Perpetual Ruminations

Tad-Bit Disappointing

I was a bit disappointed when I logged in here today to not see any comments or gestures in my notifications. I thought I wrote a great item for Suddenly Sunday yesterday and expected to see something, but alas, nothing. Oh well, that's the way the things go sometimes. It was a bit long, which may have deterred others from reading it through, and the task is to complete the sentence, not write a short story. I reckon I'll have to create a new story in my portfolio from it and see how it goes there; I still think it's a great idea for a longer story.

Besides not having any feedback, it's been a somewhat trying day anyway. I wrote a while back about a plumbing leak, which is never any fun. Today I found out that we had another. The outside spigot for the hose has needed to be replaced for some time, since it's almost impossible to get it to shut off completely. I did a quick fix for it by putting a valved hose-splitter on it so we could shut off the water.

Being made out of brass, it didn't handle the cold temperatures and froze enough to crack, creating another leak. I tried to get the spigot shut off, but it just would not seal anymore. I did get it down to a fast drip, but with it being next to the sidewalk, this would have created a lot of ice right were everyone walks to the back door, not to mention creating a higher water bill for us.

So, once again, it was down into the cellar to shut the water off, since nothing has a secondary shut off on it, only to discover that I had now caused the main water shut-off to start leaking as well. Also, it did not shut off the water completely, so I ended up working on the outside spigot with a bit of water trickling out. Normally that wouldn't be too bad, but it did make it more difficult to repair and it also made for freezing fingers since it's only forty degrees out and windy.

My first couple attempts at stopping the leak failed, but I did manage the third time to get it sealed. I had taken the valve out, made a rubber gasket and sealed it off,m but now there will be no turning it back on. It's past time to replace it, but I fear doing so will only create another leak further up the line. Of course, with the last leak I had determined it was time to replace all the old pipes anyway, which means we will have a new outside spigot anyway.

The main shut-off was leaking pretty bad, but I was able to tighten it up a tad and it stopped, but since it doesn't completely shut off the water, that will also have to be replaced. I will have to contact the water supplier and see if it's there responsibility or ours, but either way, we will have to have the water for the house shut off to replace it.

Moneys tight, so for the time being, we will have to get by with the existing plumbing while i purchase pipes, fittings, and valves as we can afford them. Once we have everything, I can run the pipes and get everything ready to switch over, then contact the water company and have them shut it down while I finish the job. After, they can inspect everything and hopefully we will be done with plumbing problems for awhile.