Birds and book, days 179 - 181 of 2012 (and ongoing plumbing saga)
The big news tonight: I'm doing a load of laundry. It's sort of the first serious test to see if the sewer line is truly, if not fixed, at least restored to its earlier level of functionality. As I said to Eli earlier today, "What I want but can't have is that earlier happy ignorance of the very existence of those pipes." Because they seemed to work fine before and there's no definitive evidence that they won't continue to work fine now. Oh, maybe it's not a solid line of level piping but if the water passes through quickly enough they should be fine, right? And what's a little leakage into the ground around them at eight feet? Nothing, right? Or maybe it's disastrous and we're being irresponsible. Such is the gerbil wheel of my brain.
On Wednesday, I believe, I talked with the neighbor who happened to be at his house and he called his plumbers (Rush Plumbing) and I talked to Rob(ert) there and then eventually I talked to the subcontractor, I believe (Gil of Pipeline Industries). Over the course of the afternoon I met and talked with several people, including Cevin from O'Neill. Rob(ert) from Rush didn't like O'Neill at all. His behavior was a lot like that of an ill-mannered dog though he stopped (just) short of peeing in the corners. It was, I have to admit, sort of amusing/interesting from an anthropological perspective. But I get ahead of myself and my fascinating tale. Gil ran a camera through the pipe and admitted something seemed to be blocking a lot of water somewhere under the neighbor's driveway. He took the opportunity to observe that there should be *more* water in the pipe than there was. Then Heather of Rush appeared, with a clipboard and a business card, assuring me that they just wanted to make sure I was okay. That part was nice enough and I agreed that yes, I'd be interested in a quote on replacing the pipeline while they had the neighbor's driveway dug up since that would be a sizeable chunk of expense I wouldn't be paying. Then Rob(ert) showed up and had a look in the basement as well. It was at this point that I became aware that the basement truly lacked that just fresh feeling. And it was after telling me that the bargain price for replacing the pipe would be $5995, plus tax, that Rob(ert) shifted his position in the basement so that I could no longer clearly see his face. Coincidence? I'm not so sure.
I suggested that it sort of seemed like a particularly heavy-handed version of the hard-sell. Rob(ert) went off to write a few bids but not before observing that it was odd the trouble should be surfacing now when it had been a month and a half since the neighbor had had the work done. (I checked the copy of the permit Eli had downloaded from the web; they actually put in the lining on June 1.) He then offered me a choice of either actual pipe replacement ($5995) or the blow-in fiberglass liner that the neighbor had done ($5495). I asked if the labor was the same for both and if, as it seemed on his estimates, that the difference was parts. He said it was. Which means that about 20 feet of 3" PVC pipe and a few connectors cost roughly $500. At Alki Lumber, they sell it for $16.16 per 10-foot length. I called Cevin and asked him about a quote for the same work. He came by and when Rob(ert) saw him his hackles rose and, I swear, he bared his teeth and looked for a bush on which to urinate. Cevin, perhaps for petty reasons of his own, quoted a price of $1500 - $1800 (plus permits and tax) for the work if the driveway was already dug up or $2500 - $2800 (plus permits and tax) if they had to start from scratch. So it wasn't just the hard sell but the hard sell plus the gouging price which, really, is where I find I draw the line.
So...I told Rob(ert) to just fix the joint they messed up when they repaired the neighbor's line. He "forgot" to tell Pipeline that I'd made a final decision so they couldn't do it yesterday. (And, I suspect, had I not called to ask about it around 9:00 yesterday morning, it would not have occurred to him though when there was the possibility of the $6000 job he assured me they'd be right on the initial repair first thing because, you know, they had liability and my health and comfort to consider. Oddly, the phone number on the card Heather had given me didn't match the number on Rush's website either; when I called the card number it just rang and rang.) Gil and Pipeline were out very bright and early today, however, and while Gil sort of threatened Eli as to who would be paying for all the work when the proper repairs were finally made as we were foolishly not having done now, the line seems to be fine. We'll just see what happens to all that water from the washing machine, now won't we?
And it looks fine.
My life, clearly, has been plumbers.
