Special Edition of "Where in the World"- July
10, 2013
Actually this edition is all about home, but it has been
an adventure. And anyone reading this will be glad I don't have pictures of the worst parts.
It is only the middle of the year and, already, 2013 is
shaping up to be a really special one- in regard to fix it situations. I
decided to write all this down so I can remember 2013 better later.
Starting with Virginia Beach- Right before the year
started we had a leak in the elbow of the pipes to the sink in the half bath.
The repair was to replace the whole sink- no replacement could be found. This
should have been the warning signal. (This repair wrapped up about 6 months
after discovering the leak.) Early in the spring, we had a period of torrential
rain (lots and lots of rain lately and we are used to water pooling in the
porch when no one is there) and water came into the basement, apparently through
the garbage can area wall but I have never been sure. The rug in the basement
tv room did get wet at the edge to the laundry room where it had gotten wet
before. Not the first time, but very rare.
In early June we had guests (Barbara and her Mah Jong
girls) for a few days and a lot of rain, and Connie and I got a call in
California that raw sewage was backing up in the basement toilet and shower and
running over into the basement laundry room and tv room. Bruce and Steve were
right on it and got things cleaned up and hosed down right away. Bruce rented a
snake and looked in at the sewer connection, cleaned out some yard material and
other junk, and thought we had it fixed. Steve rearranged the downspouts so
less rain would flow to the storm water drainage.
Then Leesa and family came down along with more
significant rain storms (including an actual tornado warning where they got
calls on their cell phones to seek shelter immediately) and the basement toilet
and shower did it again. Another job for a lot of Lysol, Tilex, Bruce, and
Steve. By this time we were all mystified as to the cause. The city came and
found nothing wrong. Also the upstairs AC unit went out.
Stevenson week arrived, with a lot of people and.....
More rain. Things overflowed twice during Stevenson week. Jessica had the
pleasure of finding it the first time, and the second time happened when Connie
and I were away for a night. After the second time, Bruce scoped it again and
found a piece of debris right at the connection to the city sewer that was
acting as a baffle during times of high flow. The city responded with repairs.
Now we really think that problem is solved, and Bruce Whitaker is my true hero.
As if all that wasn't enough during Stevenson week, the
awning in the pool area ripped right down the middle. It turns out the awning
was installed backwards.
Now for the house in Richmond- The backdrop here is the
endless pool project which started December 1. There have been lots of trucks
coming and going and lots of electrical connections and disconnections going
on.
After one big storm in the spring, possibly the same one
that caused problems at the beach, we had a couple of big tree limbs down,
including one huge one on the brick patio. Then while we were in California
there was another big storm which evidently caused a huge power surge (it
impacted the elevators, AC, routers, and even the fountain at my office). At
home it fried the pump to the water feature and the control outlets to the pond
(the aerator to the pond had gone out some time earlier this year). When we
walked into the house there was no upstairs AC. This was due to some failure of
the baffles regulating the flow of air. After getting that fixed, the same
thing happened again, again on a 90+ degree, really humid day, and this time it
was due to a bad compressor- luckily still under warranty. As I write this
(from Montana) I hope that is being fixed.
On to the pontoon boat- My mistake was rushing to get the
boat in the water so Leesa's family could start the water sports. I had
replaced the motor to upsize the power. Then the rains kept coming along with
the debris. Over one weekend, after the season officially started on Memorial
Day, the boat traffic rubbed the cover to the Bimini top to nothing. We decided
to move the boat to the Boat Club while I figure out a better docking system.
This sounds like a scratched vinyl record, but then the big rains came, again
while Connie and I were out of town in NC on our college tour. This time it was so bad the club decided to pull
the docks in but I was gone and so was Gordon so they had to tow us inside-
embarrassment.
I hope this is the end of it for the rest of the year and
then some.
