Last night, my husband had a work function. Yes, it was a school night, and I don't like to go out on a school night. But I weighed that against free drinks + free food + adult conversation, and the balance tipped a bit away from sleep and more toward party.
Shoot me. I enjoy a good party every now and again.
I think it's telling that I also said to myself, You need to post something on your blog. But you really have nothing to post. There's no stories, nothing is really going on.
OH! HAHAHAHAHAHAAAAA!
We didn't leave the house until almost 10 PM. It felt a bit naughty, as I'm usually crawling into bed at 10 PM. We got to the restaurant, ordered a drink, and sat down with a plate of munchies. Literally, I had eaten two bites of a quesadilla corner, when my phone rang. I saw that it was the house, handed the phone to my husband, and continued my conversation with a girlfriend. With one ear, I listened to the conversation, and caught the words water, ceiling, and turn off the valve.
Excuse me?
He hung up the phone, looked at me and said, "apparently there's a water leak."I think it's telling that both of us looked at each other, nodded, and continued to eat our food. After all, we left two almost grown up kids in charge, told them what to do - it should be fine, right?
I took a sip of my drink, and my phone rang, and his phone rang at the same time.
No. You definitely need to come now, there's water pouring out of the light fixture in the kitchen. There's water coming through the walls in the bedroom upstairs.
Come. Home. Now.
I haven't downed a drink that fast since I was 19. Hey - it was $12 - I didn't pay it, but still - I'm not leaving Grey Goose on the table.
On the way home, we talked about what it might have been. We both came to the conclusion that it must be the hot water heater. After all, the brilliant genius who built this house put the water heater in the attic. After all, that's exactly where I would put a water heater, if I were house builder.
Which, hello, I am not. Thank God.
On my phone, I priced a new water heater, turned to my husband and said, "I hope you like hot water for Christmas, because that seems to be what you're going to get." He chuckled and wished me the same thing.
And we walked in the house, and saw this:
Apparently, when they said the water was coming through the recessed lights in the kitchen, they were not kidding.
Behold:
My husband turned off the hot water heater and still the water came out. It filled the buckets, the towels were drenched, replaced, replaced again. And still the water continued. It covered the counters. It filled the sink. It went on the floor, it went –
everywhere.
Yeah, I know I needed to deep clean my kitchen. I just didn't think I needed to do it at 11:30 PM.
I finally went to bed, and my husband decided to stay downstairs to keep an eye on things. When I woke up early this morning, he told me that the buckets had continue to fill, and at 1:30 in the morning, he went up in the attic to see if he could figure out what happened. After all, he had turned off the water to the hot water here, so where was this water coming from?
It turned out that a pipe had burst. And being covered by insulation, it was hidden, and virtually unnoticeable.
So, today when I woke up, I deep cleaned my kitchen. We called the plumber. We got new pipes. We've pulled out drywall.
Next time, I think I'm skipping the party.
Yikes!! I remember when the bathroom floor went crashing into the basement a few days before my HS graduation. I guess there was a leak or dry rot...it was an old house and my parents had just remodeled it. The entire bathroom needed to be replaced.
Posted by: Shelly | December 05, 2012 at 11:57 AM
Oh my, that's terrible! I am having flashbacks to the water that came pouring into our basement a few years ago -- the downspout wasn't properly positioned and the window well filled up. What a terrible mess!
Posted by: Heather | December 05, 2012 at 12:06 PM
yikes!!! water and houses don't mix. I suggest we all go back to pumps in the back yard.
Posted by: kyooty | December 05, 2012 at 01:48 PM
Ok, I'll be the first to say it...
When it rains, it pours!
(sorry. I couldn't resist. this, coming from the girl who's washing machine ran over for an hour.)
I'm SO SORRY. That sucks big donkey balls.
Posted by: Headless Mom | December 05, 2012 at 02:08 PM
We had a similar thing happen to us last year at this exact time. Fortunately insurance covered it, but it was a mess and so very expensive. Sorry this happened, but hopefully homeowners insurance will cover it. Hang in there.
Posted by: Theresa | December 05, 2012 at 02:55 PM
Wellllll poop! So sorry about the water and the party and the mess. Yay for handy husbands though.
Posted by: addy | December 05, 2012 at 03:36 PM
Our family motto is "Boring is good." It's what I remember when I start thinking, "I don't have any good stories." Good luck! No fun.
Posted by: Emily C | December 05, 2012 at 04:15 PM
You know that expression "what else can go wrong?" Never, ever think it or say it. We like to say "What else can go right?". Not that it works, but it sure does sound better.
Posted by: Brandy | December 05, 2012 at 04:57 PM
Woooooohooo look @ MrMTTSM in a great photo op :)
Can you find your emergency water shut off valve to the whole house & show everyone where it is & how to use it? Then you won't have to leave your annual fun night out early!
What a bummer :(
Posted by: KG | December 05, 2012 at 05:17 PM
Nononono!!!! Why do these things happen right before Christmas? And now, that said, I'm going to burn sage or something in this cursed house of mine...
Posted by: Jen | December 05, 2012 at 05:44 PM
Insurance covers the damage from a burst pipe. If it was a slow leak that is something that insurance gets picky about.
Posted by: Karenp | December 05, 2012 at 08:22 PM
Oh, jeez, I'm sorry this happened now! I'm impressed with your kids for doing what looked like a great job in this emergency. I'm waiting for my furnace to quit, and it's getting cold!
Posted by: maggie | December 05, 2012 at 10:14 PM