Sunday was an interesting day at the Williams's house....our toilet stopped working correctly that morning, so it was Dave's mission to get it working again. When all his efforts at trying to fix it on his own didn't work, he actually called Home Depot for some advice ( I was very proud of him for this because like most guys he doesn't like to ask for help). You will have to keep in mind that we are NOT plumbers, nor will we ever BE plumbers.................. Since the toilet is a very important commodity, Dave's goal was to get it FINISHED by Sunday before we went to Sunday School at 5:00. All afternoon, (after a trip to Lowe's--no, we didn't even go to the store that we asked the advice from....) I hear "Oh!", "Uh-oh!", "Who's the man?!", "Oh no....", etc. I am trying SO HARD to be the good wife that I had JUST read about in my Bible study last week...you know, the one who is patient, understanding, and lets the HUSBAND do the jobs so he feels important and respected?? I tried working on the computer (that failed because the computer kept messing up...), watching tv (nothing on), and cleaning (that got old REALLY fast). I was pacing the livingroom when finally Michelle rescued me by calling me so I chatted with her for over an hour (THANKS, MICHELLE!!). Needless to say, Dave did an awesome job of getting the ONE part fixed that needed to be fixed. However, admidst all the banging, clanging, and groaning we found out that metal bolts CAN corrode and fall apart. When this happens, the tank is no longer held to the bowl and you have two big holes that water rushes through onto your floor............... BIGGER problem! =) His goal WAS completed on time, but the bigger problem made for bigger headaches!
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Thankfully we have several friends in our Sunday School class that are "Mr. Fix-its" and have tools and tips galore. Chad let us borrow his tools and Justin came over that evening to help fix the bolts problem. Diana kept me company this time so I wouldn't be in Dave's way. They got the tank re-bolted, all cleaned up, and working. But, why would it be THAT easy?? Of course, something ELSE had to go wrong.................... =) So, Sunday night, we STILL didn't have the toilet completely fixed (remember, we were only going to fix one part.....). Apparently, if your house is 25 years old, the faucet that comes out of the wall where you turn the water on and off was also corroded and started LEAKING all over the floor! AGGH!!! FORTUNATELY, Justin and Diana had just redone all their bathrooms and Justin knew exactly how to replace that part! BUT, we had to wait until TUESDAY (Dave's day off) to do it. Until then, the water flooded the floor several times, and we were finally able to turn the water to the toilet off without having the water start spewing out everywhere.
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On Tuesday, Justin met Dave at Lowe's after he got off work (at 5:30) to get some more parts to the toilet. Diana and I went grocery shopping while the boys worked. The "15-minute" job turned into a "4-hour job"!! As luck would have it, Justin and Dave couldn't get the water to the house turned off because the knob was corroded shut! They had to end up waiting 3 1/2 hours for the city to come out to our house to turn off the water valve for them. Fortunately our house wasn't flooding because it may have floated away by the time the city got there! The job ended up taking 30 minutes instead of 15, but the BEST news is: OUR POTTY IS FIXED!!! (and practically filled with all new "guts"!) Dave and Justin are now going to teach sessions on "Fixing Your Toilet" at Lowe's! =)
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I WILL say, I am VERY proud of Dave for calling people when he needed help, sticking to the job when it seemed hopeless, and for FIXING the problem! Quite an awesome task for a guy who is a self-proclaimed "bull-in-a-china-cabinet"! =) Way to go, honey!!! (And, THANK YOU to JUSTIN who was so patient in teaching Dave the skills of the plumbing profession, DIANA for keeping me busy, and JAMIE & CHAD who so graciously let us borrow their tools!!)
Did anyone know this part was called a ballcock?
"Hmm...I wonder how you get this in there??"
Look at that SMALL space Dave had to work in!
Cuddles was overseeing her daddy's work and making sure that he was doing it correctly (Just like her mommy USED to do).
Chipper (always at a distance) was overseeing Cuddles to make sure she didn't get in the way!
And, Justin was overseeing Dave as well! (Poor Davey!)
How many cleaners (and apparently lotions) does it take to clean out an old toilet????
The "potty with no tank" (so gross around that thing!!)
Good job, honey! Put those bolts into place! =)
Dave finally gets to take a little break and oversee Justin!
Looks good, boys (well, except for that dripping faucet.....)!
Uh, what do you need this part for??
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