OK...So it was about 5:00 O'clock Sunday afternoon, just an hour before dinner was to be ready. Reese came running outside to tell me that the basement was flooding and we had to start moving stuff. Now I have a sump that runs all the time in wet weather, but I also have an emergency sump pump that runs off a battery back-up, and believe me it has saved my basement on more than one occasion. But he said that there was a leak in the sewer pipe.
Now THAT freaked me out, so I rushed downstairs to see if that were true. It seems that the cement that packed the pipe in the wall had sprung a leak about the size of a quarter, and water was indeed shooting in my basement. Fortunately, the leak was not far from my basement floor drain, and I could easily squeegie it into the drain. But water is a powerful force and It's hard telling how much bigger the hole was going to get, so I went next door to consult with my BIL for some expert advice. He told me to go to Home Depot and get some stuff called Hydraulic Cement.
I prefer Lowes because at Home Depot there is NOBODY ever in that department that you need help in. Of course the rain had made both places a mad-house, and the 10# buckets of that Cement were all sold out. The price on the sold out bucket was 10.25, the price on the 20# bucket was on sale for 10.75!
I know that was way more than I needed, but WTF!!
When I got home Joe (BIL), told me exactly how to do it. You mix 4 parts cement with one part water and stir till it starts to thicken up. Then I put on some rubber gloves and 'worked' it by hand till it started to become the consistancy of silly putty. I then rolled it by hand till it was about the size of a ring of bologna, I placed it around the pipe and pressed it into place. VOILA!!
Leak stopped..I did it myself...And all for under 11 bucks!!!
It was wet and wild, but it turned out to be just fine. Dinner was set back about 15 minutes, and we laughed about it later..I felt very Lucky!!!
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Peace..!!!
9 comments:
I am so glad to hear that you got that leak fixed..that could have caused some major problems that could have resulted in much more than your $11 fix.
Hope it stops raining there soon.
Have a great day!
Oh yeah.....I'M FIRST!!!!
( when I posted this comment I was first)
Wow, good for you. It kind of sounded like you were mixing food for a second there.
I am not a fan living on this giant hill of sand but ... BUT my sump pump hardly ever runs as the sand drains so well. I suspect that if I were to lose my sump I would be OK in all but the worst of storms.
I am impressed with your handy work and the meal... all done at the same time. You da Man.
You know, I have this one window that leaks...
Well done you (and brother-in-law with the advice)!
wow, i am so glad to know it was easily taken care of. that could have been a disaster for sure!
well aren't you a handy one? :) glad it was easily fix and didn't cost a lot. any major damage avoided is always a good thing!
Well, that Michigan rain hit me from the top! I have a repair to my roof that the guy is still adding up...
Leaks sure can ruin a good dinner. Glad you were able to get it under control and avoid disaster.:)
Wow = I am so surprised that you were able to fix your leak like that! No new pipe - only cement? Hmmm. Great ingenuative thinking! Here is a little story about my
leak.
Thanks everybody for visiting and commenting, I'm Tired and certain "people" are on the war path...Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr
See ya tomorrow...G
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