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Wednesday |
Last day before a holiday weekend wrapping up systems and thinking it was all going pretty well. Just a simple test of outflow pipes before knocking off but something was wrong. With bottom capped, water hosed into drain should back up to the top, high above, but in this case leveled off low indicating a leak in buried sewer pipe. Of course it had to be the hottest part of a blazing day in front of the house's most exposed face, guessing at where the breach might be, digging through back- fill with squarepoint, mattock, and spade. We worked hard, strenuous and sweating, trenching chaingang champs, pouring water on our overheated heads--a benediction. |
 Listen to Poke A Hole by 4Shadows |
The 3 of us dug beautifully for 45 minutes, tag-teaming, ever solicitous, doffing hats. For a dirty ditch it was good clean work, the kind I prefer to sitting in an office. Too bad it was in the wrong place. The pro- truding tip of 6-foot grounding rod right in line with pipe should have been a dead giveaway, but it had been obscured by some other stuff (the downspouts awaiting installation FYI). Once we saw it it didn't take long to unearth the truth--the electrician had driven his stake for a bullseye through top and bottom of pipe. Well, hell. The hardest thing is going to be pulling that 72" steel shaft out of the ground. Even so it's a minor SNAFU, just another joy of construction--two steps forward, one step back. |