# 3 separate leaks from three independent, simultaneous events in my basement?! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 26, 2010, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3-separate-leaks-from-three-independent-simultaneous-events-in-my-basement/537445 "2010-04-26T19:46:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3-separate-leaks-from-three-independent-simultaneous-events-in-my-basement/537445/1 "2010-04-26T19:46:41Z")
☹ Good Lord! My A/C is leaking, my water heater has to be replaced ($1000 for the equipment + installation), and I have a groundwater leak from the exceptionally rainy winter we had. What the fuck, universe? We just had a baby! Did you not think our resources were stretched enough? Goddamn, home ownership blows sometimes. Oh, and it looks like we’ll have to replace our roof soon, too. Don’t mind me. I’ll be in the corner, whimpering (y’know, if I’m not out selling blood, sperm, and sexual services to raise some money). ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3-separate-leaks-from-three-independent-simultaneous-events-in-my-basement/537445/2 "2010-04-26T20:50:01Z")
Damn, you know they say trouble comes in threes. Why was the water heater so expensive to replace? I replaced my electric one earlier this year for $400 or so, including copper pipe compression fittings and a pipe cutter. ---
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3-separate-leaks-from-three-independent-simultaneous-events-in-my-basement/537445/3 "2010-04-26T20:59:26Z")
Basically because I have never sweated copper pipe, and I really have no idea what to do in order to make sure the heater is installed according to code. Yeah, the heater alone is about $400, but pile assorted other parts and services on top ($230 for install. $50 for a stand, $50 for an expansion tank, $$$$ for having to move the flue, shorten the pipes, whatever else to compensate for the fact that we’ve never had it on a stand before). And since we have a newborn in the house, I can’t really afford to have the hot water out of service for however long it takes me to figure out how to sweat the pipes properly and install the damn thing. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3-separate-leaks-from-three-independent-simultaneous-events-in-my-basement/537445/4 "2010-04-26T21:40:23Z")
Yeah I’ve never sweated pipe either, but I found copper compression fittings that did a good job. That allowed me to connect a standard flex-pipe to connect my new hot water heater to my existing copper pipes, without soldering. ---
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3-separate-leaks-from-three-independent-simultaneous-events-in-my-basement/537445/5 "2010-04-26T21:47:41Z")
Hmmmm…compression fittings? Hold the phones. I’ll have to investigate this possibility. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3-separate-leaks-from-three-independent-simultaneous-events-in-my-basement/537445/6 "2010-04-26T21:52:57Z")
Yep. I was happy to buy a house with copper pipes, but did not have the ability to work on them. Check this out: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9c5LWFI\_M4](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9c5LWFI_M4) ---
**Author:** ![NinetyWt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3-separate-leaks-from-three-independent-simultaneous-events-in-my-basement/537445/7 "2010-04-26T23:24:41Z")
Oh, come on Ogre. Just give in to Nature and enjoy your indoor pool. BTW, where in Alabama did you find a house with a basement? ---
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3-separate-leaks-from-three-independent-simultaneous-events-in-my-basement/537445/8 "2010-04-26T23:43:49Z")
Wow. Thanks, **control-z**! **NinetyWt** , we’re in a particularly hilly section of Birmingham. Lots of topography, and a lot of the houses are built into the hillsides. No prairie mud here. 🙂 It’s all sandstone and limestone. ---
**Author:** ![Salem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8c91f0/32.png) [@Salem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Salem)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2010, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3-separate-leaks-from-three-independent-simultaneous-events-in-my-basement/537445/9 "2010-04-27T01:25:13Z")
If it makes you feel any better (it won’t), this has been dubbed “the year of the leaks” in my family. Seems everyone has had roof leaks, pipe leaks, water in the basement…you name it. One day I came downstairs after it had been pouring, pouring rain all night and I had listened to the drip, drip, drip from a leak in my bedroom ceiling. Got downstairs to find both of my skylights (in a relatively new addition to the house) had been leaking, so the floor was a mess and then I see water dripping from the doorway and the ceiling lights! And cause I wasn’t having enough fun, I went downstairs to get something and found a basement FULL of water. We have two sump holes. The newer, lower one where the pump is now, had stopped working at some point, filling the lower basement, which caused the old sump hole to fill with water and overflow into the older basement where all the appliances and furnace are. And I hadn’t even had coffee yet!!! So three leaks, on three separate floors! I was ready to move to the dessert… All fixed now, thank goodness. Good luck with your leaks. Hope you stay dry for a long time. ---
**Author:** ![NinetyWt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2010, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3-separate-leaks-from-three-independent-simultaneous-events-in-my-basement/537445/10 "2010-04-27T03:43:12Z")
> [@Ogre](#): > > **NinetyWt** , we’re in a particularly hilly section of Birmingham. Lots of topography, and a lot of the houses are built into the hillsides. No prairie mud here. 🙂 It’s all sandstone and limestone. Well, I swanee! But seriously, sorry to hear about your troubles. Groundwater is high here as well. I’ve been called out to look at a lot of ‘drainage problems’ which are actually groundwater. > [@Salem](#): > > So three leaks, on three separate floors! I was ready to move to the dessert… All fixed now, thank goodness. Shoot, on a day like that, I’d have eaten dessert _first_. ---
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2010, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3-separate-leaks-from-three-independent-simultaneous-events-in-my-basement/537445/11 "2010-04-27T16:52:11Z")
> [@Salem](#): > > If it makes you feel any better (it won’t), this has been dubbed “the year of the leaks” in my family. Seems everyone has had roof leaks, pipe leaks, water in the basement…you name it. One day I came downstairs after it had been pouring, pouring rain all night and I had listened to the drip, drip, drip from a leak in my bedroom ceiling. Got downstairs to find both of my skylights (in a relatively new addition to the house) had been leaking, so the floor was a mess and then I see water dripping from the doorway and the ceiling lights! And cause I wasn’t having enough fun, I went downstairs to get something and found a basement FULL of water. We have two sump holes. The newer, lower one where the pump is now, had stopped working at some point, filling the lower basement, which caused the old sump hole to fill with water and overflow into the older basement where all the appliances and furnace are. And I hadn’t even had coffee yet!!! > > So three leaks, on three separate floors! I was ready to move to the dessert… All fixed now, thank goodness. > > Good luck with your leaks. Hope you stay dry for a long time. Jesus. That’s insane. At least I got coffee first. 🙂 OK, one down, two to go. The A/C problem was a simple maintenance issue. It appears to be taken care of. Next up: water heater. Blech.