On Sunday and Monday here in KC we had record breaking cold temps-it got down to -10 degrees with higher than that wind chills. I think I heard people say that it was the coldest it had been in 20 years around these parts (I just got back from Texas so I can talk a little Southern.) Monday afternoon I went downstairs to put our luggage away. As I walked toward the storage room on the far side of the basement I heard water running like a water fall. I was doing laundry at the time so I thought that might be it but I knew it sounded different than I remembered hearing before. When I went into the storage room I saw water on the floor. I knew then that the water was coming in from the wall.
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| Place where our luggage and a bunch of other stuff was stored |
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Cory came and helped me figure out how to turn off the water to the whole house with the help of a phone call to Ladell. We moved the stuff out of the wet part of the basement, borrowed a wet-dry vac from our neighbors and Ladell called a friend from church who does plumbing. Our friend, Bill Penn told Ladell that if he found out where the broken pipe was he would come and cap it off. Ladell just started hacking into our basement wall and ceiling.
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| So painful! |
He found the leak and Bill came in a short time. He capped off the pipe so we could turn our water back on. It was closer to the corner and the pipe that was involved was the one going to our outside faucet. One we can live without until Bill comes back to fix it. We pulled the carpet back and vacuumed water out of it and the pad underneath. Another friend named, Kingsley came and helped us vacuum and pull the heavy carpet back.
We are waiting to hear if we have insurance coverage to help with the repairs. Hopefully, we'll hear from the adjustor tomorrow. We have lived in our house 17 years and haven't ever had a frozen pipe there or anywhere. Goes to show you how cold it really was. To look of the bright side...we have some great friends and neighbors that came our rescue. I went downstairs soon after it happened because the carpet was wet just about 3 feet out from the wall and on in to the cement storage areas. It could have happened on a work day or we could have been out of town and had a basement full of water. The basement is a mess right now but as they say "out of sight, out of mind." We are headed for a heat wave of 40s and 50s!
From Georgie: Oh dear, reading this dredged up bad feelings. Sounds that are "different", discovery of water in the basement, split second decisions, learning where the main water shut off is, clean up, drying out, repair. YUCK!
ReplyDeleteWhen we got home from Texas, Dave opened our faucet in the garage sink to drip - assurance that your pipes won't freeze. The next morning, after those record setting low temps, we found a stalagmite HOOKED to a stalagtite of ice! The dripping water had made an icicle out of the faucet to the bottom of the sink.
The next day it was still frozen. I decided to set up our little heater in the garage. Well, when I checked it an hour later I HEARD it before seeing it - spraying water! I ran down to the all too familiar shut off valve in the basement. End of the story: the sink has shut off valves. The burst pipe was between the shut off and the faucet. Once those were shut off, we were able to turn the water back on. Then . . . I found myself sweeping water out of the garage. I HATE WATER LEAKS!!
Even with the drip it still froze! Water leaks are a hassle but at least it was in the garage and not the basement!
ReplyDeleteYou must be so thankful to your surrounding friends and neighbors who gave you a lending hand against that issue. Leaks are the absolute nightmare for homeowners, and can be a huge recurring problem if not dealt with properly. In any case, I'm super glad that everything is doing so well now, Norma. All the best! :)
ReplyDeleteGordon Patton @ Bison Plumbing
It’s nice to know that your neighbors were able to assist you in tending to the damages caused by the leak. Frozen pipes are really terrible. Not only can they damage your pipes and cause water leaks, the latter can also damage a lot of other stuff such as floors, walls and the like. Anyway, did you receive any help from the insurance? I hope they were able to cover some of the expenses, if not all of it. Thanks for sharing that, Norma! All the best to you!
ReplyDeleteGail Wallace @ Southern California Water Damage Pros