funny (afterwards) when I thought of Cody and Puss taking off when they saw the big deluge coming. They were probably saying, "Hey, I'm outta here." Hahaha yeah, one of Cody's diapers might do it.
I've never had that happen either. I've opened all cabinets in bathrooms and where water can get into and freeze. Sounds like an awful experience...fingers xxx'd that it doesn't happen herel
ReplyDeleteturquoisemoon
DeleteTake precaution (I always thought I did, but I guess not) because it just ain't fun. Those fans will be running perhaps a week and I'm glad I wasn't having anything here for Christmas. I'll just have gaping holes in the ceiling and presents got water logged.
Incredible! I am certainly glad that you were home, even though it was still such a mess. I hope this is over for you soon.
ReplyDeleteMy neighbor had a very small slow leak over time and it was such a long drawn out mess that I can't imagine.
My husband works in casualty/property insurance and we turn our water off every time we leave the house for more than a day trip!
Jasmine
DeleteTurning the water off sounds like a great idea. I used to be more careful but then I get sloppy. The wash machine is another place where it's a good idea to turn the water off if you go away. Those hoses break at odd times, too.
Holy Moly is right! You poor thing!
ReplyDeleteWendy
DeleteBummer, huh? I guess I'm not the only one. Those restoration guys are so busy, I'm surprised they got here so fast but I guess the whole floor gets ruined if you don't get at it immediately
sorry to hear about that! yeah, life enjoys to kick you while you are down...
ReplyDeleteGeorge
DeleteThat's a perfect way to put it. I say "enough already, stop messing around." haha
Holy Moly? I KNOW I would have said something much stronger (may have had the word 'holy' in it, though).
ReplyDeleteLike Yellow Rose said, thank goodness you were home!
Al
DeleteOMG, I keep thinking the same thing. I had been in Bozeman and I am so thankful it didn't happen then. A house would be completely destroyed. Actually this house is so old and a dump
that a bulldozer might not be a bad idea. Ha
Oh my goodness! That's what I call cleaning the floor the hard way. I'm so sorry. With temperatures that low, I guess pipes are bursting all over the place. Some of the people around here believe in letting their faucets drip a little bit to prevent their water pipes from freezing, but around here, it rarely even gets below freezing, let alone on the wrong side of zero.
ReplyDeleteI smiled at the idea of you grabbing an umbrella and doing a Gene Kelly routine. His"Singing in the Rain" is one of my all-time favorites.
Take care. Don't let this calamity dampen your spirits.
Susan
DeleteI have tried that too. In fact, the upstairs faucet did run a little. This old house has seen many a below zero winter and this is the first time, it's been a pain in the butt for me. Sometimes I think we are crazy to live in a climate of such extremes. But we get stuck (and I did live in Florida 25 years) and all I could think of was returning to the cold weather. Weird? huh.
I love that routine of Gene Kelly's, hanging on lamp posts and splashing in the rain. I saw that on stage in London, years ago and was so impressed that they used real water coming down for the number.
Sorry about the mess. Hopefully things will be back to normal before Christmas.
ReplyDeleteJohn
DeleteThank you for the good words but I'll be lucky if the floor gets dried by Christmas. The wood floors all have to be resanded and winter seems like the wrong time for that. The ceiling too, will have to be mostly redone. I could hang some tinsel on those big machines and sing rock'n around the Christmas Tree. Haha
Oh, dear! That was awful. It's good your plumber came quickly to help you.
ReplyDeleteWe are having temps of 3 below zero here. But you have lower temps there. Wow.
Julia
DeleteHe was plumber on wheels to get here so quickly. I was never so happy to see anyone in my life. :) 3 below could burst some pipes too. huh?
Karen
ReplyDeleteThanks. The part that got busted is repaired but it will take at least a week of these noisey blowers going. I moved upstairs as that part of the house didn't get any water.
Lo
ReplyDeleteYou always crack me up with your expressions. That would have been a wonderful time to let go with the "Daddy of em all."
Holy moly all right! The joys of living in cold climates. Must have been scary! Not to mention messy!
ReplyDeleteDenise
DeleteI was too shocked to be scared at the moment but the dog and cat reacted so fast that after it was all over I had a good laugh about them immediately heading for shelter. Hope you don't run into any broken pipes in Amsterdam.
Oh I'm so sorry to read this! You just don't expect floods to come form inside do you? Is there some method of insulating the pipes so it doesn't happen again?
ReplyDeleteSo glad the plumber and other fixer-uppers got there quickly.
River
DeleteYeah, lets go outside to get out of the flood. Haha. This house is really old, as I've said and the insulation is most likely obsolete too...... although it's stood here as is for way over a hundred years. The house was done in piecemeal and the upstairs part is dry and OK so I moved most of my stuff that I use up there, now. They had to disconnect the kitchen stove anyway but I'm a prepper..... I dug an electrical hot plate out of the garage. And the bathrooms all work so I'm OK . Thanks for the good words and the cheer.
Oh my gosh Manzanita .. that sounds horrendous ... frozen pipes are dreadful ... but how great you live in such a kind neighbourhood and town and everyone rallied round. Yes a mess - but at least a sorted mess ...
