Sump pumps...

[witzend]

So, we all know about the rats and the possible racoons that we have been fighting here. Since before New Years a "wildlife specialist" has been tracking racoons that aren't there. Just as I had assumed all along, they are big fat rats in our crawl space. The guy had not wanted to go down into the crawl space to check what was going on, because he didn't want to get in there with racoons. We have a 30 day thing paid for. It's the 20th...

So, Monday he stops by and finally goes into the crawlspace to get a good look. He comes up with good news - just rats - and bad news - the crawl space is flooded. Both sump pumps had quit on us. He said that the water on the North Shore was "up to the top of the foundation of the fireplace about 30 feet across. husband is nonplussed. He figures he'll get around to it.

A neighbor who has an in ground pool with an extra pump brought it by last night and got hubby started on the South Lake, which is at the top of our slope and the back of the house. That was very nice of him, it's what neighbors do. We helped him raise the foundation for and put a shell on his back yard sauna, plus have lent him our table saw for the duration.

But, still there is the North Shore. I had been smelling a mildewy smell under the dishwasher, and now I know why. husband hasn't even looked. Was the guy saying that it has soaked our sill plate? If so, our house is toast! So, I ask husband last night if he is going to drain it or what? He's going to drain it. OK, when? Soon. He's got five weeks vacation time coming. I explain to him that the wildlife guy needs to be under the house Thursday morning to check the traps and look for points of entry. There's an 8:30 appointment. He has to be able to see if the ground is disturbed.

So, tonight at 6 when he should have been off work at 5 I call him. Did he get time off of work? "Well. I suppose I can." I remind him it has to be done before the guy comes to check the crawl space. Which, by the way, husband is too rotund to fit into, so having this young skinny guy crawl into it is a real boon. And, of course, husband eating like we're all going to die of starvation tomorrow so he snores all night and I got 2 hours sleep last night isn't helping. husband calls back to say he has Thursday off. "Great, husband. Do you think you can have the crawl space emptied and dry by 8:30 AM?" "I guess I can try for Wednesday."

Tell me this. Whose boss doesn't let you drain your flooded house? What husband is such a nincompoop that he thinks it should wait until next weekend when it's raining Oregon rain and the pump doesn't work and the water's already to to top of the foundation?

Sorry ladies, but he's been a PITA all week. And he thinks I'm grumpy about the puppy. NOT!

 

[susiestar]

A husband who wants to have no house to take care of

OR

A husband who wants his wife to pay someone else to do the job.

If you have to hire someone to pay for it, what of his stuff will you pawn to pay for it? His computer or game system? His gadgets?

Just wondering. My husband knows when I tell him NOW that he has to get it done. But unless I do something like that he simply won't take care of anything.

Our ONLY car is making TWO bad noises. One from the front tires and one that means the turn signal switch needs to be replaced.

I learned today that he specifically told our children to NOT tell me about these noises. He doesn't want to have to deal with the hassle of taking the car to the shop.

He ALSO won the punishment "flogging with a rubber chicken" by using his phone to check the score of the basketball game he was working the door at.

Yes, he was in the building the game was being played in. Fairly close. It was during the game so the 3 people on each door were just chatting. He could EASILY have gone to see the score or let one of the other people use THEIR phones, but he used HIS. He tried to tell me he "thought" we had a small data package. Yes, we did. For 20 days when we first got the phones 3 years ago.

I guess all these months where he did NO internet anything didn't mean anything because he remembered that ONCE, a long time ago, he did get to go on the internet on his phone.

He ALSO used it to check the weather. Gee, going outside didn't occur to you?

I REALLY REALLY hope the "cool" factor of being the guy who got to check the score and the weather on his phone was worth the $40+ he blew on that.

I now get to go blow $40. I am thinking of a special body pillow that the docs suggested a few years ago and again recently.

What do you think YOUR husband should do to apologize to you for being an idiot? Maybe after you pawn his stuff he will realize you meant what you said when you said by Thursday morning?

Sorry he is so difficult.

 

[witzend]

If only his computer system was worth the $4 - 6 thousand it's going to take. GRRR!

 

[Shari]

I'm sorry

 

[witzend]

He's going under the house any minute now. Mind you, he's just getting started at 11:30 AM when he's actually been back from an early appointment since 9:15. And I had to make him put snack food away and start actually doing something instead of "thinking about it". Theory is great when you're talking the unknown, but getting in there and doing is the only way it becomes known.

