Back to the Other Job
Oct. 14th, 2003 10:21 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ltmurnauOK, plumbing crisis resolved more or less. On Sunday I did find the pipe, about six inches from the first place I dug. Problem was I dug trenches in five other places first. Let's say my faith in dowsing has not been reinforced.
I found the pipe with the tip of my pickaxe - I was working on the wall of the trench and suddenly the bottom of the hole filled with water (luckily it was just water, since nothing nastier had been put into the line since Friday). I then found that the old guy who owned the house before I did - a retired engineer who liked to "fix" things around the house - had put in a cleanout (like an access port) to the line by himself. Instead of putting in a proper T-joint as a plumber would, he had simply cut a hole in the top of the line, attached a vertical piece of pipe with a cap and then wrapped up the join with plastic from a peat-moss bag and some hammered-flat tin cans. Sigh.
Anyway, the plumber and I got the line cleared of tree roots (in the pelting rain, luckily our power did not go out) and he will be back next week to put in a proper join and cleanout. But we had somethign to be thankful for on Sunday night: indoor plumbing, showers, and a kitchen sink that worked!
I spent Monday filling in holes and digging out the pipe properly for next week's repairs. That was fun because instead of flinty-hard, very dry soil, it was now all sticky clay from having been rained on and weighed three times more than it should.
Anyway, as I was saying before, the Carnival of Destruction was lots of fun. People kept coming up during the night to look at the "Atsu Massager", as I decided to call it, since it was the one piece that wasn't there to be destroyed. Like most pieces of kinetic sculpture, I had to tend it most of the night and was so busy in fact that I neglected to make any movies of it in operation at the Gallery! Eve took two nice pictures of me fiddling with it though:
one
two
Someone who described herself as a "mosaicist" admired my machine at great length and insisted on having one of the cards I was feeding it. "You must sign it, and I must pay you money for it", she insisted. I signed it and had her buy me a beer instead. I'd just blow the money on groceries or plumbing repairs or frills like that; but hey, a beer you can drink, and it's cold and it's right there....
The used cards I donated (read: pitched onto the table from a great distance) to the Artist Trading Card making table. Eve made some really nice ones, lookee here. Unfortunately with the plumbing crisis I missed Saturday's trading session. Maybe next time.
I found the pipe with the tip of my pickaxe - I was working on the wall of the trench and suddenly the bottom of the hole filled with water (luckily it was just water, since nothing nastier had been put into the line since Friday). I then found that the old guy who owned the house before I did - a retired engineer who liked to "fix" things around the house - had put in a cleanout (like an access port) to the line by himself. Instead of putting in a proper T-joint as a plumber would, he had simply cut a hole in the top of the line, attached a vertical piece of pipe with a cap and then wrapped up the join with plastic from a peat-moss bag and some hammered-flat tin cans. Sigh.
Anyway, the plumber and I got the line cleared of tree roots (in the pelting rain, luckily our power did not go out) and he will be back next week to put in a proper join and cleanout. But we had somethign to be thankful for on Sunday night: indoor plumbing, showers, and a kitchen sink that worked!
I spent Monday filling in holes and digging out the pipe properly for next week's repairs. That was fun because instead of flinty-hard, very dry soil, it was now all sticky clay from having been rained on and weighed three times more than it should.
Anyway, as I was saying before, the Carnival of Destruction was lots of fun. People kept coming up during the night to look at the "Atsu Massager", as I decided to call it, since it was the one piece that wasn't there to be destroyed. Like most pieces of kinetic sculpture, I had to tend it most of the night and was so busy in fact that I neglected to make any movies of it in operation at the Gallery! Eve took two nice pictures of me fiddling with it though:
onetwoSomeone who described herself as a "mosaicist" admired my machine at great length and insisted on having one of the cards I was feeding it. "You must sign it, and I must pay you money for it", she insisted. I signed it and had her buy me a beer instead. I'd just blow the money on groceries or plumbing repairs or frills like that; but hey, a beer you can drink, and it's cold and it's right there....
The used cards I donated (read: pitched onto the table from a great distance) to the Artist Trading Card making table. Eve made some really nice ones, lookee here. Unfortunately with the plumbing crisis I missed Saturday's trading session. Maybe next time.
Crisis?
Date: 2003-10-14 06:14 pm (UTC)Pity you didn't call me. I could have helped you find it lickety-split, figuratively speaking.
Did the RotoRooter guy tell you whether the roots were from the trees on your property, or from the trees on city property? If the latter, the city pays.
Re: Crisis?
Date: 2003-10-14 06:55 pm (UTC)And next time something like this happens, I'll call you, Smart Alec. I need new people to blame anyway.
And it was tree roots on my property, no doubt about it. And killing the trees will not solve the problem, apparently.
Re: Crisis?
Date: 2003-10-14 08:54 pm (UTC)Well, if you let Mxo get to it without any preliminary preparation, you're lost. The correct approach would be to rush up to her and say (all the while grinning madly): "Guess what?! Guess what!? I finally found out how to shut off the sewage line!! Isn't that great?!? We can finally get it professionally cleaned now!! Oh joy, oh bliss!!"
And if she comments on the inconvenient timing, just remind her of how long you've been trying to do this, and since it's a long weekend, now is perfect.
You're absolutely correct that killing the trees will have no effect. You need to kill the trees' roots. It's just that simple. I'm a genius!
Re: Crisis?
Date: 2003-10-14 09:00 pm (UTC)I have to admit I did not think of your approach to explaining the matter at hand. Yes. I did not.
And as for the trees themselves, I am not sure if you are a genius, but I am reasonably sure that you work for Microsoft.