Commenting issues resolved
For everyone that's noticed blogger has decided to stop showing the comments link in my blog, I've gone ahead and done some fixing. I'm now using Haloscan for all my commenting because even when I choose a default template from Blogger, commenting doesn't show anymore.
No fear, you're comments aren't lost that you made before they just aren't showing now in the new system. So, comment away and all will be well again.
Stupid blogger.
Still going...
So last night we put up the additional posts for the fence so we can finally just let the dogs out when they have to go...no more walking them in the rain!
Today we are getting in about 10-11 yards of gravel that we are going to be putting into this freaking ditch by hand before the dirt goes back in. If we are done before Mike's mom gets here it'll be a miracle.
Did you ever sit back and wonder what you would do if you won the lottery? I did the other day. I saw the power ball was up to like $35 million and realized I would be perfectly happy winning even just $1 million. Then I started thinking in retarded detail, what I would do step by step in order if I won just $1 million dollars (this equates to about $560,000 post tax).
- I’d contact one of those places to get it in a lump sum instead of 20 year installments.
- I’d pay off my student loans and any outstanding bills (only about $3800).
- I’d pay whatever I need to, to get my license back (maybe $500 tops).
- I’d buy both myself and Mike new cars (total of about $75,000 and that’s figuring super high).
- I’d hire out contractors to lift the house and put in a new foundation and basement ($45,000)
- Again hire contractors to rip out the walls that need to be insulated, insulate the walls, put up the missing walls and redo the layout of the upstairs including new plumbing. ($10000)
- Hire electricians to come in and completely re-wire the house the way we want it. ($5000)
- Hire an architect to design the new addition to the house ($2000)
- Have the addition put onto the house ($60,000)
- Hire a landscaper to put the lawn together exactly how I want it including shed, fences, garden, gazebo, etc. ($10,000)
- Have people come back in and do all the finish work on the house. ($5000)
- Furnish the house how I want it. ($10000)
- Invest the rest and save for the future…that’s about $260,000 not a bad deal there.
I know, probably a weirdo sitting there thinking about all that but you know, sometimes it’s just nice to dream.
Sorry to keep you in suspense
On Friday, the entire sewer pipe was replaced and we were flushing and washing dishes and clothes like crazy. Yay! We're still not completely done with it though. We've got to get in about 10-11 yards of gravel to put in the trench and then put all the dirt back. We've also got to get rid of all the pieces of the old pipe that are just sitting around the yard. That's going to have to get stacked somewhere to wait for the next dumpster. Once that's done, then we're done.
When it rains it pours though man. So we went and got a bunch of that orange warning fence to put around the ditch to keep people from falling in and the dogs from getting out. After we got it up last night, we had a hell of a wind storm which promptly knocked down 1 of the poles, snapped another and busted a downspout from the side of the house. So tonight, we've got to get 2 more poles at Jerry's and a strap or something for the downspout so it doesn't rip the siding off the house.
Will the fun ever end? I'm wondering if any of this is covered under homeowners insurance...any clues?
Will it ever end?
No, the pipe isn't fixed. No, I can't wash clothes. Yes, however, according to the plumber I can take a quick shower and I'm allowed to flush the toilet at least.
The backhoe did arrive and got the trench dug. The pipe was a mess. He wound up digging all the way to the sidewalk. Ugh. Because he got here considerably later than was originally scheduled, the plumber had to come out later. When the plumber got here, it was a different guy than had been out the last 2 days. When he got here, he was told the estimate of the amount of pipe was about 30-40 feet...that was off by about 60-70 feet. Double ugh. So, of course, he didn't have enough pipe with him and since it was late, he couldn't get anymore until tomorrow.
So, another stinky night. I swear when this is done, I'm going to spend an hour just flushing the toilet over and over again, just because I can!
More poowater...
Wow, it's been 2 days since the last post about the sewer and so much has happened with it. To start, when the plumber tried to snake through the vent stack, he couldn't snake it all out and hit a block. Then he tried to snake through the tub...yet another block. So we decided to have him go outside and do it through there. Well, we don't have a cleanout, so digging commenced to get to the pipe. Once we get to the pipe, we find out it's cast iron. None of the tools he has will go through it. So, he punched a hole in it to relieve the pressure inside for the night. We agreed he would come back the next morning to put in a clean out and clear out the rest of the pipe. We told him we would dig the trench to save a few bucks. Good, right?
So yesterday, he comes out, cuts the pipe, puts in the cleanout attached to the house side and starts to clear the pipe on the other side of the cleanout. That is where we hit snag #2. He starts to run water through it and water starts coming up in the yard. Luckily, it's only about 5 feet from where we stopped digging. So, we dig some more to uncover the problem. Lo and behold, we find a cleanout...buried 3 feet down...attached to a 3" abs pipe...that's crushed...ugh. So, again we start digging to find where the crush stops. It doesn't after about 4 feet more we decide we need to just get some heavy gear out there, dig out the whole pipe and replace it all.
Today, Mike is home waiting for the backhoe and the plumber to arrive. I'm hoping when I get home, I'll be able to shower and wash clothes and flush if I want to!
Ah, the joys of home ownership...
The past few days, we've started having the first of the winter rains. We also had our first house guest from Florida come in the same day the rains started. That was the day we started to notice issues with the plumbing specifically the sewer drains in the washing machine. I figured that the outlet for the rinse just got too sudsy and spilled out onto the floor like it had done in the past. Oh ho! not this time! This time, it decided to come out the drain on the floor under the bathroom sink! Ok, I figured, this I can deal with, less soap or something. That's apparently not what the house had planned for us. Over the next day or so, everytime we flushed or ran the sink the whole downstairs would start a bubbly sounding sonata. Today it culminated in our guest taking a shower upstairs (that drained fine) and me running upstairs screaming for him to hurry and get out because poo water was coming up to the rim in the toilet, up through the tub and up through the drain under the sink! BLECH!!!!
So, we called the city who came out and took a look at the sewer lines out in the street and they were running better than fantastic. Great. So, a bunch of bugging neighbors and phone calls later, we've got a plumber out here right now trying to snake the line and see if they can clear the blockage. Only good thing about all this is that, they send us a bill?!?! You don't pay when they show up or when their done, but when you get the bill! How cool is that? That would never in a million years happen in Florida. It would be payment up front or no work.
Here's hoping it's a blocked pipe, not a broken one!
