A few weeks ago I wrote about the ever-so-pleasant stench of raw sewage that seemed to be invading our home. After spending nearly $1,000 on repairs and hoping the problem would go away I’m afraid to say that it did not.
This time the plumbers showed up with a giant ladder and a smoke producing machine that poured black smoke down our vent pipe in search of leaks. When I asked about the amount of smoke that would flow into our house I was told it would be minimal. Unfortunately that was not the case for us. The minute the test began the house began filling with smoke so thick I could barely see.
In order to isolate the issue the lovely plumbers proceeded to bust through the plaster walls and ceiling in search of cracks in the pipes. Two rooms will need plaster repair. One is relatively minor, the other is missing half the ceiling and a large chunk of one wall.
But what’s a girl to do? If the 60 year old pipes in your house have cracks in them you have to bust through the walls, find the cracks and repair them. In our case we’ve decided to replace the entire stretch of pipe while the ceiling and walls are open. Otherwise we risk opening everything up again in a few months or years when the rest of the pipes decay.
The cost for all of these repairs: $4,700. That doesn’t include the cost of hiring a general contractor to fix the plaster walls and repaint once the plumbing job is complete. (I’m so happy that we just had the entire house painted less than 9 months ago.)
Ahhhhhh… The joys of homeownership.