Steve and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day
It actually started yesterday as we were getting our boys ready for the annual Deacon/Minister fellowship. Zachary was taking a shower in our bathroom--since it is the only one that works without screeching like a screaming banshee the whole time you are running the water. We have a removable shower head and he was putting it back on the holder when the pipe broke off and everything fell down on him.
So I knew I was going to be working on fixing our shower when I went to bed last night, but I still stayed up until 1:30 am so I could finish my book I had been reading for the last few days. The first thing I planned to attempt was to get the broken metal piece out of the metal elbow. About 1/2" of pipe was still threaded in solidly and would not budge. I admit that I thought about calling a plumber at that point, but we just do not have enough money to pay for one. So I consulted the internet and found many sites that suggested that you cut the broken pipe with a hacksaw being careful not to cut into the threads of the elbow. Since the inside of the pipe is 1/2" in diameter, I had to remove the blade from the handle and hold the blade by hand. It took me about 40 minutes to do this and still nothing was moving. I even tried a second cut 180 degrees from the first as suggested by one sight and nada.
That is when I put out a request for advice on twitter...and nobody responded. BUT, since my twitter feed is linked to my facebook status, I did get a response from one of my facebook friends. He suggested that I simply remove the elbow and start fresh from the supply line. So, I used my hacksaw blade and cut the elbow off which took a couple hours because the hole I was working through was only 3" in diameter. Some of that time was also spent resting my aching hand that had been rubbed raw in a few spots.
After returning home with the supplies I needed, I discovered that the new elbow, although the correct size, would not fit over the recently cut pipe. So I spent a few hours using a small metal file attempting to smooth out some rough spots. In the process I bent the copper supply line slightly and had to try to work to re-round the end. During this process the hole in the wall expanded a few inches so that the metal plate will no longer cover it...which means I get to do some drywall patching and touch up painting later. I think I would have had to do this anyway since the supply line is about 1/2" shorter now anyway.
When I finally was able to get the elbow to slide down onto the now smooth and re-rounded copper supply line, it became stuck and would not budge. Now, this would be good if I had already put on the bonding cement. After wiggling the elbow back and forth I got it released and went to get the bonding cement. I decided that I had better read the instructions well because I did not want to struggle with that elbow again. Guess what the instructions said? Basically it warned against inhaling, sniffing or smelling the cement as it could cause brain damage. Just what I needed. It actually smelled nice.
I got the elbow on and waited the prescribed 15 minutes before screwing the elbow into the wood stud. As I did, the pipe slipped out of the elbow just as if the bonding cement had actually been grease. So I reapplied the bonding cement (did I mention that it smells good) and waited longer before screwing the elbow to the stud. Then I attached the shower extension piece (it is actually called a nipple) to the elbow with plumbers dope. I waited about 30 minutes longer than I needed according to the cement and dope instructions and tested the seals. Bet you could guess that the pipes leaked. So I resealed and will wait until tomorrow afternoon to test them again.
In the meantime, as I was taking a short break Wendy came up from the laundry room to inform me that the hot water heater was leaking. I went down to check and could only see water from underneath it. So I turned off the circuit for it and we called General Home Repair to add that to our growing list of things they are doing for us.
Glad I didn't call a plumber for the shower, because it wouldn't do us any good without hot water. It is now 10 PM on Saturday. I am going to my comfortable bed in my air conditioned house which no longer leaks in the rain (thanks to General Home Repair) and will try to sleep a little before getting up and taking a cold shower to the sound of a screaming banshee before I go to church for our three morning worship services. Then I get to come home and work on the shower. I would rather move to Australia.
So I knew I was going to be working on fixing our shower when I went to bed last night, but I still stayed up until 1:30 am so I could finish my book I had been reading for the last few days. The first thing I planned to attempt was to get the broken metal piece out of the metal elbow. About 1/2" of pipe was still threaded in solidly and would not budge. I admit that I thought about calling a plumber at that point, but we just do not have enough money to pay for one. So I consulted the internet and found many sites that suggested that you cut the broken pipe with a hacksaw being careful not to cut into the threads of the elbow. Since the inside of the pipe is 1/2" in diameter, I had to remove the blade from the handle and hold the blade by hand. It took me about 40 minutes to do this and still nothing was moving. I even tried a second cut 180 degrees from the first as suggested by one sight and nada.
That is when I put out a request for advice on twitter...and nobody responded. BUT, since my twitter feed is linked to my facebook status, I did get a response from one of my facebook friends. He suggested that I simply remove the elbow and start fresh from the supply line. So, I used my hacksaw blade and cut the elbow off which took a couple hours because the hole I was working through was only 3" in diameter. Some of that time was also spent resting my aching hand that had been rubbed raw in a few spots.
After returning home with the supplies I needed, I discovered that the new elbow, although the correct size, would not fit over the recently cut pipe. So I spent a few hours using a small metal file attempting to smooth out some rough spots. In the process I bent the copper supply line slightly and had to try to work to re-round the end. During this process the hole in the wall expanded a few inches so that the metal plate will no longer cover it...which means I get to do some drywall patching and touch up painting later. I think I would have had to do this anyway since the supply line is about 1/2" shorter now anyway.
When I finally was able to get the elbow to slide down onto the now smooth and re-rounded copper supply line, it became stuck and would not budge. Now, this would be good if I had already put on the bonding cement. After wiggling the elbow back and forth I got it released and went to get the bonding cement. I decided that I had better read the instructions well because I did not want to struggle with that elbow again. Guess what the instructions said? Basically it warned against inhaling, sniffing or smelling the cement as it could cause brain damage. Just what I needed. It actually smelled nice.
I got the elbow on and waited the prescribed 15 minutes before screwing the elbow into the wood stud. As I did, the pipe slipped out of the elbow just as if the bonding cement had actually been grease. So I reapplied the bonding cement (did I mention that it smells good) and waited longer before screwing the elbow to the stud. Then I attached the shower extension piece (it is actually called a nipple) to the elbow with plumbers dope. I waited about 30 minutes longer than I needed according to the cement and dope instructions and tested the seals. Bet you could guess that the pipes leaked. So I resealed and will wait until tomorrow afternoon to test them again.
In the meantime, as I was taking a short break Wendy came up from the laundry room to inform me that the hot water heater was leaking. I went down to check and could only see water from underneath it. So I turned off the circuit for it and we called General Home Repair to add that to our growing list of things they are doing for us.
Glad I didn't call a plumber for the shower, because it wouldn't do us any good without hot water. It is now 10 PM on Saturday. I am going to my comfortable bed in my air conditioned house which no longer leaks in the rain (thanks to General Home Repair) and will try to sleep a little before getting up and taking a cold shower to the sound of a screaming banshee before I go to church for our three morning worship services. Then I get to come home and work on the shower. I would rather move to Australia.
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