Sunday, June 19, 2011

Late Night Leak-A-Thon

So remember the blue bidet?  This one? Yeah, we are in full swing on that remodel project.  Bidet out.  Blue out.  Bathtub out.  It is a do-it-yourself orgasma.  And last night?  I plumbed until 3 AM.  Sounds dirty, doesn't it?  A late night sweating copper pipes with the lusty red-hot flames of a blow torch...  I know you wish you were there. 

Leaky pipes
 Why were we up until 3 AM? Well, my husband was determined to get the water restored so we could have showers.  It was a stupid manly idea.  Did I mention the part about having to turn off the water to the house in order to re-plumb the bathroom?  Oh yeah, no running water.  With a potty-training toddler.  Why would a potty-training toddler mean you need water?  The following statements actually came out of my mouth in the past 24 hours:

"Ava.  We do NOT use toothbrushes and toothbrush holders to bail water out of the toilet."

"Good job telling Mommy you need to use the potty!  Do you need help getting on the potty?  No? Okay.... Ava, take your foot out of the toilet please."

See?  Water (and antibacterial soap) is a necessity.

We did our first leak test around 9 PM (after I returned from drinking wine bathing Ava at Rachel's house).  And discovered that we had a lot of leaks.  Irritating, plop plop plop leaks.  Leaks that meant no water to the house.  After midnight, I wished Aaron a happy Father's Day and offered to buy him a plumber as a present.  He didn't think it was funny (who was joking?) At 2:30 AM, when we were down to two leaks, we through in the towel.  Not literally, as throwing in the towel does imply bathing, and there was none of that. 

The only way these leaks would have been fun was if it were a drinking game.  Every time you hear or see a leak, take a shot!  Not good.  I have high hopes we will have water again momentarily.  Just in time for us to consider the next "oh &^%$" moment.

While Aaron was plumbing away (you didn't think it was me sweating pipes with the blow torch did you?), I was happily ripping out sheet rock.  I went witching for screws with a magnet and started the demo.  The first side came off great - no problem.  The second wall, where we are going to put a pocket door (replacing the hinge door that cut into half of the vanity), well... that was where we hit a pipe problem.   One sewer pipe and one drain pipe.  Who knew?


Problem (but not leaky) Pipes (note blue carpet in background)
So now we have a problem.  Well, depending on your perspective and your affection for running water, we have lots of problems.  The problem I am referring to is that *#$(^ door.  Hey, I am remodeling on four hours of sleep.  It is a *#$(^ door. 

Do we:

A) put the old door back (losing 4-6 inches of valuable vanity space)
B) put in a smaller pocket door (24-25 inches, depending on the estimate)
C) build a false wall (losing 3ish inches of bathroom width, but not having to move pipes, and getting a full size pocket door)
D) put in an exterior "barn door" type door (and lose wall space for towel racks etc)
E) hang a bead curtain

Wait!  I have to go!  I hear water!  Wish me luck!

9 comments:

Koreen said...

I love it!!!! I vote for E and C...though if u opt for E without C please post pics of Ava trying to flush the bead curtain because all of ur faithful facebook friends will truly enjoy that!!! Good Luck Annie...Fingers crossed for you!!!

Koreen

Krysten said...

Ohhh... So, so sorry. Does Aaron think he can move the lines without calling a plumber? If yes, then I vote for the full size pocket door - if not, then the mini version. If it makes you feel any better I'm writing this with a heating pad strapped to my chest. :)

Krysten said...

Keegan says you shouldn't move pipes as you'll run into code issues and votes for a barn style door that runs on the bedroom wall not the bathroom wall and matches/ coordinates with your closet door. He also says you need to keep more toothbrushes in the house.

Annie said...

Yeah, not moving the pipes. Thought about running the barn door on the bedroom wall but it would run into the bedroom door which swings into the same space! Argh.

I think we are leaning to a modified C. I say modified because if we don't use a pre-built pocket door frame and build off the existing studs, we might be able to save an inch or so. Making the "false wall" the width of a door covered by sheetrock.

On the upside, WE HAVE WATER. And So sorry about the heating pad. Hot compresses help too (I am a five-time veteran you know). :)

Your Auntie said...

I suggest no door and use the doorway to hang towel bars across. Is their a cash suggestion award? Good luck!

Christy said...

False door is my vote. And, thank you Annie, your hilarity makes me laugh out loud! My second choice is the bead curtain of course.

I second Keegan's advice about plumbing and contractors and code.

Mike said...

You won't have any code issues unless you are changing sewer drain lines (even with that it's tough to mess up) you can move pipes all day long as long as your drain lines slope at 1/8" per foot.

Mike said...

Ok, so I just looked at those pictures as I was doing a couple things. Those are vent pipes. You can pretty much do what you want with those as long as they end up going through the roof again. Just cut them in the crawl space(this looks like a 1st floor bath? is there anything above it or are those vent only?)

This could be a really simple project. Maybe 20-30 minutes.

Todd Smith said...

if it's yellow, leave it mellow