Houston, We Have Water

Our leaking water main is fixed. 

There's a reason all of the quotes were so high.

First quote: $5800

Second quote: $5000

Third quote: $3400

Guess which one we picked?

As a typical American, my first thought was "What's the catch?" However, the people who gave the third quote fixed my neighbor's line last year and they haven't had any problems since. 

It made the choice easier for me, but turning a yard into a work zone for that much isn't at the top of many people's weekend wish lists.

I don't like paying for it, but I do think the whole process is interesting. I enjoy learning and I'm the annoying type of customer that pokes around and asks questions while everything is going on. Dan was interested in the progress, so I took a lot of pictures and sent them to him, too.

I'll tell you who really enjoyed himself: Shane! There was a giant hole, piles of dirt and an excavator! What's not to love!?

He would have loved to play out in the dirt longer, but Daddy wanted a break to warm up. And then, thank you Daylight Savings, it was pitch black by five.

The hole stayed open in the yard all weekend. We dropped well below freezing Sunday, but no problems came of it. The county water inspector came Monday to give it an all clear. Then the plumbing crew filled in the trench before I got home from work. Carrie worried they might have dropped one of the massive rocks on the line, but I figure they've done it enough times to know not to do anything overly stupid. After all, their work is guaranteed and I doubt they want to re-trench my yard for free.

It took several days to get a picture of the completed job. The aforementioned Daylight Savings turned the lights out on me by the time I got home from work each day. I'm thankful that I remembered to snap this picture Thanksgiving morning.

That's a lot of straw strewn all over with some grass seed thrown in. Who knows what it'll look like next summer.

The water tasted and smelled funny for the first several days. Online research told me that the new copper lines didn't have the correct minerals coating their insides yet, but it would occur naturally as more water was pumped through. I called the plumber's office, played dumb, and let them explain the same thing to me.

Our house is one step closer to being 'fully functional' again.