My friend Jeff has dramatized our recent basement near-flood over at Jeff Shyluk's Visual Blog. I'm afraid I didn't look nearly as calm and heroic as portrayed, but I think it's still a very cool piece of art. Be sure to tune in to JSVB tomorrow for Jeff's 900th post!
Showing posts with label Plumbing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Plumbing. Show all posts
Thursday, January 09, 2014
Monday, January 06, 2014
Flood Footnote
For those who wanted more details about Saturday night's mini-flood::
Sylvia and I knew something was wrong the moment we heard something that sounded like a minor explosion near the roof of my office. The intense vibration caused the fire bell on the hallway wall to BONG in alarm. Each of us leaped into the hallway - we were both downstairs - to see what was going on. The sound of rushing water made it clear something had gone wrong with the plumbing but we couldn't see any water for several seconds, until a pool started to spread from the 500 gallon tank that feeds the sprinkler system. And it was spreading fast. I tore open the door of the furnace room, cranked one valve closed to no effect, then tried again, this time wrenching a handle conveniently marked "shut off water to holding tank." The rushing waters stopped, and Sylvia and I were able to soak up the mess in my office and the hallway within a couple of hours.
It has to be said that the ShamWow is far from a sham. A layer of them probably saved the carpeting in my office.
We called Sylvia's Uncle Joe and explained what had happened. He came in the next day and we explained what happened in detail. After taking a look around the room, Joe was able to deduce that the valve feeding the holding tank had stuck in the open position, causing pressure in the tank to build until its lid popped free, causing the loud bang we heard. The excess water spilled down the sides of the tank and stopped once I shut off the supply.
Joe estimates that it would probably take a year for all the water in the tank to evaporate, so we can simply keep the flow shut off and monitor the water level, opening the tap up again when needed. That's a simple enough fix, but Joe's also going to install a new valve for us so that the system works the way it should.
I feel incredibly fortunate that Sylvia and I were home when this happened. If we'd been out, the entire basement could have flooded, destroying my library, my computer and all the writing in it, the theatre room, and worst of all my photo albums and home movies, a loss I would have found genuinely devastating. For a few minutes there I felt like the trapped crew of the Deep Core in The Abyss, except it wasn't our lives I was fearful for, but our memories.
I don't do New Year's resolutions, but this I do resolve: to speed up the process of archiving all the family photos, movies and my writing, and to save complete copies in at least two off-site locations before the year is out.
Sylvia and I knew something was wrong the moment we heard something that sounded like a minor explosion near the roof of my office. The intense vibration caused the fire bell on the hallway wall to BONG in alarm. Each of us leaped into the hallway - we were both downstairs - to see what was going on. The sound of rushing water made it clear something had gone wrong with the plumbing but we couldn't see any water for several seconds, until a pool started to spread from the 500 gallon tank that feeds the sprinkler system. And it was spreading fast. I tore open the door of the furnace room, cranked one valve closed to no effect, then tried again, this time wrenching a handle conveniently marked "shut off water to holding tank." The rushing waters stopped, and Sylvia and I were able to soak up the mess in my office and the hallway within a couple of hours.
It has to be said that the ShamWow is far from a sham. A layer of them probably saved the carpeting in my office.
We called Sylvia's Uncle Joe and explained what had happened. He came in the next day and we explained what happened in detail. After taking a look around the room, Joe was able to deduce that the valve feeding the holding tank had stuck in the open position, causing pressure in the tank to build until its lid popped free, causing the loud bang we heard. The excess water spilled down the sides of the tank and stopped once I shut off the supply.
Joe estimates that it would probably take a year for all the water in the tank to evaporate, so we can simply keep the flow shut off and monitor the water level, opening the tap up again when needed. That's a simple enough fix, but Joe's also going to install a new valve for us so that the system works the way it should.
I feel incredibly fortunate that Sylvia and I were home when this happened. If we'd been out, the entire basement could have flooded, destroying my library, my computer and all the writing in it, the theatre room, and worst of all my photo albums and home movies, a loss I would have found genuinely devastating. For a few minutes there I felt like the trapped crew of the Deep Core in The Abyss, except it wasn't our lives I was fearful for, but our memories.
I don't do New Year's resolutions, but this I do resolve: to speed up the process of archiving all the family photos, movies and my writing, and to save complete copies in at least two off-site locations before the year is out.
Sunday, January 05, 2014
A Close Call
Given the number of books, photographs and personal writing projects in our basement, I've always been a little worried about flooding. So when Sylvia and I heard a loud bang and then rushing water late last night, the adrenalin rush that slammed through me was stronger than I've felt in years.
Luckily I found the cut off lever before too much water escaped, and Sylvia's uncle discovered the underlying problem today. Thank goodness it's an easy fix!
Luckily I found the cut off lever before too much water escaped, and Sylvia's uncle discovered the underlying problem today. Thank goodness it's an easy fix!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)