Saturday, June 10, 2006

Plumbing fixed

Saturday afternoon: Gus, the Dutch plumber has finished his work. He came out Thursday and tore through the sheet rock to assess the problem -- spent about an hour here. Today (Saturday) he was here from 10:00am until around 2:30pm. We tore out the base boards to the utility room, the linoleum covering the concrete, and then Gus took a jack hammer to the concrete to get at the ruptured pipes. He created a by-pass using CVP pipes, drilling through wood joists and routing the pipes around the wall of the room. We now have hot and cold water restored with no leaks. If we had called a commercial plumber, with all the work to get under the cement and the work under the crawl space, estimates averaged at $1500.00. Gus shared a Subway sandwich with me, sat on the porch, and talked late into the afternoon with me over beers, telling stories about how he was raised in Indonesia, became a plumber in California, worked in Las Vegas for six years until he got sick of it, and moved to North Carolina for a slower, more civil life. He charged me $256.52. I gave him $300, and we were both happy. Alright, to which one of you and your prayers do we owe this?

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