ReplyDeleteAll the best for the coming days and final dry out and repairs etc .. look after yourself .. Hilary
Hilary
DeleteI wonder how this would have turned out if I still lived in a large city and the work people couldn't drop everything and then they would probably have to drive a long distance to get here. Right now I'm looking forward to spring. Big joke.... winter's just begun.
Thanks Hilary, your words are cheery and comfortable.
oh my goodness. that's something we never have to worry about! Huge machines indeed! It all sounds extremely efficient and thank goodness for the plumber arriving quickly. All the best for a period of boredom!!
ReplyDeletecheers
Sue
Sue
DeleteThanks for the boredom good wishes. Ha. I can see that during this recovery, I can just maintain. But I may now have the time to get at that stack of unread books that thankfully were upstairs and didn't get wet.
Wow, oh, wow. And, here I was stressing because we found a leak in the water filter system under the kitchen sink yesterday. I'll take that to yours any day. Thank goodness, you were able to get it all attended to right away. Big hugs to you, Manzi!
ReplyDeleteSu-sieee
DeleteA leak is a leak, no matter where it is. Water, although the most necessary item for our life, is no fun when rotting into wood. That moldy smell is the worst, especially if it gets under the sink. Montana is pretty dry in the summer so we never have much mold. I hope this gets dry soon because the big machines are loud . I moved upstairs and can't really hear them up here. There is always someone worse off. The young man who comes to check on the machines has been telling me some pretty gruesome stories about water damage. In fact, he was up all night on an emergency with a big one where the people have to move out and will be out for a very long time. How inconvenient.
Good luck with your filter leak.
What a nightmare!! I can't even imagine the havoc something like this would bring. I am so glad that I no longer live in a place that could get THAT cold, 'cause I'm pretty sure having something like that happening in my home (especially when I'm home alone...and that is when it would happen!!) would push me into a catatonic state!! I wouldn't even know where to start to fix it! I'm so sorry you are having to deal with such a thing!
ReplyDeleteMellodee
DeleteOh thank you Mell but no need to feel sorry. In fact, the next morning I woke up and started my usual singing. Everything is under control. I moved upstairs where there is no water damage and I forgot how sunny and bright it is up here. I think I''ll change my bedroom to be back up here again.
I love the seasons and I really especially love cold weather. I just don't like the bitter low temps but it seems my house pipes minded them more than I did. Ha
Thanks for dropping by. It's been a while since we saw each other.
Oh my. That does not sound good at all. What a way to bring in the winter. I hope they can get it all fixed up and running back to normal soon.
ReplyDeleteLady Lillith
DeleteSo nice of you to visit.
It was unfortunate but I was thankful that I was home at the time and could get work people in right away. They all did a bang-up job and the big water-sucking machines are running away, doing their job. I moved upstairs with the cat as that part of the house stayed dry. Thank you for your kind words. I really love your name.
Oh my gosh, I can't even imagine having to deal with all of this. But good thing you are in a small town with help so quickly available! I can't imagine that happening (help quickly available) here. Hope everything gets repaired sooner than later!
ReplyDeletebetty
Betty
DeleteEverything seems to be a matter of choice. One can think of something as bad or good. At first I thought, "Oh, me, oh my..... this is terrible." But now I see the good things. If the pipe was going to freeze, better it froze when I was in town. (for sure) I moved upstairs where it is dry and warm and being up here forces me to get rid of the stuff I've stored up here. I'm strong and healthy and able to cope, so it's all a good thing. When we lived in Florida, the AC broke in the summer while we were away. OMG... the water flooded and ruined everything and then the green mold quickly grew. That mold will kill you a lot quicker than the frozen water. Ha
Florida doesn't agree with me. LOL
Thank you for the nice words and visit,. Be seeing you soon.
No way that'd get fixed fast here. My driver's side window jumped off track and I'm on my third place telling me they're too backed up to get to my window today or tomorrow. :/ I hope insurance covers all of your damage without any challenges! And those are some big fans!! Sorry you're having to deal w/it. House repairs, blah.
ReplyDeleteRosey
DeleteAnd now you say you have snow too. You really need that window repaired. And they say there are no jobs out there. I would think a "jack of all trades" handi-man would be busy all the time. In fact, I could keep one busy for some time. Haha
The insurance adjuster was really helpful and didn't quibble about anything. Travelers..... appears to be a very good Ins. company.
OH my. What a disaster! Your quick response team was impressive. I wish I could help you.
ReplyDeleteSusan
DeleteAt the time, I would have gladly accepted your help too. The plumber was up at the pipes trying to repair them but the water was still coming and I was trying to push furniture into the dry floor and put down towels as water fast approached the dry areas. Thanks for the generous offer :) The big blowers are still roaring away.
Holy shi_ Manzanita. You have had a lot going on. I have been in Cleveland for the last few days and no idea you were in all this turmoil. I am glad your plumber helped you out though.
ReplyDeleteTerry
DeleteWe have talked since than so you know all the details. I thought you were out of town. It's as much under control as it can be .... for a while. Haha
Oh my gosh! This is absolutely incredible. And here I was upset about finding some termites in one of the boards at our house. I'm glad you're getting help. Wow!
ReplyDelete