Birds
osprey
black-capped chickadees
song sparrows
white-crowned sparrows
house sparrows
house finches
goldfinches
bushtits
Steller's jay
Anna's hummingbird
crows
gulls
starlings
robins
pigeons
pigeon guillemot
Canada geese
northern flickers
Book
Well of Lost Plots page 153 (not lots of time for reading)
On Wednesday, I believe, I talked with the neighbor who happened to be at his house and he called his plumbers (Rush Plumbing) and I talked to Rob(ert) there and then eventually I talked to the subcontractor, I believe (Gil of Pipeline Industries). Over the course of the afternoon I met and talked with several people, including Cevin from O'Neill. Rob(ert) from Rush didn't like O'Neill at all. His behavior was a lot like that of an ill-mannered dog though he stopped (just) short of peeing in the corners. It was, I have to admit, sort of amusing/interesting from an anthropological perspective. But I get ahead of myself and my fascinating tale. Gil ran a camera through the pipe and admitted something seemed to be blocking a lot of water somewhere under the neighbor's driveway. He took the opportunity to observe that there should be *more* water in the pipe than there was. Then Heather of Rush appeared, with a clipboard and a business card, assuring me that they just wanted to make sure I was okay. That part was nice enough and I agreed that yes, I'd be interested in a quote on replacing the pipeline while they had the neighbor's driveway dug up since that would be a sizeable chunk of expense I wouldn't be paying. Then Rob(ert) showed up and had a look in the basement as well. It was at this point that I became aware that the basement truly lacked that just fresh feeling. And it was after telling me that the bargain price for replacing the pipe would be $5995, plus tax, that Rob(ert) shifted his position in the basement so that I could no longer clearly see his face. Coincidence? I'm not so sure.
I suggested that it sort of seemed like a particularly heavy-handed version of the hard-sell. Rob(ert) went off to write a few bids but not before observing that it was odd the trouble should be surfacing now when it had been a month and a half since the neighbor had had the work done. (I checked the copy of the permit Eli had downloaded from the web; they actually put in the lining on June 1.) He then offered me a choice of either actual pipe replacement ($5995) or the blow-in fiberglass liner that the neighbor had done ($5495). I asked if the labor was the same for both and if, as it seemed on his estimates, that the difference was parts. He said it was. Which means that about 20 feet of 3" PVC pipe and a few connectors cost roughly $500. At Alki Lumber, they sell it for $16.16 per 10-foot length. I called Cevin and asked him about a quote for the same work. He came by and when Rob(ert) saw him his hackles rose and, I swear, he bared his teeth and looked for a bush on which to urinate. Cevin, perhaps for petty reasons of his own, quoted a price of $1500 - $1800 (plus permits and tax) for the work if the driveway was already dug up or $2500 - $2800 (plus permits and tax) if they had to start from scratch. So it wasn't just the hard sell but the hard sell plus the gouging price which, really, is where I find I draw the line.
So...I told Rob(ert) to just fix the joint they messed up when they repaired the neighbor's line. He "forgot" to tell Pipeline that I'd made a final decision so they couldn't do it yesterday. (And, I suspect, had I not called to ask about it around 9:00 yesterday morning, it would not have occurred to him though when there was the possibility of the $6000 job he assured me they'd be right on the initial repair first thing because, you know, they had liability and my health and comfort to consider. Oddly, the phone number on the card Heather had given me didn't match the number on Rush's website either; when I called the card number it just rang and rang.) Gil and Pipeline were out very bright and early today, however, and while Gil sort of threatened Eli as to who would be paying for all the work when the proper repairs were finally made as we were foolishly not having done now, the line seems to be fine. We'll just see what happens to all that water from the washing machine, now won't we?
And it looks fine.
My life, clearly, has been plumbers.
Birds
osprey
black-capped chickadees
song sparrows
white-crowned sparrows
house sparrows
house finches
goldfinches
bushtits
Steller's jay
Anna's hummingbird
crows
gulls
starlings
robins
pigeons
pigeon guillemot
Canada geese
northern flickers
Book
Well of Lost Plots page 153 (not lots of time for reading)