So, it is a snow day. Wake up, school is closed, work is closed, it is starting to snow pretty heavily. Sitting down a bit after breakfast beginning to enjoy my coffee. Marcia calls from the basement that there is a huge puddle on the floor and a drainage pipe is leaking pretty steadily. Bummer. I inspect with Marcia and decide that this is something I should try to tackle.

It is about 1PM at this point. I do about an hour of internet research and planning. I assemble a crack team (Maggie, 5, Noah, 7). We get dressed in our snow gear, and go out in a few inches of snow to go to the hardware store. With our shopping list in hand, we get the necessary tools and plumbing materials. We luckily meet someone in the store who is very experienced in this sort of thing. I ask a lot of questions of him and the people that work there. The kids are very helpful in the store, fitting together different plumbing pieces. By the time we get out of the store, at least another inch has fallen on the car.


We drive home with 10 foot pipes hanging out of the open window and the kids enjoying the snow driving through the open windows. We’re laughing the whole way as they roll the windows up and down and enjoy the cross-winds. We bring in all of our supplies and get to work. They recruit some of their siblings to help with various tasks. I set them all to work. We measure and cut pipes. We file pipes so they are smooth and flat. We cut new holes in the floor, because we are rerouting the drain.

Standing in our way is a galvanized pipe as old as the house. I try cutting it out to no avail. Eventually, I just start banging it with a hammer, and it just gives way. It was so rusted that I am able to pull it apart with my hands. Looking through the old PVC pipe, it is filled with gunk, ewww. We need to snake it before we start assembling the new drain.

Now, we’ve go all of our pieces. We hook them all together to see if everything has been measured correctly. We cut an additional 1/2 inch off of the old PVC where we will be connecting. We run this from the basment, up into the kitchen sink area, and connect to the disposal. We even create a vent that was never there before. Amazingly, everything fits and the pipes are at appropriate angles so that they will drain properly. So, we get to work cementing everything together. Liz and Eden are in on the act at this point as well. The last step is securing the pipes to the ceiling in the basement. It is 7:30, and we stop to watch a movie and let everything set.

When the movie is over, we set kids to all the different points that the pipes could leak, and we run the water for several minutes. No leaks! I am amazed. This has been the most involved plumbing project I have undertaken. And it may be the first time there has been no initial leak, not even in the connections to the garbage disposal.

Upon reflection later in the evening, I am very proud of the day and how we spent it. I took one trip to the hardware store. $53 total in parts, including a new boring drill bit. No return trips. I did not lose my temper throughout the day, and I did not cuss. The kids helped me, and I thoroughly enjoyed their involvement. They were also very helpful.

I am proud of the job we did, and I look forward to our next task!