What a Mess!!!

This week we had a huge sewage mess!!! It started on Sunday when Matt ran a load of laundry. When I went downstairs to change it over to the dryer, there was water all over the floor. So we notified our landlord, Corey, who was coming over the next day anyway. He checked it out Monday morning and said they had this problem once before several years ago. So he had me call Roto Rooter who came out and started checking out the main drain. I mentioned to him that there was a water main break in the street about 1 1/2 weeks ago and asked if that could be the issue... he didn't think so, and kept checking around.

Later Monday morning, he had to bring in another set of guys who have a camera that can see what is blocking a drain. They had trouble figuring it out, but thought the issue was in the area of where that water main had broken. Eventually another set of guys show up and start marking the street to show where they are finding issues... of course it's all in the area of where the water main had been "fixed". But they also thought the issue could be with the drain coming from the house that runs under the front yard. A few hours later a bulldozer and some heavy equipment starts showing up and suddenly they are start digging up a small part of the front yard! Quite a scene considering our landlord just thought it was a simple issue.

Day #1

In the meantime, we could use our water if it went down a drain... so that meant no dishwasher, washing machine, water running down the sink, and no flushing of toilets. We were told Monday late afternoon that the problem should be solved by end of day Tuesday. But by the end of Monday, they discovered that there were some major issues in the street, which meant having to bring in the City Inspector to check it out and arrange to have it fixed. Once the City Inspector came, they discovered it was a huge issue, so we were told it should be fixed by end of day Wednesday... in the meantime, no water!

Tuesday morning started with Matt and I heading to his work to take a shower. Luckily his office has a "doctor's" bathroom that includes a shower, so I could feel human again! Tuesday our street became a major construction site! Multiple bulldozers, many trucks, a City crew and a Roto Rooter crew. This day was focused on reparing the street leaks and finally fixing the "fixed" water main. It turned out that when they fixed it, they had broken the drain coming from our house. They dug a hole across the entire street that was about 2 feet wide by 10 feet deep. It took all day, but they got it fixed and even got the street patched up. Thankfully they were able to provide a temporary drainage patch for the evening so we could use water and flush our toilets... we were so appreciative! And Matt got to shower at home on Wednesday morning.

Day #2

I was praying that Wednesday would finally be the day to get this all solved... I woke up to find a second hole being dug in the front yard. Unfortuantely this hole took out a section of the bushes near the front door. But they were going to replace the drain from the house to the street. By the middle of the day, we had to huge piles of dirt in the front yard, and the City was digging up the street again, but this time to repave the sections they had worked on. Seeing all this mess, I really didn't think they would finish by the end of the day. But these guys really worked hard all day... I didn't really see anything taking any breaks and there were probably 15 guys working on the street and our yard all day long. Our landlord stopped by and was really shocked to see all that was going on. By about 4pm I got word that the drain was in place and we could finally start using our water. I was so thrilled and immediately ran the diswasher and flushed the toilets... sad that was the highlight of my day, but it's the simple things!

Day #3

Surpringly by the end of Wednesday (about 6:30pm) they got the holes filled back up and cleaned up the yard. They did a great job cleaning it up and making it look as it did originally.

All Cleaned Up!!!

In speaking to Corey, our landlord, he was told by the City Inspector that there was a lot of evidence to point to the fact that the City had broken the pipe in the street. Unfortunately he had to pay for all of this up front, and will have to submit for reimbursement... I can't imagine how much this cost. So glad we are renters and not the owners!!! And so glad we are back to normal now!!!