One of my suggestions to him was that we pump the water into the downspout drain. He isn't sure that the thing drains properly into the street, so he runs a hose through it and decides that it doesn't. I remark that perhaps that is one reason why so much water is in the crawl space. He suggests that he dig a new drain for the downspout.



How about if you just empty the water out of the crawl space first?

 

[AnnieO]

Slap him with a wet noodle.

Hot, wet noodle.

Hot, wet LASAGNA noodle.

I hope he gets that drained out. Because you're right, it could be a serious issue. We're lucky that we don't have either a crawl space OR a sump pump - but we discovered the back garage (long story) leaks when it is really rainy. YIKES!

Maybe I can send the "new" husband over to help yours? Just don't let mine cut any holes in the wall.

 

[Red Chief]

On behalf of all lazy husbands everywhere I apologize.

I really can't tell you why we're like that...
Maybe because we are just wired different from you ladies.
Not trying to excuse your husband's actions. Leaking crawlspaces are a very serious thing that need quick action.

A couple of years ago, our water heater started leaking. I knew I could probably replace it myself, but I kept putting it off because I was afraid of messing up. I felt real stupid when wife called someone to fix it. Now I wish I would have saved the extra $400 and just did it myself.

 

[Star*]

Okay this is where I have given up Witz. I'm sorry ladies, I'm sorry gentlemen. I'm apologizing for nothing really because RC is right and Witz is right and what I am about to say is right. Witz your husband SHOULD fix this now. RC men and women ARE wired differently and there is no doubt that as the sexes go, figuring things go, how to tackle things go we (sexes) will hardly ever; even with explanations see eye to eye. THAT SAID: I'm not explaining nuttin' no more. WHY? Simple. Either way? I get koi. Example:

The floor in the kitchen under the dishwasher is rotted. (FACT)

I could say to DF - "The floor under the dishwasher is rotted, can you take a look at it?"
In my womans mind since he is HANDY - TO ME, as a woman this means a few things - a.) You will crawl under the house; assess the damage and report back to your mate with a damage control estimate. b.) You will tell me you can not crawl under the house and I need to call a professional.

If it was choice a.) then there are a few things I would imagine WILL happen 1.) you assess the damage as minor, get a list together, go to Lowes and price material, tell me that XXX needs to be removed from the kitchen, plan a day to do this that is conducive to both our schedules and pray for a sunny work day. 2.) you assess the damage as minor, get estimates from a few professionals and choose the best person for the job, tell me XXX needs to be removed from the kitchen, THEY tell me what day is planned for the work and we pray for them to show up with a 50% deposit on materials.

However in his mans mind....it means....."Well I have absolutely no idea what it means, if I did we wouldn't have this problem would we?" UGH.

See.....either way - once I TELL HIM? I BELIEVE THAT THINGS WILL HAPPEN.....NOT......SITS ON THE COUCH, ITCHING HIMSELF, FORGETS, WATCHES TV, STARTS OTHER PROJECTS, FORGETS, AND CUTES his way OUT OF FIXING YET ANOTHER ROUNDTUIT project in the MONEYPIT.

So......NOW what I have begun to do? Same scenario.

The floor in the kitchen under the dishwasher is rotted. (FACT)

I find the crawlspace, I put on my dustcover, grab a flashlight, get my digital camera. Take some pictures. Shoot them over to a floor guy. Ask him - HOW BAD do you think this is? My kitchen is XX ft. x XX ft. Do you charge for estimates? How long? How much? When can you come? Are you insured?

BEFORE professional man EVEN comes, calls or otherwise makes it to my house? I know how much this will cost, how long it will take, what is involved in labor, how hard it is. THEN....and ONLY THEN.....do I attempt to go to DF with pictures....and estimates and then I say....

THE FLOOR IN THE KITCHEN under the dishwasher is rotted. (fact) He says "I noticed that, I'll check it out this weekend if you remind me." (AHHHHHA!) I hand him pictures, estimates and then I say "It will cost around, take about, and be done by, if we hire this guy, and if we don't do it now it will fall in and cost us $$ 2x as much in 3 weeks." TA DA. FIND THE MONEY -" Then I say - I also got his material list, went to Lowes, priced this stuff and if we do it ourselves we can save $$ XX. CAN YOU and I do this Saturday?"

