I’ll find out Monday morning. Fairly big laminate flooring job–kitchen, living room, hallway, hall bath–over horrendous ceramic tile job. I have maybe 20 s.f. left in the bathroom to install.
Friday 5 o’clock. Before I roll up and put the homeowner’s kitchen back into a usable state for the weekend he wants the shut-off valve for the fridge ice-maker replaced. Currently it’s a crappy old gate valve and it’s just a matter of time… 1/2″ copper stubbed up through the floor from the crawl space with a compression fitting. I’ve got the new ball valve ready to go.
I’m joking with the homeowner about how late on a Friday is NOT a good time to mess with plumbing (too many times I’ve been crawling around an attic 10 o’clock at night sweating copper to try to get the water turned back on after some kind of plumbing issue popped up to destroy your weekend).
The homeowner goes outside to shut off the main and I go around opening the faucets. All’s good–couple of minutes and no more flow–the system is drained right? Flop down on my belly with the wrenches and start on the compression fitting to remove the ice-maker shut-off. Small talk, small talk…BANG!
The valve blasts off into space atop a column of water that’s shooting up to ceiling height. Instantly soaked to the skin with icy water I can’t even catch my breath to yell. The homeowner is running in circles, I’m running in circles, my wife and his wife are running in circles. Everybody is yelling.
HOW can this be happening? Your brain can’t figure out how it is happening or worse what the H to do about it. Meanwhile “billions” of gallons of water are pouring all over his brand new, barely-installed laminate flooring (I should mention that he went high-end on this stuff–not the 87 cent/s.f. variety).
Finally I end up with my finger jammed in the end of the copper like the little boy in the dyke. The homeowner and my wife are running to the water meter with handfuls of wrenches and Channel-Locks. The HO’s wife is bringing in towels, blankets, pillowcase, rugs, the dog–anything even slightly absorbent.
The water supply to the house comes from the street, through the water meter then to an exterior spigot then to the main shut-off valve and finally to supply the house. At some point whatever IDIOT that installed the supply line for the ice-maker ran 1/2″ copper coil direct from the fridge ALL the way under the house from end to the other and tied it into the 3/4″ main BEFORE the shut-off!!!!!
The only way to shut-off the water supply to the ice-maker is to shut-off the water meter. Correcting this situation will be my first order of business come Monday morning.
It seemed like we did an amazingly good job of mopping up all that water before it was able to stand on that floor for long. But how much was able to get down around the (unsealed) edges and is currently trapped between the laminate and the ceramic tile and is doing it’s evil work?
Monday morning I’ll find out the final results I guess.
What can we learn from this boys and girls? Maybe always kill the water at the meter no matter how irrational it may seem? Or before taking wrench to fitting–go ahead and open that valve just for laughs.
Not the Friday evening I had planned–that’s for sure!
Replies
Sounds funny to me.
I think it's gonna get ugly to you.
You learned the lesson the hard way. Shut off main, drain valve you're replacing.
A Great Place for Information, Comraderie, and a Sucker Punch.
Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
http://www.quittintime.com/
Wow.
I'd never cut off a valve without first opening the valve.
I say both: funny and tragic. But only because it wasn't me. If it was me that happened to, it'd just be tragic. And it'd be a long weekend waiting for Monday to roll around.
I've got my fingers crossed for you that the floor stays flat.
Best, Mongo
That sucks, I know how scary that can be when you think the water is off but it's not. Make sure they leave the heat way up so that any of the trapped water might dry out. Even space heaters. If it's high quality laminate, then it's thicker than your normal laminate, you might be ok.
I once sheared a copper pipe in a finished floor area.
It was tragic at the time. 25 years later it is a funny story to tell.
Hope the floor can be salvaged. If its click together and not glued, I think I would disasemble and let dry quite a while.
Mike
Small wheel turn by the fire and rod, big wheel turn by the grace of god.
Call a carpet cleaner.
I got a call from one once after a leak at one of his customers' house. He needed me to install shoe to cover his work.
When I arrived I was amazed to see dozens of lengths of 1/4" tubing coming off of a manifold and disappearing into dozens of 5/16" holes drilled through the floor tight to the baseboard.
Pretty cool drying technology! And the shoe covered everything up once it was dry.
That said, I don't imagine there's much one of these guys can do for you, with the ceramic.
But it's worth a call.
Good Luck!
AitchKay
Well here's the update:
Slight swelling at the joints in the area of the fridge after 62 hours. Homeowner didn't notice it--I did obviously. But the fridge will conceal any imperfections thank goodness. Sure got lucky on this one!
Crawled under the house and took care of that bone-headed plumbing arrangement with two of my best friends: Mr. Pex and Mr. Sharkbite. I cut loose the fifty or so feet of 1/2" copper and dragged it out of there. First chance it's going to be turned into cash and subsequently beer to try to repair some of the damage done to my delicate state on Friday evening.
Related topic (sort of): have any of y'all tried that Kirkland German beer collection from Costco? Good price and great beer--four varieties I believe.