Saturday, July 31, 2010

Don't pop that cork just yet...

I have decided that water/plumbing issues have to be one of the worst things you have to deal with as a home owner.  One of my current neighbors in our soon-to-be former subdivision is dealing with mold and sewer problems.  We too have found a sewer issue.  The new plumbers (who I am still happy with, by the way) did a top to bottom inspection of the home after we called them out for the second opinion.  It seems we are up to four "issues" in the dream home that we have to wrestle with in order to make the problems go away. 

First and foremost are the pipes for the claw foot tub and the master vanity sinks.  The leaks are fixed which is a big plus.  However, now that the holes are gone from the leaks, the venting has proved that it cannot handle the job it has been set up to do.  The plumbers need to completely fix the pipes to better accommodate the venting between those three things: sink, sink and tub.

The second issue is the main sewer line.  It seems one of the previous owners (heaven only knows which one) "fixed" the sewer line with some PVC piping on top of the original cast iron pipe.  It has a slow leak around the seal which will cause a bigger problem down the road once we are in the house and using the toilets.

Then there is the downstairs bathroom.  Personally, I would like to take this one out and start over.  I don't like how close the toilet is to the sink and the shower was never enclosed.  The venting for this bathroom runs along the outside of the house but is not above the roof line.  So if any gases are vented improperly through the current venting system, the gas is going to go right back into the downstairs bedroom.  Not an immediate problem since our bedroom and our daughter's bedroom are upstairs but none the less, the issue has been spotted.

Last but not least, there isn't a trip wire to the hot water heater.  Since it is in the basement, this isn't as much of a big deal either but the plumber said if you are getting a permit from the city to do all this you might as well add it to the ol' to do list.

Hmmmm....well.  Decisions, decisions.  What to do first?  Obviously the master sink/tub issue has to be done so the dry wall can be repaired in the downstairs office.  Our warranty company is taking a look at the second opinion paperwork.  Hopefully they'll entertain covering some of it.  Fingers and toes crossed and on our knees praying about that one. 

If we can get this squared away this upcoming week, we could possibly start considering the actual move! GASP! Do I dare think or say that? It has been a month and a day since we closed.  Hopefully resolution is just around the corner.

Pictures of our lovely ceiling and exposed pipes:





































2 comments:

  1. I feel for you. I bought a foreclosure in the spring and had to replace ALL the plumbing. You're learning a lot as I did.

    Good luck!

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  2. @JC: are you in Atlanta? I would love to know which plumber you used and if you were happy with the work they did. I can certainly tell you who I do not like! Thanks for commenting.

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