Daidal Tapestry

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Chapter 1, Page 11 - The tradesquarter

shirtgoth

on Oct. 5, 2008

After the branch came down, I was feeling pretty awesome and capable, and I wanted to do something to make Red happy.
I got the great idea to poke into faucet replacement for the kitchen sink, since we had already gotten a new one to put in. After studying for about a half an hour, it looked pretty simple and straightforward.
I get under the sink and take a peek and decide I want a showercap and goggles to prevent little crawly things from being tempted by my hair as a home, and I didn't want anything like spraying water in my eyes.

So, gear donned, I get back under the sink and proceed to shut off the sink water mains. The hot is a little tough, so I do the cold first, then get a wrench to do the leverage bit on the hot. It turns, and then starts leaking. Well, that's not supposed to happen. Perhaps I need it all the way shut…and is that line leading to the sink cracked? So I afix the line as best I can in place, and make another go at it.
It's just not working. Everything I try, it just keeps leaking. It is a Sunday night, I now have taken the time to measure the leak, and Red has gotten home. The plumbing is leaking at a quarter of a cup a minute, and it's approaching time for me to go to work. As you might guess, I feel like a royal… idiot is a good word in this situation.

Red had to stay up all night to empty the bucket every 15 minutes or so, and the next day was not fun.

When I get home, the plumbing places are finally open and we get someone on their way out. Upon removing the old hardware, we discover a piece of scale in the line.
Scale, since I am now initiated into the club of knowing what it is, is any substance other than water in the plumbing lines. This piece of plastic something or other had gotten wedged right in a place to prevent the old main valve from ever working right again.

It comes down to yes, I should have left well enough alone, and no, it wasn't entirely my fault.
That was two months ago, and I still feel terrible about it. I also wish I could say that this is the end of our troubles.
More next time…