ARG...I'm about to blow my top!

Ravenlost · #1 01/14/11, 04:42 PM

Is this Friday the 13th or something?

Woke up this morning to discover water dripping through the ceiling in my laundry room in several places. Rusty water. Went to the attic and BOTH hot water heaters are leaking all over the place. Called the plumber and they can't come out until Monday so I've been up in the attic mopping up water as fast as I can.

Our credit card expires the end of the month. Called last week to find out when the new ones would arrive and was told that now we have to call and request them. GEEZZZZ...would have been nice if they'd let us know this before hand! So I order new ones and only got mine today. Call again and am told they only sent me one...that hubby has to call and order his.

He flat out refuses to do stuff like this so I guess I'll have to call and pretend to be him. ARGGGG...

Got my Dickies order and it was messed up. They sent me two of one item and didn't send an item I'd ordered. Had to call them, but they were really nice (only good thing that's happened today) and will send the missing item. Told me to keep the duplicate item.

Oh well, enough complaining. I need to see what else is going to go wrong.

Jokarva · #2 01/14/11, 05:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ravenlost

He flat out refuses to do stuff like this so I guess I'll have to call and pretend to be him. ARGGGG...

LOL! - men are so funny (not).

I hope you get the issues straightened out without too much more aggravation. Go spend some time with your menagerie and I bet you'll feel a lot better!

Karen (who's being chewed on by one of our stray kitties as I type)

Windy in Kansas · #3 01/14/11, 06:01 PM

Don't the water heaters have drains on them so that once the water is turned off you could attach a hose and drain them outside or into a drain?

That would minimize the water clean up. Did they freeze up there?

Ravenlost · #4 01/14/11, 06:38 PM

Windy, yes and I will point all that out to hubby when he gets home. Or, I will just start taking care of EVERYTHING myself.

The taller hotwater heater has givien us problems from Day 1 (six years ago). I noticed this summer it was leaking rusty water from the top. Showed it to hubby and he unplugged it. Said he'd have to call the plumber eventually. SIGH.

The drip pans had ice in them today when I noticed the spots on the laundry room ceiling. To drain them with a hose will require running it from the attic, into a bedroom, out a window, etc. It will be a pain, but will probably be how I spend my Saturday. IF I can find a hose that isn't frozen to the ground outside. We are still covered in snow and ice, but it did start thawing today and should continue tomorrow (although what thawed today will be ice in the morning).

Minelson · #5 01/14/11, 06:49 PM

((((hugs!))))))

oregon woodsmok · #6 01/14/11, 06:52 PM

You bring the hoses inside and set them in the bathtub until they thaw out. Been there, done that.

You've turned off the water intake to the water heaters, right?

Unless you keep the space they are in from freezing, any replacement water heater is also going to be damaged. You can not allow a water heater to freeze.

oregon woodsmok · #7 01/14/11, 06:54 PM

Also, flip the circuit breaker off to the water heater when you turn off the water intake.

Ravenlost · #8 01/14/11, 07:08 PM

Hubby won't shut off the better water heater. He's not going to go without hot water! The other one was unplugged back in the summer, but not drained, nor was the water shut off to it.

Neither one of us knows anything about plumbing. I've told him time and again that we need to put a heat source in the attic for the water heaters when it gets really cold, but he's always insisted they're fine since they are out of drafts, etc.

NOW he's convinced that we do, indeed, need to get heat blankets for them. Guess we'll be getting new hot water heaters first, although I don't know why two people need two hot water heaters. We've been doing fine with one since summer and didn't run out of hot water when we had five extra people staying here during the holidays.

AngieM2 · #9 01/14/11, 09:10 PM

I have never heard of having a hot water heater in an attic.

I hope it gets resolved without too much (more) stress.

GrannyG · #10 01/14/11, 10:07 PM

I know exactly how you feel...this old house has a small one in the attic....it rusted out and dripped water down through the ceiling to the first floor about a year ago...and it was a booger to try to replace and replumb...send you a really big hug....

Ravenlost · #11 01/14/11, 10:49 PM

Angie, our house in TX had the hot water and air conditioning unit in the attic. The drip pan under them rusted out and hubby didn't do anything about it...until the ceiling of the guest bathroom fell in!!!

I should have learned from that and taken care of them myself before today. I'm so mad at myself!

Fae · #12 01/14/11, 11:20 PM

My DM had heating unit and water heater in the attic of her house and one of them started leaking bad and the ceiling in the hall fell down. I would never put either one in my attic.

Ravenlost · #13 01/14/11, 11:25 PM

Our air conditioning units are outside behind the garage. Our gas heaters are in the upper attic. The hot water heaters are in the attic above the garage...the room we want to finish and make into a TV/game room. I want my washer and dryer moved up there when we do this so I can turn my laundry room into a huge pantry. Now I'm thinking the space we turn into a laundry area upstairs needs to be floored with a BIG tub with the water heaters and washing machine sitting in it...maybe just tile the area like a bathroom shower.

AngieM2 · #14 01/14/11, 11:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ravenlost

Angie, our house in TX had the hot water and air conditioning unit in the attic. The drip pan under them rusted out and hubby didn't do anything about it...until the ceiling of the guest bathroom fell in!!!

I should have learned from that and taken care of them myself before today. I'm so mad at myself!

But Raven - you're not in your house in TX, you're in your house in MS. did you just put the hot water UP due to what you knew from the tX house.

Of course, the three houses I've lived in that were two storied all had the hot water heater in the bottom floor. Guess it's all in what you know.
And I think a room with an industrial drain in the center, then if leaks and overflows happen, they do not harm anything.

Ravenlost · #15 01/15/11, 02:09 AM

Angie, that's were they were in the house plans. I didn't have anything to do with it!

BlueberryChick · #16 01/15/11, 09:21 AM

We've had some of the same issues in the last several months. Our water heater cracked and was shooting water all over the place, back in October. We replaced it with a tankless one. It's heavenly! I never have to take a cold shower because our teenage daughter got there first.

Just before Christmas, a pipe froze and burst near the upstairs bathroom, sending flooding of near-biblical proportions into the master bathroom downstairs. Repairs are being finished as I type.

Hang in there! It will get better, it will get better, it will....

OUVickie · #17 01/15/11, 11:36 AM

I feel for you.
We just had pipes in the well house replaced yesterday because DH didn't want to take the time to go out an put the heater on in the well house during the single digit night temps. If I don't do things they don't get done and the only reason I didn't this time is because I've been recovering from surgery and couldn't walk up the hill to do it last weekend. It's exasperating.
Hang in there. I understand completely!

Rain · #18 01/15/11, 12:17 PM

I hope your Saturday is going a little better Ravenlost!

Nette · #19 01/15/11, 12:53 PM

I know what you mean about having to take responsibility for stuff if you want it to get done. I feel your pain.

But that said, one of the best features of our house was DH's idea. Our laundry room is right next to the bathroom AND our bedroom. The laundry room is only a few steps away from where the dirty clothes come off and from where the clean clothes get put up. I don't tote laundry all over the house. Our water heater is in there, too, as is the litter box. It's not the prettiest laundry room in the world, but definitely the most practical.

Ravenlost · #20 01/15/11, 02:31 PM

Nette, that's why I want the washer/dryer moved upstairs. I have to carry ALL the dirty clothes down the stairs and then carry the clean ones UP the stairs. Drives me nuts!

If we ever had to build another house, we'd build this one again and there would be some changes made! You really don't realize the flaws until you've lived in a house for a while.

OUVickie, sounds like you do understand. My heart goes out to you!

So far, so good today. No more leaking through the ceiling.