When it Rains, It Pours

So I thought I'd let you all in on what's really been going on. Sometimes it may seem like we always know what we're doing and that we're all that-ha-just kidding about that part. Most of the time, we are blessed with productive days, but not always. Tuesday, Jason and I were working on trim in the den. I went to check on mom and dad working on the faucet in the kids' bathroom. So the badness started here when dad figured out that the valve was not set deep enough, which meant that the faucet handle stuck out way farther than it should resulting in our cute water pump not looking so cute. There are a couple of ways this can be fixed, but the only really right way is to cut a hole in the sheetrock wall in the laundry room. Frustrating? Yes, but not a huge deal since I had considered putting a bead board wainscoat on that wall anyways. So cut a hole-move the valve, cover the hole with sheetrock and then wainscoat and no one would know if I wasn't so honest with you blog readers. I wish I could say the badness ended there, but as we continued on with the plumbing talk, we also discovered that we could potentially have a much larger problem. You see, the reason we think there could be a problem is that when you turn on the water in the master bathtub, you should only have water coming out of the cold side since we do not have the hot water heater hooked up yet. So what this most likely means is that the pipes were connected incorrectly somewhere along the line. You're probably thinking, so just hook them up correctly. If only it were that easy. The problem is that we have no idea where it is. Best case scenario, it is something we are not thinking of-we are not plumbers-that is why we hired them because we did not know how to do it. So maybe the answer is something simple-we hope so! Second best case scenario, we guess correctly and go straight to where the mix up is and get it fixed. Worst case scenario, we have to cut holes in all the places where the pipes stub out trying to find it with way more many holes than I want to think about. Thankfully most of these areas are where cabinets will be so if the wall repair is not perfect, it will be covered up anyways, but still. At first we were naturally devastated thinking the worst. It hurt our hearts to think of going around tearing up all of our hard work-taking steps back-not forward when things were moving along so well. After I've had time to think about it more, we are just going to fix it and move on. Really, what are a few hours or even days when you've been working on this house for two years? At first, Jason wanted to keep this a secret or maybe he just did not want to talk about it until it was fixed. I'm like that sometime. It was like he blamed himself for choosing the plumber who did this to us! But hey, even the best plumber in the world, has a bad day. I mean, no matter where the problem ends up lying (we had one plumber rough it in before the slab was poured and then another who stubbed it out, and recently my dad has been installing the faucets), I know no one did this on purpose. It is just one of those things that happens. It's called a mistake and we all make them. I am so proud of Jason for taking this house building on and working so hard and figuring so many thing out. I will mention this: There is one step that was left out that may have avoided this-I mainly mention this in case it can save anyone out there grief one day. The guys who stubbed it out did a pressure test, which is where they hook up the pipes to water and make sure there are no leaks. There is another test we have recently learned-where you test to make sure the hot and cold are not connected somewhere- something nice to know before the wall coverings are up. And at first, I thought, ugh, we are not plumbers and do not know this stuff. That is why we hired someone! I remember the night they were finishing up. It was a Saturday night, freezing cold, so yes, I am sure they were trying to get finished and leave and took their chance by skipping the test. So demand this test if you are having plumbing installed! Especially if the roughing in and stubbing out were done by two different people. I am far from being an expert, but it sounds like the perfect way to check each other's work. The plumber is supposed to meet us Thursday night to figure this out. Please pray for us that this is a quick fix with minimal backward steps. Regardless it is going to be fine and I am thankful we figured it out when we did so we can get this behind us. And to lighten up the mood of this dreadful post, I thought I would share how the day after the bad news went. So, we woke up the next morning feeling sad. Jason and I normally car pool but he drove hoping the plumber would be able to meet him during the day and figure this mess out. On my way to eat lunch with Jason, it was raining and I hit a big puddle. A little further down the road my "Check engine soon" light started flashing and my car was jerking around like when all the sheets get to one side in the washing machine. I was almost there, so I just held my breath and jerked into the parking lot. After we ate, Jason looked at it and saw where water got into this part. He could not get it completely dried out so told me to take his truck in case it did anything else-nice husband. So I had to run an errand for work, which was besides Sherwin Williams where we needed to get some paint mixed, so I dropped off my order, and got back in the truck. I cranked, heard the radio start up, and then nothing. The truck was dead-completely dead. I called Jason and he thought I was being facetious. But soon he was on his way in my spastic car trying to come rescue his queen in the rain storm. In the meantime, I'm waiting, burning up since I can't have the windows down, when I get this bright idea that for once, I will not be cheap or worry about the emissions from running the truck unnecessarily, and turn on the A/C. Ha. Man, I'm so smart sometime.

After passing the place up, Jason finally makes it to save me. Here he is standing in the rain. I thought he was under an awning when I took this, but he wasn't. So the rain finally let up, he tightened the wire or cable or whatever on the battery and I was on my way.

And the best part, I wore my "bubble shoes" on this nice, rainy day to top it all off. So I'm thinking we must have all of our bad luck out of the way by now, but just in case say a prayer that we figure out the plumbing with ease. Oh, and now you know why we were plumb tired the other day too :)