And I Wonder, Still I Wonder, Who'll Stop the Drain?
Everybody poops. There are no exceptions. Once upon a time, we did so in outbuildings, tossing some ash or lime into the hole afterwards. Now, thanks to the miracle of modern plumbing, our waste is whisked away at the press of a lever, never to be seen again.
Unless it comes back. Then there's trouble.
The last time it came back, I called the experts at ASAP Drains, as I had about once a year since we’ve owned this place. They ran their rotating grinder down through the old pipe, and all was well. But the technician wasn't happy. There was soil on his grinder, he said. I think there's a break in the pipe, oh, about 20 feet out.
A few days later, his supervisor came out and gave the drain pipe the moral equivalent of a colonoscopy. Sure enough, the video showed a hole in the pipe, about twenty feet out. Right about where a telephone pole sits.
"If it were my house," he told me, "I'd call Mike Carney at Seacoast Contractors. He does all the work for the town. He's the best."
Now, what they usually tell you is to go out and get three estimates. I don't like to do that, because how cheaply someone can do a job is no indication of how well they can do it. If it's something simple like, "We'll haul away this junk for $200," sure. There was junk here, now it's gone, here's your check. But excavating a hundred-year-old clay pipe that lies about six feet under ground, possibly all the way from my house to the middle of the street, just 18 inches away from my gas main… I don't want the cheapest. I want the best.
So we called Mike. Mike put us in touch with Verizon, who owned the pole. "Not our problem," said Verizon. "No way it's our problem. That pole has been there for 20 years. Must be roots." Nonetheless, Verizon had to be involved just to hold the pole when the digging took place.
So, after one payment to Verizon just to open a case ticket and another much larger payment for them to send two trucks out (one to hold the pole and one with a cherry picker so they could throw a chain around it), we finally got started last Thursday.
Seacoast showed why they were the best. They had the Dig Safe guy already marking and flagging the gas line, and a detail cop to steer traffic away from where Verizon would set their trucks. They went to work with a will, pausing only to wait for Verizon to stabilize the pole. When that was done, they finished the dig. And what do you suppose they found?
When the pole was installed, Verizon or its predecessor NYNEX augered straight down for six feet, right through my drain, and plunked a telephone pole in the middle of it. Our saving grace was that there are only two of us in the house, and we have good sandy soil.
The Verizon foreperson swore it couldn't possibly be their problem until seeing the picture. Then she gave us the claims number.
We still have to pay the bill, of course, but we have a pretty good case to get full reimbursement for all out-of-pocket expenses. And the bill was a good deal less than we'd feared.
I've sometimes had regrets later after buying a cheap product or service. I've never regretted paying for the best. Mike was definitely the best.
Unless it comes back. Then there's trouble.
The last time it came back, I called the experts at ASAP Drains, as I had about once a year since we’ve owned this place. They ran their rotating grinder down through the old pipe, and all was well. But the technician wasn't happy. There was soil on his grinder, he said. I think there's a break in the pipe, oh, about 20 feet out.
A few days later, his supervisor came out and gave the drain pipe the moral equivalent of a colonoscopy. Sure enough, the video showed a hole in the pipe, about twenty feet out. Right about where a telephone pole sits.
"If it were my house," he told me, "I'd call Mike Carney at Seacoast Contractors. He does all the work for the town. He's the best."
Now, what they usually tell you is to go out and get three estimates. I don't like to do that, because how cheaply someone can do a job is no indication of how well they can do it. If it's something simple like, "We'll haul away this junk for $200," sure. There was junk here, now it's gone, here's your check. But excavating a hundred-year-old clay pipe that lies about six feet under ground, possibly all the way from my house to the middle of the street, just 18 inches away from my gas main… I don't want the cheapest. I want the best.
So we called Mike. Mike put us in touch with Verizon, who owned the pole. "Not our problem," said Verizon. "No way it's our problem. That pole has been there for 20 years. Must be roots." Nonetheless, Verizon had to be involved just to hold the pole when the digging took place.
So, after one payment to Verizon just to open a case ticket and another much larger payment for them to send two trucks out (one to hold the pole and one with a cherry picker so they could throw a chain around it), we finally got started last Thursday.
Seacoast showed why they were the best. They had the Dig Safe guy already marking and flagging the gas line, and a detail cop to steer traffic away from where Verizon would set their trucks. They went to work with a will, pausing only to wait for Verizon to stabilize the pole. When that was done, they finished the dig. And what do you suppose they found?
When the pole was installed, Verizon or its predecessor NYNEX augered straight down for six feet, right through my drain, and plunked a telephone pole in the middle of it. Our saving grace was that there are only two of us in the house, and we have good sandy soil.
The Verizon foreperson swore it couldn't possibly be their problem until seeing the picture. Then she gave us the claims number.
We still have to pay the bill, of course, but we have a pretty good case to get full reimbursement for all out-of-pocket expenses. And the bill was a good deal less than we'd feared.
I've sometimes had regrets later after buying a cheap product or service. I've never regretted paying for the best. Mike was definitely the best.