In the Toilet

If you've ever read my blog before, you'll know how much I hate plumbing chores. Well, yesterday was no exception. The toilet in the master bath was having run-on problems (diarrhea of the toilet?). And I'm not just talking a little trickle. The damn thing just wouldn't stop gushing. So I decided to replace the flush valve and fill valve.

I've replaced the fill valve at least half a dozen times between my two bathrooms and the two where Jimbob used to live. The problem started when I couldn't get the water turned completely off. It was down to a slow trickle that I could contain with a large Tupperware bowl. I got everything taken apart, cleaned up and put back together.

Then I turned the water back on and flushed the toilet. It flushed just fine and stopped running right on cue...but I guess I didn't get the big foam gasket between the toilet and the tank seated right. Water gushed everywhere. So I disconnected the water again, drained the tank, cleaned up the mess and put it back together.

This time when I reconnected the water to the tank, the corrugated metal piece of shit pipe from the wall to the tank cracked. And of course there was no unscrewing it and replacing the broken hose. The builder used the cheapest labor and material on this house. After two calls to different plumbers, I decided I couldn't afford the $100 just for them to show up at my front door. Yes that was the fee for them to come out on a Saturday. Time and materials would be in addition to that.

A call to handy man, Doug was more encouraging. He was getting cleaned up to go to a wedding but he would come over later. He had to turn off the water outside, cut off part of the old pipe from the wall and sotter on a new connection. Only one last problem. When the toilet was originally installed, they had cracked the tank in half a dozen little hairline places. All said and done, Douglas charged $63. Big difference.

Tomorrow I'll stop at Home Depot on my home and buy a new tank. Grrr! I hate plumbing.

I probably shouldn't bring this up, but I think the big C is working again. I was sitting here at the computer when I heard a big bang in the garage. I thought maybe something had fallen off the wall, but when I went out to check, I didn't see anything amiss. I also checked out front to see if maybe someone had hit the door with a basketball. Nope, nothing there either.

This morning, I went to open the garage door to leave for church and all it would do is hum. There used to be a braided metal cord that helped pull up the door running in the upper track. Notice I said, used to be? When it let loose, it whammed into the door and that's what I heard. Damn!

Talk about a feeling of futility. I don't know that I want to try to accomplish anything today. A good book and maybe a glass of wine will pass the afternoon...safely.