How I got a hole drilled into my house

Mundane Pointless Stuff I Must Share (MPSIMS)
#1

So. I am in a LDR. (long distance relationship). I don’t see my gf all of the time, but only when we can meet up.

I took out a mortgage on a beautiful townhouse, which I inhabit in perpetuity. Upstairs there is an entirely separate mirror, sink and set of cabinets, such that it amounts to a deluxe vanity. I don’t use it; it is the province of my gf for sure.

But. The faucet leaked. Being upstairs, the water flowed down, through the downstairs ceiling. This is a major crisis for me; I now own this property, and there is a plumbing leak causing damage to other parts of the home. It simply must be fixed.

So. I called a plumbing company. They drilled a hole in the wall of the house I own that, in hindsight, wasn’t necessary (the hole-drilling into my house). Now I have to get some drywall putty & etc. to really fix this fuckup.

That aside, the actual solution cost more than $700. And it wasn’t really a genius plumbing solution, it was a new faucet, installed. I got a little bit ripped off, but the problem is solved and my hot gf is now free to enjoy her deluxe vanity without concern. As it should be, she really is something, I wish I had the words…

#2

Plumbing can be mysterious and expensive… or not. My mom was sure her kitchen sink drain was leaking. As it happened, we visited her right after she discovered it and just days before she was going to call the plumber (it was a weekend and she had ways to work around it, so she chose to avoid a weekend fee.) Turns out, the sprayer in the sink wasn’t attached securely to its hose, so when she turned the water on, it leaked… a LOT. My husband tightened it for her and became her hero!

#3

Huh, I’ve been trying for over a year to find an appropriate person to come and cut a hole in a wall of my house.

It’s kind of important not to let just anyone do it, and get someone who knows what they are doing! But who? I’ve asked a couple of friends who have said they’d be comfortable doing it at their house but someone else’s? Not so much!

So now I’m a little stumped as to who to get? Seems like a pretty small job to get an actually builder to undertake, but just some handy man seems a mistake.

It’s been over a year, but this spring it WILL hapoen, I swear!

(Condensation in an old bathroom, now seeing much more use, required a fan installation. Had it done by an electrician who did it all but the actual hole through the wall to outside. He was young and uncomfortable doing this part. No biggie, I thought. I was wrong! It’s literally just cut the hole, connect the vent tube thingy and the exterior cap. It’s even easy access to the second story side wall as there’s a single story room just below!)

#4

But he didn’t leave a rubber band wrapped around the trigger? I’m crushed.

#5

That’s not a big deal. Get one of your friends to come over and ‘show you what to do’. That way they can feel comfortable (because technically you’re doing it), but you get their (minimally required) expertise.

#6

Yeah, I’m not really comfortable trying to cut a hole through the side wall of my house. Wouldn’t even know where to start, to be honest. I do a lot of home repair, but not stuff out of reach!

#7

Sounds like you’ll have to fix a hole where the rain gets in.

#8

Do you have a ladder? Want to get one?
How about a drill with a 6" long bit (see tool store) and red paint or tape.
Then saber saw and caulk gun

Have the vent and flex duct (METAL - not the crap plastic sold in big boxes for dryer vents)?

Put something red on both ends of the drill bit, and drill through wall where the hole needs to be. Disconnect drill, leave bit in place.
Being red, it will be easy to see.

Now put a 3/8 or larger bit in drill, locate the small bit, lay out the desired shape, and drill a large hole in a corner.
Insert saber saw blade in hole just drilled and cut out the section you just laid out.

Retrieve pilot drill bit, remove red stuff.

Install duct and vent,

#9

Hole saw and corded drill, an electrical detector. Pick a spot without electrical wires in it and start drilling. Simple as that. I did it to my floor last year when instilling a new drain pipe but I learned not to use cordless drills because hole bits suck up a lot of juice, had to get a corded hammer drill…wow what a difference.

#10

Large diameter hole saws are:

  1. Expensive
  2. Tricky to control - if it is not exactly plane to the surface, one part will grab and the torque will (try to) rip the drill from your hand.

Unless done by a crappy DIYer, wires will be run along studs.
Use stud finder to make sure there will be no studs in your hole. I was assuming you would be running this through an unfinished attic. If there is some wall covering (drywall, et al), use the stud finder before drilling the pilot hole.

#11

The whole thing could have been avoided with better diagnostics on my part. Here’s what was happening: my gf would use the sink. The pipes directly under leaked into the cabinet. After a few hours, the water soaked through to the first floor ceiling- just a little though. But ANY water in the ceiling is a big problem.

It must be coming from that second sink! Well, on inspection, the bottom of the cabinet under the leaky sink is dry (because it has been a few hours <-- the part I didn’t realize in time). I figured the leak must be further back, wherever it is the pipes go, and leaking into the downstairs ceiling from there.

No. It was totally the faucet leaking into the cabinet. But now there is a 6" square cut out of the drywall upstairs, revealing the upstairs faucet pipes behind. The power of my suggestion that the leak was elsewhere persuaded the plumber to drill… or he was getting crazy in an effort to shake me down for big $$$. The next step was to drill through the downstairs ceiling! :eek:

So yah, I have to proceed from here as if I know nothing and become some kind of home maintenance expert ASAP.