Water/No Water

[markiver54]

Just have to vent a bit here. We are currently up at the cabin but went back home to Hendersonville for 3 days last week. When we arrived there we walked into Carol's house to find a flooded kitchen. The water line on the fridge to the dispenser/ice maker had developed a pin hole leak. Must have been leaking for a couple weeks. The whole floor was all buckled up and ruined. I spent two days tearing up the floor so it could dry up while we are at the cabin. Will have to have the floor replaced after we close the cabin for the winter....BUMMER!

Now to the cabin. Yesterday morning we woke up and discovered we have NO water. Our local plumbing company sent two guys out this morning. They determined that the well pump had gone bad. Yippie....
Our well is 720 feet deep and on a slope beside the gravel driveway. It took them quite a while just to position the small boom truck they brought for pulling the well pipe out. Another challenge for them was that the pipe is galvanized, (VERY HEAVY). When they got set up and started to pull the pipe up, they could not keep the boom positioned well enough because they had a slight hydraulic leak and their outriggers kept moving. We now contacted the original company that drilled the well about 20 years ago and they're supposed to show up in the morning.

We're just hoping and praying the financial bleeding stops soon...OH! we also discovered that the chimney pipes on our old Franklin wood stove are rusted out and need to be replaced as well.

2023 has NOT been a good year for either of us.

[dave77]

Would be interested in knowing what your pump replacement cost ends up being. Our's is similar as it is on galvanized pipe but is only set at around 320'. Our pump has been in the ground since 1987 so it's on borrowed time. I wonder if we will also need to replace our pressure tanks as they are the same age as the pump.

I was looking at the newer double walled chimney pipe and it looks like you can spend almost as much on a chimney as on the stove.

[markiver54]

Would be interested in knowing what your pump replacement cost ends up being. Our's is similar as it is on galvanized pipe but is only set at around 320'. Our pump has been in the ground since 1987 so it's on borrowed time. I wonder if we will also need to replace our pressure tanks as they are the same age as the pump.

I was looking at the newer double walled chimney pipe and it looks like you can spend almost as much on a chimney as on the stove.

Dave, I will be happy to post the pump price after we get the bill. It's going to be a 1.5 HP, three wire. Fortunately they said our pressure tank is fine.
As far as the chimney pipes go...you are absolutely right. I think that repair/replacement is probably going to have to wait till next year.

[Sir Henry]

Bummer. Keep us posted.

[Mags]

.... I think that repair/replacement is probably going to have to wait till next year.

Hopefully the stove pipe is rusted out in such a way that rain water can't get in.

[markiver54]

.... I think that repair/replacement is probably going to have to wait till next year.

Hopefully the stove pipe is rusted out in such a way that rain water can't get in.

For now we're safe from that. Yet another expense that I didn't mention is that when we had our large screened porch built back in 2018, the crew that did it also installed the metal roof. Well...they were good framers, and we got a beautiful porch as a result, however, they knew nothing about metal roofing so it was done wrong. The result was many leaks inside on the ceilings. Two weeks ago, we hired a metal roofing contractor and they fixed that to the tune of almost $5k +. they are the ones that discovered the rusted out chimney pipes. They removed them and just covered that area with a metal roof panel until we can have the new chimney installed. Again...It's been a very expensive year! I'm starting to think there is a curse on us.

[dave77]

Would be interested in knowing what your pump replacement cost ends up being. Our's is similar as it is on galvanized pipe but is only set at around 320'. Our pump has been in the ground since 1987 so it's on borrowed time. I wonder if we will also need to replace our pressure tanks as they are the same age as the pump.

I was looking at the newer double walled chimney pipe and it looks like you can spend almost as much on a chimney as on the stove.

Dave, I will be happy to post the pump price after we get the bill. It's going to be a 1.5 HP, three wire. Fortunately they said our pressure tank is fine.
As far as the chimney pipes go...you are absolutely right. I think that repair/replacement is probably going to have to wait till next year.

Great, that's the same size pump we have. I'm thinking the labor cost is going to be considerably more than the cost of the pump.

[Travlin]

I am very sorry about all of your sudden repair issues. I hope that the outfit with the leaking hydraulics did not charge you as they showed up and didn't have the proper functioning hoist to do the job.

[BigAl52]

Sorry for all the issues Mark hope it all works out and isnt to terrible on the pocketbook. One thing I always do when I leave my house for a period of time is turn off the water to the washer and turn off the ice maker line on the fridge. Dont need any water running upstairs with a basement.

[markiver54]

I am very sorry about all of your sudden repair issues. I hope that the outfit with the leaking hydraulics did not charge you as they showed up and didn't have the proper functioning hoist to do the job.

Fortunately, they did not charge us, as it was their faulty equipment.

[markiver54]

Sorry for all the issues Mark hope it all works out and isnt to terrible on the pocketbook. One thing I always do when I leave my house for a period of time is turn off the water to the washer and turn off the ice maker line on the fridge. Dont need any water running upstairs with a basement.

Thanks Al, Hind sight is 20/20 right? I will remember to do that in the future.

