I never really intended this to be an ongoing series, but the one person who reads my blogs is asking for more, so I feel obligated to deliver an update on our progress.
I recently had another fun bout with nosebleeds (the joys of getting old?). While bending over working, I swiped my hand across my nose and crud! My hand was covered in blood. Since I was precariously perched on top of floor joists and this old body doesn’t move like it once did, I started hollering for tissues. Steph -“What?” Me – “Tissues” Steph – “Huh?” Me -“Tissues!” Steph – “What do you want?” Me – “Tissues!!” Our more perceptive 10 year old in the room between us – “Nose bleed Mom!” Steph – “Oh, tissues, I thought you were saying dishes”. Funny thing, I later realized I didn’t have a nosebleed, but had cut my finger and didn’t realize it.
I kept working on the drain lines with a bloody hand and a tissue crammed up my nose asking for help reaching tools (because it’s just too hard to get up and down from sitting on floor joists anymore) and answering kids questions about when they can brush their teeth (not yet). Once finished, I tested for leaks and the slip joint where I tied into the existing waste line was seeping. Stephanie “helpfully” pointed out that I made the joint in a stupid place, because cutting it out to replace it meant cutting out ALL the work I had just done and replacing it versus just one little section had I made the joint a foot farther to the right. It would have been more helpful if she pointed that out BEFORE I did it. Time for Google and YouTube. No help there, though I did discover a product, “Leak Be Gone” that was basically a refined version of one of my ideas to repair the leak. There was no time to wait on Amazon though, so I thought outside the box. What would happen if I just jammed that smelly glue swab up against the joint again and try to force it into whatever crevice is seeping? In theory, that would/could weld the pipes together and stop the leak. It worked! Later, I inquired with a friend who used to do plumbing if that was a bad idea or not and was told “I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t done that a time or two”. Since this is my house and I’m the one who will have to deal with it if it leaks later, I’m choosing to go by the mantra “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” and as best that I can tell, “it ain’t broke no more”. I also feel a little better knowing that the only water that runs across that joint is from the bathroom sink.
Next up was supply lines and valves. I decided to try something new and use Pex B with crimps versus sweating copper piping like I did 20 years ago. For learning something new, it went really well. My only “big” issue had nothing to do with the type of piping. It was the 2×4 blocking I installed to mount the valves made the valves stick too far out of the wall, so I had to remove all of that and install a piece of left over 5/8” plywood to mount them. Other than that, it all went well with no leaks. Even the sharkbite fitting that I had to put on a piece of pipe just barely sticking out of the floor that I could hardly hold on to worked. That had me the most nervous, knowing that if it didn’t work, I couldn’t turn the water back on and it was late and the stores were closed. The plumbing gods must have been smiling down on me that night. Or perhaps they took pity on me. Either way, I’ll take it.