Pages

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Holy Moly


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

54 comments:

  1. 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.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Robin
      Thanks 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.

      Delete
  2. 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.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. thisisme
      At 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.

      Delete
  3. Replies
    1. Fishducky
      I 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....

      Delete
  4. Maybe someone just wanted you to have an indoor pool

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You mean, like a Christmas present from Santa? I'll get that little jolly elf for that. Haha

      Delete
  5. What a mess. I'd have a heart attack almost to

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Holy Ghost
      I 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.

      Delete
    2. Ha Ha. Singin' in the rain, just singin' in the rain....

      Delete
  6. Wow, 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

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Pat
      It 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.

      Delete
  7. 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

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. turquoisemoon
      Take 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.

      Delete
  8. 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.
    My 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!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Jasmine
      Turning 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.

      Delete
  9. Holy Moly is right! You poor thing!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Wendy
      Bummer, 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

      Delete
  10. sorry to hear about that! yeah, life enjoys to kick you while you are down...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. George
      That's a perfect way to put it. I say "enough already, stop messing around." haha

      Delete
  11. Holy Moly? I KNOW I would have said something much stronger (may have had the word 'holy' in it, though).
    Like Yellow Rose said, thank goodness you were home!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Al
      OMG, 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

      Delete
  12. 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.

    I 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.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Susan
      I 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.

      Delete
  13. Sorry about the mess. Hopefully things will be back to normal before Christmas.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. John
      Thank 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

      Delete
  14. Oh, dear! That was awful. It's good your plumber came quickly to help you.
    We are having temps of 3 below zero here. But you have lower temps there. Wow.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Julia
      He 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?

      Delete
  15. Karen
    Thanks. 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.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Lo
    You always crack me up with your expressions. That would have been a wonderful time to let go with the "Daddy of em all."

    ReplyDelete
  17. Holy moly all right! The joys of living in cold climates. Must have been scary! Not to mention messy!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Denise
      I 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.

      Delete
  18. 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?
    So glad the plumber and other fixer-uppers got there quickly.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. River
      Yeah, 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.

      Delete
  19. 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 ...

    All the best for the coming days and final dry out and repairs etc .. look after yourself .. Hilary

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hilary
      I 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.

      Delete
  20. 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!!
    cheers
    Sue

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sue
      Thanks 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.

      Delete
  21. 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!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Su-sieee
      A 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.

      Delete
  22. 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!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mellodee
      Oh 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.

      Delete
  23. 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.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Lady Lillith
      So 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.

      Delete
  24. 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!

    betty

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Betty
      Everything 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.

      Delete
  25. 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.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Rosey
      And 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.

      Delete
  26. OH my. What a disaster! Your quick response team was impressive. I wish I could help you.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Susan
      At 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.

      Delete
  27. 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.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Terry
      We 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

      Delete
  28. 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