Friday, January 04, 2008

What, another slab leak?

Just after Christmas, Carrie in #2 told me that she hears water running in her tub, and the floor is hot. I looked at the crawlspace under the tub, couldn't find any leaks, but tried to listen as closely as I could for the source. It sounded to me like it was coming from the wall. I worried that I would have to take apart the drywall to fix a leaky shower pipe, but could find no evidence of water.

That's when I began to worry... another slab leak?

After failing to shut off the water at the base of the tub (old valve, won't turn without a ratchet), I figured it may just be a faulty shower valve. I resolved to fix it after the new year, and just pay a higher water bill.

Well, Carrie from #2 just called and said that, this morning, she felt a wet spot on the carpet and thought her cat threw up. Now, the carpet is soaked and water is definitely coming from somewhere! *sigh*

Cathy's on her way home, and I'm calling a plumber now. We'll see what's next... probably an expensive re-pipe that I don't have the money for.

Update 1: It is hot/warm water, so at least we won't be completely without. However, I am not looking forward to a week of cold showers (while we get it repiped).

Update 2: Cathy found the spot it is coming out of the carpet, so it is a confirmed slab leak. Crud.

5 comments:

  1. pluhh - sometimes owning a house sucks...

    and BTW I got your grad announcement - well done good and faithful servant - well done...

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  2. Thanks on the congrats! God is good, all the time; especially right now.

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  3. How much did it cost to get fixed? I'm concerned that I have this same problem. I was thinking of calling Olshan. Should we just call a plumber?

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  4. Hi Chandra, it cost me $2,000.00 total calling a plumber, but I put in some labor myself patching the walls and painting.

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  5. Another option is to re-pipe through the roof and down the walls... the quotes I got were close to $15,000 but a house will probably be cheaper.

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