Pipe Break Redux Times Two

It was barely 2 weeks from when the pipe broke under our dining area that it burst again.

If you look closely, you can see water dripping from the pipe onto the shovel.

Anyhow, the Dynamic Duo of David and Reuben were back. They dug another hole, worked their mojo, back-filled the hole, and laid another layer of cement.

And I inscribed more prayers and scripture into the wet cement.

One would hope that would do the trick. But it wasn't so.

Last Friday morning I noticed a wet spot forming on the floor by the trash can that was next to the counter. Even though it was warm, it was way too big to be a pet accident.

The leasing office wasn't yet opened, so I called Tiffany, the property manager on her cell and left her a voice mail. Then I went to take a shower before the hot water got shut off.

No sooner had I stepped out the shower and stepped into my bathrobe, I heard knocking on the door. It was Teo and Logan, the fellows from maintenance. Boy! Talk about fast service!

Soon after that, David and Reuben arrived. It was like old home week.

We joked around, I cranked up the British rock on Pandora Radio, and the guys got cracking.

Literally.

Last time, David had to use a sledgehammer to break up the concrete in our dining area. This time he had to get out the big guns.

The guys worked fast. It seemed as though the more practice they got, the quicker they went.

I originally planned to do some organizing that day. It was the only day I had that week when I was not chauffeuring Neil to doctor appointments or going out job-hunting. But with the constant bustle of workers and the mess that David and Reuben were making, those plans had to be laid aside for another day.

Friday was also the coldest day that we had so far. We had our first frost that day. And it was the type of day where it would have been very nice to have been able to keep the door shut.

But with Reuben having to wheel the wheelbarrow in and out of the apartment, the door had to be kept open for the entire operation. And with the computer just feet from the door, it felt like I was sitting in an ice box.

Because the soil that David and Reuben back-filled into the hole was still quite saturated, David said that they would come back the following week to lay the layer of cement.

In the meantime, Teo and Logan brought in 2 sheets of plywood to lay over the hole so they could fold the carpet back over the spot.

I don't know if it had anything to do with the hole not being sealed up with cement, but whatever it was, I could not help but notice a nasty odor in the apartment coming up from the floor. It smelled like old onions or as though someone had dumped a bucket of sweat on the carpet. Incense and pet odor neutralizers have done little to help.

Ruben and David did not show up today to cement the hole as I had hoped or expected.

I am hoping that this is the last pipe-breaking event in this apartment. That's been 3 so far. Logan had lived in one of the apartments here where the pipe broke 4 times.

Oh please be not so with this apartment!

Anyhow, for all this inconvenience I already received a $50 gift card (which I used to buy new jeans), a check for $150, and $100 worth of free laundry tokens (which I really appreciated because I STILL cannot get used to having to pay to do my laundry).