Spent the evening with a badly backed up shitter and having to pay a plumber to snake it.
$600 that we didn't think we'd be having to spend.
Turns out, it wasn't even the brown trout that caused the issue, but decades of grease accumulation in the drain past the kitchen sink.
It would have been $350 if we'd been able to remember where to dig to find our cleanout.
The good news is, we have found it... now. Too late to save the money.
On the plus side, I have a brand new wax ring on the garage bathroom now and it's shimmed level perfectly!
Fred here (stupid smart phone forgot my gulag login...)
ReplyDeleteThat's horrible! Here's some unsolicited advice from an old man that made a living fixing other people's broke stuff.
Know where ALL your utility access points are. If you move, learn where they are in your new place! It's vitally important and it will save you money if you know where ALL your water cutoffs are, where all your breaker panels and sub panels and ESPECIALLY any hidden junction boxes... That one burned me personally...
And your sewer cleanouts and your septic tank and your grease trap...
If you don't, somebody will charge you to find out that vitally important information. Because when you need to know that info, you NEED TO KNOW that info.
Better yet, write it down in a little booklet and keep it in a safe place. Right next to the for extinguisher and contingency plans binder.
I know this because it once cost me to not know it. Find out what you don't know about your house now.
The clean-out was EXACTLY a foot from where we remembered it was, but the plumber wasn't very interested in prospecting for it. We'd seen it with our own eyes 20 years ago the last time we needed a plumber to clear our drains.
DeleteIt is now more clearly marked with an upside down pot so we can find it again when I'm pushing 70.
We're on county sewer, no septic to deal with. The inlaws, two doors down, do have septic. Ain't Florida consistent and grand?
Now all the important things are marked!
I used to mark stuff. Then I moved a brick that I forgot was important... I'm putting in a water line and as much as I hate spending money if I can avoid it, I'm really leaning towards getting a free extra copies of my plat and mapping stuff out. I used to work for a fellow that had a map of all the infrastructure of his RV park on his computer. Digitized made it easier to document changes and upgrades.
DeleteIt also made it vulnerable to the death of a computer...
There ain't no surgery solution but leave the flower pot! And maybe put a note on it with sharpie "I'm here for a reason"...
There's a secondary cleanout along the side of the garage that WAS marked with a paver. Past tense.
Delete