Hole in our wall

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home repairs

There’s a hole in the wall in our house!
It was the place where an old evaporative cooler (a.k.a. swamp cooler) used to be. It had not been used in several years, in 2012 we redid all the HVAC when we built Gary’s studio onto the house and stopped using this unit. Recently a neighbor asked us if he could have it, so it is gone off to be used elsewhere.
There’s a temporary patch on the hole, it will be properly patched this week or next.

Evaporative Cooler Repair

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evaporative cooler, home repairs

We’ve been having problems with our evaporative cooler. It’s just about fixed now. The water pump shorted and fried the controller. We have a new pump and new controller as of this evening. The fan only works on high speed, this will be debugged when HVAC contractor Gary F. has some time to work on it.

Water Heater Woes

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Home Repair, plumbing, water heater

One of many things a homeowner does not want to deal with is a water leak. We discovered a puddle by the water heater, a bad sign. The water heater tank drain valve failed and was leaking, not the tank itself. In the photo there’s a short copper pipe screwed in where the valve was, a placeholder while the plumber went to get a replacement valve.

This was a much less expensive fix than replacing the entire water heater. My budget is very thankful!

Water Line Replacement Day 2

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Home Repair, plumbing, water line replacement

Today the bulk of the work on our water line replacement was done. The plumbers dug a trench, laid a new water line, disconnected the old and connected the new. Then they turned the water on and checked for leaks.

Digging

New water line in trench. The new line is a plastic material.

View of the project.

Now we wait on the building inspector to approve the job, and then the new water line will be buried.

Water Line Replacement Project

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Home Repair, plumbing, water line replacement

The plumbing woes continue at our 194o’s era home we call The Farmhouse. We discovered a water leak under the driveway a little while ago, today the plumbing contractor started work to reroute the water line. When they dug up the connection at the water meter, they discovered the line was full of leaks. The first photo is a pool of water that leaked from the line just past the water meter. Also, the ground by the footer of the house was found to be wet.

Here’s the end of the trench by the house and you can see (look hard) the hole drilled through the foundation into the crawl space. The new water line will go through this hole and be connected to the water pipe in the crawlspace beneath the house.

Trench across the driveway.
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Debris pile along the driveway.

And if you’re wondering, the answer is yes, this is an expensive repair.