SmorgasBoard

[Booner72]

Got a "leak alert" from the water company Friday and a hose was on so I thought I fixed it.  Called them today and asked if it was fixed and it isn't.  We're leaking 20 cubic feet, about a buck a day, past coupla months.

I found a water valve out back which is for the sprinklers -and it is 1/4 or more filled with water.  I'm certain this is the culprit because I looked in the one for the front yard and there isn't pooled water in there.

I have an old friend here who is a plumber and have a call in to him. (DH is out of town working til Friday night).

Does anyone know what I can do to shut that leak down at all?   Dear Old Dad says I should go get a pump at home depot and pump the water out of the hole so the plumber won't have to do that and won't charge for it, and maybe so I can see the actual source of the leak?  I can't see it leaking bc it is already filled with water on top of the pipes and scary wires.

UGGH!!  10 months at the house and this is the first major catastrophe and I'm scared.  The last time we were renting and had one of these "leak alerts" the landlord had to dig up a trench in the entire backyard from the house to the street.  YIKERS!

Thanks in advance.

[crunching_numbers]

I am not a plumber, just a Mom and a homeowner. Don't panic. A $1 a day leak with the plumber coming out soon may not be as bad as you are imagining in your head. Don't think the worst before you know the problem.

[LS2982]

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Booner72 wrote:

Got a "leak alert" from the water company Friday and a hose was on so I thought I fixed it.  Called them today and asked if it was fixed and it isn't.  We're leaking 20 cubic feet, about a buck a day, past coupla months.

I found a water valve out back which is for the sprinklers -and it is 1/4 or more filled with water.  I'm certain this is the culprit because I looked in the one for the front yard and there isn't pooled water in there.

I have an old friend here who is a plumber and have a call in to him. (DH is out of town working til Friday night).

Does anyone know what I can do to shut that leak down at all?   Dear Old Dad says I should go get a pump at home depot and pump the water out of the hole so the plumber won't have to do that and won't charge for it, and maybe so I can see the actual source of the leak?  I can't see it leaking bc it is already filled with water on top of the pipes and scary wires.

UGGH!!  10 months at the house and this is the first major catastrophe and I'm scared.  The last time we were renting and had one of these "leak alerts" the landlord had to dig up a trench in the entire backyard from the house to the street.  YIKERS!

Thanks in advance.

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Sounds like that where the issue is. I wouldn't try anything with electric around it, call a contractor.

[Booner72]

All by my lonesome self I found the source - I took the water out via cup and had to use a pill bottle to get between the pipes, but once I got to a certain point I can see the water coming back out through the threading of a pipe to pipe-type-thingy.

Talked to the Plumber-friend, and he says he has one at his house, too, and "I'm a plumber, of course I'm not going to fix my own plumbing".  It definitely is going to require some digging, so I'll just hang out til DH gets home and it looks like, fingers crossed, we can fix, and Plumber Friend offered to help if needed.

Also, if you donate 20.00 to the Arbor Day, they send you ten free trees.  Mine came today - they're babies.  I went outside and "healed" them for now since I'm not sure where were going to put them all.  They're beauties - for those of you buying a new construction (or even old with room), do this for your property - you will thank yourself down the road.  Exciting!!

[Booner72]

This turned out to be a GIANT HOMEOWNER NIGHTMARE.

We looked under the house in the crawl space - BOOM.  Filled 3 inches!  DH almost cried.  (I'm sure glad I didn't look there while DH was out of town this past week, both of us would have been nuts by now not knowing what was wrong).

Had plumber friend come over.

He tracked it to the corner of the house by the driveway - had to dig out concrete to get to it.  (Good thing DH is a concrete finisher).

Plumber friend sealed the leak for now, but we have to go in and fix it this summer permanently. This has obviously been a spot where they have mickey-moused it before.

UUGGHH!!

We are now sump pumping and there is SO MUCH WATER!  Thought it would take 3 hours, and it has only gone down an inch.  At least the front yard is getting a nice wattering.

[IOBA]

Booner72 - you can laugh at my water story.  it's a true story.   Bought a house with a yard sprinkler system.   One story house, with a full basement.   SOMEONE decided to turn on the sprinkler system (it wasn't me - I wasn't home) without bothering to check things out or watch to make sure eveyrthing was ok.   That same someone came back in the house and settled down for whatever.   Could hear a nice gurgling stream...so relaxing...

Fast forward to my incrediably flooded basement.  Where two of the four bedrooms, a full bathroom with the ONLY shower in the house, the utility room (gas furnace, water tank, water softener), and the family room were down there...  and home owners insurance said they would not cover it becuase the pipe that caused the flooding was outside the structure.  

We were extremely poor, miserable, and "cozy" without heat or hot water for months.   All becuase someone couldn't be bothered to investigate the "new relaxing gurgling  stream" sounds!    This person is no longer a friend.

I hope you get your water troubles permentantly fixed!

[haulingthescoreup]

We had, ummm, stuff bubbling back up through the floor drain in the basement bathroom. Turns out that not only was the septic tank full, the septic field needed to be completely dug up and relaid. Took a good chunk of change, and right before now-DXH's and my 25th anniversary. We called it our "septic" anniversary, instead of our silver anniversary.

Might have been an omen, in fact.

Hang in there, you'll get through it.

[Booner72]

You both win!

[haulingthescoreup]

lol, not a battle that anyone wants to win.

But this is a great example of why home buyers (especially first-timers) will get advice about having a big chunk of savings above and beyond the purchase costs.

Owning a home is like owning a temperamental Thoroughbred race horse. There's always something that needs fixing.

[IOBA]

Booner72 - lol - not out to win the "worse experience ever" contest.  Just wanted to make you smile and hope you feel less like it was the end of the world. 

Yeah, things like that crop up.   The water company here (where I live now) doens't do leak alerts.  I found out that the water meter inside this house (different house from outdoor water problem) was leaking on my own.  Water company told me to stop being worried since the water bill was so freakin' low compared to my neighbors even with the water leak!   

I think that was a nice service they provided you.