Alabama Tracks

Sing along with me:

There’s a hole in the bottom of the house

There’s a hole in the bottom of the house

There’s a hole, there’s a hole

There’s a hole in the bottom of the house

There’s a leak in the hole in the bottom of the house …

You can stop singing now. A few weeks ago I noticed a damp spot under the window by the kitchen. Didn’t think much of it because it was early and could have been condensation. A few days later I was walking Ruthie and noticed it was wet in ther afternoon. In the middle of a drought. Not good. So we called a plumber recommended by a builder friend. They took one look under our sink, found pex and pretty much called it quits. He didn’t believe me when I told him we had copper under the foundation but I had pictures to prove it. So anyways, onto plumber number 2. They come out, feel under the boards, declare they can’t remove the wall, tell us to remove it and call them back, and charge us $55 for the call.

And there it’s sat. Leaking silently. Today we were determined to get something done so we went out and bought a low end circular saw, a flat crow bar and a hammer. And then we set about removing the siding. Sadly, the siding did not survive the removal process (concrete fiber siding) but, thankfully, it’s pretty cheap stuff.

Next came the hard part. I had to use the circular saw to cut a hole in the side where the pipe is but in such a way that I could reattach it later. I missed the stud I was aiming for in cutting but I did succeed in making a cut section that we can reattach with minimal effort. A little caulk and some nails and hopefully this hole will be a temporary one.

We’ve got it tarped for now. Monday we call the plumber and have him come back and fix the leak. There’s no insulation between him and the leaking part of the pipe so hopefully this will be short and sweet and we can patch the hole up Monday night. Maybe. Siding will have to wait a bit longer until someone with a bit more experience than I can help us put two new panels up and make it look nice again.

If you were hoping for something Ruthie this time around here’s your fix. You’re welcome

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