I began a re-piping project at our house many months ago. Like many homeowners in Southern California we had a slab leak at our house. A plumber isolated the problem so we could keep the water on. A friend drew me a sketch of how I could re-route the water pipes through our garage and attic and abandon the leaky pipes in the concrete floor. I started to re-pipe but since we still had running water I put the project aside. However, a new slab leak appeared recently. I realized I needed to finish what I started months ago and get all of the water out of the floor.
The smartest solution was to hire a plumber or re-pipe company. But I thought I could do it myself. I have built several room additions and my friend had sketched out a plan. I just needed finish the job.
I turned off the main outside valve that supplied water to the house and then cut the cold water pipe in the attic. I knew that once I cut that pipe there was no turning back. When the Spanish explorer Cortes invaded Mexico in the 1500’s he burned his ships so his troops knew there was no turning back. When I cut that pipe in the attic, I knew there was no turning back.
If I had hired a plumber or re-pipe company the job would have been done in one or two days. By doing the work myself it took me almost a week. That was a long time to not have any running water in our house. My wife deserves a medal for her patience and support going a week without water.
We filled buckets from the lawn sprinkler system and brought water into the house. We took sponge baths, cold showers and flushed toilets with buckets of water. We missed the convenience of running water. We looked forward to hearing the noise of the dishwasher, the washing machine and the shower again.
I know there are communities around the world that do not have any running water. Some people carry water for miles from a well back to their village. I shouldn’t complain about a week without water. But it was quite an adventure trying to re-pipe our water lines. (continued)
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Let Me Encourage You by Mark Hopper 