Gone For A Bit

We've had a bit of a disaster at the Kautz household.

What you're viewing below is the water pipe going into the valve that connects to the ice maker in the fridge.

You know what this is

On the top side of that 90 you'll notice, what looks like copper pipe (straight to elbow) being attached together. Normally a plumber would use flux and then solder to make a secure seal. Seems the plumber forgot the solder. Subsequently the joint will leak and leak it did.

On Tuesday my wife thought she heard water running in the wall behind the bed. "No, I said" there;'s nothing on. So we started looking. Shut off the ice maker. Nope, no change. Then shut off the house water. That slowed the noise. Then opened the sink faucet. Shazam! noise gone. No pressure, no running water.

When our plumber got here to find the leak, he cut into the wall was was dutifully sprayed in the face (Note: the water was back on then). He cut the pipe (that was after I shut the water off again) to put a cap on and where the missing solder joint was, the pipe just fell off. He said this could have been leaking way before we bought the house in April and maybe as far back as when the house was built in 1999. According to the insurance company, unless the owners knew about it (which I don't believe they did) there is no recourse against them, the home inspector (who couldn't find his ass with both hands), or the Real Estate Company. Good thing we have insurance. Let this be a lesson for all.    

The next step was to call the home insurance company and report. They immediately jumped into action and yesterday just past Noon the damage control team showed up.

Here is what they found, water under most of the laminate flooring in the kitchen, some under the new wood floor in the dining room, walls in the kitchen and master bedroom were wet, and some moisture under the new wood floor (you don't want to know how bad that pissed my wife off that there was water under her new floor) in the master bedroom.

When they removed the molding around the cabinet and the wall behind the fridge, they found MOLD.   

Sealed against mold

The next step is the guys in the space suits to remove anything with mold possibly even the cabinet on the left in the picture above.

Obviously I have to be here for what ever the damage guys are going to do, when the insurance inspector comes on Monday, and when the replacement team (carpenters, sheet rock guys, flooring people), and whom ever else will show.

So for now, I'll just say I'll be gone for a bit, but I'm hoping to be back in about two weeks. If I can sneak out one day, I'll let you know.

Oh, one last thing, if the guys in the space suits find it's toxic mold, we'll be thrown out (insurance company says they deem the house unlivable) until repairs are made.

That's it for now.