[Hatchdog]

720’ of galvanized pipe, that’s got to be a load. Maybe a bit inappropriate but the old expression “when it rains it pours” certainly applies to your situation right now. As Dave said, the cost of labor probably will trump the cost of the pump.

[markiver54]

720’ of galvanized pipe, that’s got to be a load. Maybe a bit inappropriate but the old expression “when it rains it pours” certainly applies to your situation right now. As Dave said, the cost of labor probably will trump the cost of the pump.

Exactly right Hatch. The pump was a 2 wire 1.5 hp and the cost was right around $1600.00. The rest was labor which was about $2000.00. Actually better than we were expecting. They got here at about 9:00 AM and finished at about 1:00 PM. Pretty fast work. They DID know what they were doing.
The bad part is that they left over 700 ft of heavy galvanized pipe in the driveway. Said they could not take it because they had nowhere to put it back at their shop. I was able to contact through local referral, a guy who is going to come by tomorrow afternoon to haul it away...whew! Don't yet know how much $$ he will want.

[Cowboy Gun Fan]

One thing I always do when I leave my house for a period of time is turn off the water to the washer and turn off the ice maker line on the fridge. Dont need any water running upstairs with a basement.

Also sorry to hear of all your problems, sometimes when it rains, it pours.

When we leave the house now, we have been shutting all the water off. That way there is no chance of anything happening. We also have an Icemaker, but once I saw that flimsy hose that came with it, I said forget it. We'll make our own ice, lol. Same thing with our new dryer. It came with some kind of steam feature. Flimsy hose again. I don't need anything starting to leak while we're sleeping or out in the yard somewhere. If the Fridge (spare) or Dryer was in the basement with a sump pump I wouldn't mind, but right now they are both on the main floor.

Just my 2 Cents, lol.

[Cowboy Gun Fan]

I was able to contact through local referral, a guy who is going to come by tomorrow afternoon to haul it away...whew! Don't yet know how much $$ he will want.

Do you have a pick-up? You could haul it to the scrap yard and make a few bucks.

[Mags]

...
The bad part is that they left over 700 ft of heavy galvanized pipe in the driveway. Said they could not take it because they had nowhere to put it back at their shop. ...

Curious what kind of new pipe they used to replace the old?

[markiver54]

I was able to contact through local referral, a guy who is going to come by tomorrow afternoon to haul it away...whew! Don't yet know how much $$ he will want.

Do you have a pick-up? You could haul it to the scrap yard and make a few bucks.

Yes, I called the local metal recycler. They said they would give $7.00 per 100 ft. I wasn't interested in the money. I just want it out of here. They said they would take it but would not pick it up.
No p/u truck could carry 20' long pipes, especially as heavy and long as they are. Hoping the local "hauler guy" comes tomorrow.

[markiver54]

...
The bad part is that they left over 700 ft of heavy galvanized pipe in the driveway. Said they could not take it because they had nowhere to put it back at their shop. ...

Curious what kind of new pipe they used to replace the old?

They replaced the galvanized with some new grade of PVC rated for that depth. He said, THEY only use galvanized for over 800' depth.

[dave77]

720’ of galvanized pipe, that’s got to be a load. Maybe a bit inappropriate but the old expression “when it rains it pours” certainly applies to your situation right now. As Dave said, the cost of labor probably will trump the cost of the pump.

Exactly right Hatch. The pump was a 2 wire 1.5 hp and the cost was right around $1600.00. The rest was labor which was about $2000.00. Actually better than we were expecting. They got here at about 9:00 AM and finished at about 1:00 PM. Pretty fast work. They DID know what they were doing.
The bad part is that they left over 700 ft of heavy galvanized pipe in the driveway. Said they could not take it because they had nowhere to put it back at their shop. I was able to contact through local referral, a guy who is going to come by tomorrow afternoon to haul it away...whew! Don't yet know how much $$ he will want.

That's not nearly as bad as I was expecting. I was thinking more like 5 to 10 grand. Did that include the cost of the new pipe?

[markiver54]

720’ of galvanized pipe, that’s got to be a load. Maybe a bit inappropriate but the old expression “when it rains it pours” certainly applies to your situation right now. As Dave said, the cost of labor probably will trump the cost of the pump.

Exactly right Hatch. The pump was a 2 wire 1.5 hp and the cost was right around $1600.00. The rest was labor which was about $2000.00. Actually better than we were expecting. They got here at about 9:00 AM and finished at about 1:00 PM. Pretty fast work. They DID know what they were doing.
The bad part is that they left over 700 ft of heavy galvanized pipe in the driveway. Said they could not take it because they had nowhere to put it back at their shop. I was able to contact through local referral, a guy who is going to come by tomorrow afternoon to haul it away...whew! Don't yet know how much $$ he will want.

That's not nearly as bad as I was expecting. I was thinking more like 5 to 10 grand. Did that include the cost of the new pipe?

That's about what we were expecting too, so the price was a relief. It occurred to me after I posted though that it was a verbal quote from the installer, and I don't yet know how much was the cost of the PVC pipe. he said his secretary would be emailing a receipt. Hopefully it will have itemized pricing. After we receive that, I will post again. Hopefully no surprises.