GROOOOAN.....
We had a local plumbing firm come out to repair the leaks caused by the :handyman" guy who put in the flooring and new steps. That fiasco could be a post all it's own. Suffice to say I would have given him a "C-" for the work he did, until the leak started.
This is what the plumber found under the toilet in SLW's bathroom:
I don't know what the heck he used in place of a proper wax ring, but it looks like it was squeezed out of a tube. The plumber said he'd never seen anything like this, as even "Home Owner Level" repairs he'd seen at least had the correct sealing rings used. She was gone for the week after the work was "finished", so her toilet wasn't used, but mine was in daily use.
The one in my bathroom was worse, as the floor flange was loose, caused by using too small hardware to hold it down. The heads of the flat-head bolts holding the flange to the floor were small enough to pull through the dimple in the flange, causing the flange to loosen up, and combined with the wrong size wax sealing ring, allowed water to leak down the outside of the drain pipe, and run along to the lowest spot, where it dripped off and soaked the drywall.
I ripped all the soggy drywall and insulation out of the garage ceiling, and put a fan on it do dry it out, which is easy to do this time of year as it's so dry here.
The aftermath in the garage:
Aggie Plumbing, who I can't say enough good things about, will be back on Monday at noon to pull and reseal the two downstairs toilets. Considering the "quality" of the work the handyman did on the upstairs toilets, we think it's a wise decision to pay the man, and have the other two toilets checked, and most likely resealed.
And they gave use a referral to a guy who does drywall repair, so he'll be out here on Tuesday to repair my Damage Control activities from when the leak started.
ANNNND SLW had a "talk" with the handyman, who politely told us to cancel the balance owed on the contract, keep the remaining materials, and it was nice meeting us. He's a good guy, but his skills are lacking in a lot of areas.....
I've only seen one other instance where no ring (or anything else) was used, back in my building inspector days in the early '90s. The resulting damage from yours could have been MUCH worse; you can trust me on this.
ReplyDeleteOh, I know; I've seen it first hand!
DeleteOne thing that really helped is I immediately started ripping the soggy drywall out to let it drain, then pulled all the soggy fiberglass out, and put a fan on it. NONE of the wood was wet enough, long enough, for it to get soggy. The wood is now completely dry, and yep, we dodged a BIG ONE!
Thank you Lord for watching over us!
Yep, pretty shoddy workmanship.
ReplyDeleteEgad!
ReplyDeleteMessy for the interim, but it sounds like you have all the elements lined up for a good, permanent fix.
Yep, it's completely dry in there now, see above comment.
DeleteWe ducked one, especially compared to what happened to you in Torrance!
Bad scene but you dodged a much bigger problem.
ReplyDeleteThat's why I shut the water off to the upstairs toilets, and started pulling the ceiling drywall and insulation down. I did NOT want water in there for any longer than it had to be! I've seen neglected water damage that winds up costing 5X for the repairs compared to if it had been repaired promptly.
DeleteWhat Ed said. Wow. Glad the damage wasn't worse; and no one was injured!
ReplyDeleteThat's always the chance when you hire someone. You have to hope they know what they are doing.
You all be safe and God bless, drjim.
He wasn't licensed, bonded, or any of that stuff. My wife found him on "Nextdoor.com", and it's the second time we've been burned by someone she found there.
DeleteDid you hire the handyman from the parking lot at Home Depot? I've seen some stupid things, but this one is one of the dumbest I've seen. That is Biden level stupid, just on a smaller scale.
ReplyDeleteHAH! All of the people I've hired from The Lot at HD were quite competent compared to this guy.
DeleteHow is he a good guy? A convivial oaf isn't necessarily a good guy. I'm with the Feral Ferret (above). You could have gotten a better job if you hired Camela Harris to fix your toilet.
ReplyDeleteYeah, well....you got me there. I should have said he's a "pleasant" guy, not a good guy.
DeleteSLW has this trait of trying to save a buck, which is usually a good thing, but she has an issue separating "cheap" from "inexpensive".
At least you have a resolution...
ReplyDeleteYeah, he's out of here, and we dodged a big, wet, expensive bullet.
Delete