It done sprung a leak
After the last two wonderful weekends I've had, things had to balance out in some fashion.
It thus came as little surprise to discover a lake under our kitchen faucet last night. Apparently it had been leaking for some time as it was not only several inches deep, but the bottom of the cupboard was already warped.
At first the problem appeared to be simply a disconnected PVC joint, perhaps the result of a bump when replacing the detergent box. I put it back on, tightened the connector, ran a little water and went to bed satisfied of a job well done.
This afternoon however I noticed the same joint had popped off again, this time with no chance of bumpage -- we'd kept the cupboard empty to monitor potential leaks. I fastened it again, shrugged and handwashed a small sinkful of dishes. As it drained I looked below: the joint was still fastened but now water was squirting out of the threading of the fasteners. Threadings that the house builder had filled with plumbers putty instead of plumbers grease, which was now cracking and leaking while simultaneously cementing the threaded fasteners. Ugh.
So we said, "Hang it all, we're going to do this right," and dismantled the entire pipe assembly under our sink. Every segment was scrubbed clean of 20 years worth of goo -- poor L was looking queasy in the first few seconds. Every putty-frozen fastener was forcibly cracked open and wire-brushed clean. Every seal was replaced with a new one from the local home store. All the threadings and seals were rubbed with plumbers grease.
And somehow it all got assembled in a manner that not only fit, but seemed to fit better than the builder's lackluster effort.
Now we wait in suspense: will it hold, or will the first run of the dishwasher result in 40 days of living on a large wooden boat?
It thus came as little surprise to discover a lake under our kitchen faucet last night. Apparently it had been leaking for some time as it was not only several inches deep, but the bottom of the cupboard was already warped.
At first the problem appeared to be simply a disconnected PVC joint, perhaps the result of a bump when replacing the detergent box. I put it back on, tightened the connector, ran a little water and went to bed satisfied of a job well done.
This afternoon however I noticed the same joint had popped off again, this time with no chance of bumpage -- we'd kept the cupboard empty to monitor potential leaks. I fastened it again, shrugged and handwashed a small sinkful of dishes. As it drained I looked below: the joint was still fastened but now water was squirting out of the threading of the fasteners. Threadings that the house builder had filled with plumbers putty instead of plumbers grease, which was now cracking and leaking while simultaneously cementing the threaded fasteners. Ugh.
So we said, "Hang it all, we're going to do this right," and dismantled the entire pipe assembly under our sink. Every segment was scrubbed clean of 20 years worth of goo -- poor L was looking queasy in the first few seconds. Every putty-frozen fastener was forcibly cracked open and wire-brushed clean. Every seal was replaced with a new one from the local home store. All the threadings and seals were rubbed with plumbers grease.
And somehow it all got assembled in a manner that not only fit, but seemed to fit better than the builder's lackluster effort.
Now we wait in suspense: will it hold, or will the first run of the dishwasher result in 40 days of living on a large wooden boat?