Which loosely equates to - I will hand you tools and bring you beer, listen to you swear, and smile because you are working.

 

[Red Chief]

Which loosely equates to - I will hand you tools and bring you beer, listen to you swear, and smile because you are working.

Speaking as a professional lazy husband, sometimes that's all I need. A little kick in the behind to get me going, and someone to be there to lend a hand & hear me whine.

 

[witzend]

I should have one of those machines that has a bunch of boots on a wheel to kick husband repeatedly in the behind.

He went down in the basement, I asked how it was, he made some noises. Then he comes up, says "Come outside with me." OK. He shows me the neighbor's pump and how to prime it, he is going to go into the crawl space and put the other end into the water out there. I'm in my jammies and slippers. It's about 45 degrees out and getting ready to rain. No biggie, I still need to shower anyway. I've got the puppy tethered to a bush and he's not liking it, but he needs to learn at some point. So, husband walks away and says over his shoulder, "Should I get you a chair?"

Huh? "How long am I going to be out here?" "I don't know." "An hour? Two hours?" "I don't know." Well for crying out loud! Let me go potty, put on a coat and grab a book & something to drink and put the puppy in his crate! Which I do.

Then I go out and prime the pump for him. It gushes then gets lighter flow. He makes me do it again five times. I finally tell him that I am going to prime it from the draining end, and when he doesn't see bubbles coming out his end anymore I'll start the pump. It works. Then the tells me to stop, because it has stopped inhaling. I tell him to stop being so impatient and wait, because I can see the water pumping out through the window in the pump. 'Lo and behold, it gets going again, and we run it for about 1/2 an hour. Then he turns it off because he needs to move the hose. Then he resets the sump.

The sump starts working and it shoots water about 3 feet up the downspout drain that's 20 feet up the hill from the pump, and then down into our neighbor's crawl space. We're using walkie-talkies and I tell him to come up and look. He says OK. 10 minutes later, he's still down below. I ask him to please come to the back yard now. "You want me up there?" Yes!

So, now we have determined that the drain from the gutter needs to be cleared at least from the back of the house to the front of the house where we can actually have it not drain into our neighbor's house. I'll be darned if I'm going to not hire a plumber at my house but have to pay for a plumber and repairs at my lazy neighbors house! Seems like a great time for him to change into dry clothes and call it a day, right? NOT!

It is time to get the 50' snake out and snake the drain! Then we can use the swimming pool pump to take up the drainage from the sump pump, if necessary. Or at least let it geyser out the front downspout drain into our own yard instead of into the neighbor's yard!

Star, the "This is how much it's going to cost" thing can work sometimes, but that's taking for granted that he has any clue as to how much money we have or need. The man has no concept whatsoever and never understand even when you say "don't buy anything because there is no money." He'll just use the debit card and figure someone (me) will take care of it before the bank figures it out.

 

[witzend]

On the other side of the house when we added on, we found that the downspouts didn't actually drain to anywhere. The pipe went about five feet out from the house and then stopped. (Cheapskate builders!) We had to dig a trench out to the street and break through the curb so that we could add a drain pipe to the line.

husband got a wire hanger out and reamed out the last few feet of line from the back to the front of the house. But from the front of the house to the street seems blocked. Of course, that takes for granted that there actually is a line from the house to the street. Either way, I think we will be digging a trench again this summer.

 

[Lothlorien]

Good grief! Sounds messy and expensive and really, really aggravating.

I was going to say something ridiculous about him cyphening on a hose, but I thought better of it.....sorry...this stinks!

 

[KTMom91]

What a mess. Fingers crossed the damage isn't too extensive.

 

[Star*]

Okay seriously, the man doesn't know how to unclog a rain gutter drain???

I'm so sorry Witz. One has to wonder though if your lazy neighbor may have unclogged THEIR basement at one point and it all ran into YOUR basement.

 

[witzend]

Okay seriously, the man doesn't know how to unclog a rain gutter drain???

I'm so sorry Witz. One has to wonder though if your lazy neighbor may have unclogged THEIR basement at one point and it all ran into YOUR basement.

No way the neighbor flooded our basement, they are seriously downhill from us.