MrWhatsit woke me up this morning before departing for work, to inform me that our bathroom sink had sprung a leak and that water was dripping through the under-sink cabinet, into the floor, and through the ceiling of the downstairs. He further informed me that he had put a plastic tub underneath the pipes to catch the leak, but that I needed to call a plumber anyway and also he was late for work already so “Have a great day! Bye!”
I will pause here to let you all envision my reaction.
Okay, so, I called a plumber and they’re coming out here tomorrow. In the meantime I noticed that not only did the wet ceiling not appear to be drying out, but seemed to possibly be getting worse. Also, our excellently built 1970s-era M/I home (M/I being one of those companies that comes in and builds entire neighborhoods at a time) doesn’t have one of those nifty valves that lets you turn off water to just the sink. So now the water to our entire house is shut off. Until tomorrow. Luckily we had a 5-gallon bucket and a couple of pitchers handy, but still, things might get a little rough once Whatsit Jr. and MiniWhatsit are home from school.
This sucks. One of the best parts about renting was being able to just call up the landlord and say, “There’s water pouring out of the ceiling. Come fix it.” Homeownership has its disadvantages, ya know.
Call your insurance company and see if they’ll spring for a hotel for the night. How old are the little Whatsits? If they’re young enough, it might be a good case for getting them to a place with water.
If insurance won’t pay for it - can you and MrWhatsit afford a hotel for a night? Might be fun for the kids!
I think it depends on where you live far more than whether you rent or own. (I’ve rented from cr*p management companies who were incredibly lethargic in replying to any request.)
When I lived in London, plumbers often took 24 hours to respond and also charged an ‘emergency callout fee’. There were also a handful of cowboys (there’s a TV called ‘Rogue Traders’ which proves this).
Having moved to a country town, I too got a bathroom leak. With despair in my heart, I called a local plumber.
“Can you come straightaway? I’ll pay!”
“Sorry, Glee, can’t do that. But I can come … in 20 minutes, when I finish this job. Oh, and there’s no callout charge.”
If you have the water shut off and it’s still leaking, you still have water trapped in the pipes. Open the bad faucet, then go downstairs and open another faucet. Pipes will drain downhill.
Ask plumber what it will cost to install shutoffs while he’s there. Damn cheap insurance.
Thank you all for the advice/support/jokes. Nothing like a good Sam Jackson reference to brighten up an otherwise-dreary “my ceiling is going to cave in on me any minute now” kind of day.
To address a couple of points, the ceiling has stopped leaking and the plaster appears to be drying out, so I think turning the water off has solved that problem for now. As for staying in a hotel… nah, the Whatsits are a tough crowd, it takes more than a busted pipe to run us out of the house. Besides, trust me, it would be a much bigger hassle to pack up three small children and all sundry associated items and move into a hotel for the night, than it is to spend a day and a half without water.
Hopefully the plumber is able to fix things easily tomorrow and we don’t have any lasting damage. Keeping my fingers crossed.
