Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Moved In

We finally were able to start moving in to our house this past Friday. At 1:30 p.m. on Friday the lender finally released the funds (even though we closed on Wednesday), and it felt like all the stress was finally lifted off our shoulders.

Saturday morning we had some guys in our ward come help us to move the last of our stuff across the street to our new house. We only had the heavy stuff to move, like the fridge, washer and dryer, couches, beds and the piano. In true fashion it was raining while we moved our furniture. Here is a picture of us moving the piano in the rain, good times.

We owe a special thanks to all that helped us move in. They made the job go by very quickly. We love being in our house, and other than one big dramatic incident, the new house is being great to us.

That one dramatic incident is the problem we had with the sewer line. On Sunday we noticed that the water was backed up from the drain in the basement. When we called a plumber out to investigate the problem, he gave us some news we weren't too happy to receive. The new homes in the area have a "clean-out" pipe that is located in front of the house and allows plumbers access to the main sewer line. It appears that our contractors either never capped that pipe or the cap somehow came off. Either way, it allowed rocks to fall in that pipe and back up the sewer line. After showers, dishes and laundry on Saturday, the line was backed up and into our basement. The plumber quoted us a price of $2,400 to excavate and fix the problem. I wasn't too frustrated with the problem because we bought the home for so cheap, I could handle some issues. We wouldn't be able to hold the contractors or seller responsible though because the seller (the bank) sold us the house "as is", so we would have to cover all costs.

Luckily for us we live in a ward where most of the guys work in construction. Jake Jorgenson recommended that we ask our neighbor Shane if we could hire him to excavate it for us. On Monday morning he brought over the back-hoe from a company he works for and he and another guy dug a huge, 9 foot deep hole to access the main sewer line.

We removed the vertical portion of the pipe and got all the rocks out. We then verified that the main line out to the city line was not blocked. After we were satisfied that the line was clear we reattached the pipe and buried the hole.

Shane was a ton of help and bailed us out of a big mess. He was also able to do it for much, much cheaper than the plumber had quoted us, so luckily for us the big drama turned out to be not so expensive. I ran to the local hardware store and bought a cap for the pipe so as to avoid any future problems with the line.
On a really bright note, the pipe can serve a great purpose for us in the future. My dad mentioned that when we have a trailer or 5th wheel (or Dan's sweet Winnebago) we can use the pipe to empty the waste without having to pay to go to a dumping station. I instantly could picture myself out there on a cold morning in my bathrobe, kicking back a mountain dew while emptying out the 5th wheel septic tank. If any of the neighbors give me an odd look, I'll just hold my mountain dew can high, and say with pride, "The sh***er's full!" (reference to the greatest Christmas movie ever made. quote given by the best cousin-in-law imaginable)

10 comments:

Becca and Brian said...

Wow. What a nightmare. I'm glad you got the plumbing issue taken care of. Plumbing can be such a pain. That was lucky you had friends in the was to help out. BTW your house is beautiful

Kevin said...

I'm totally cracking up wanting to watch Christmas Vacation right now! LOL... bummer about the sewer line and thank goodness for good neighbors always willing to lend a hand! At least the blockage wasn't the result of a "Cody power dump"...lol. It must have been those kids of yours... no wonder they had so much fun playing in the rocks before you move in!! J/K See you guys soon.

Sarah said...

Oh, I am having flashbacks of our first night in our first home. Same thing happened to us. After 6 loads of laundry, kids baths and running the dishwasher all day, our basement drain was completely backed up and water was coming into the basement. Our problem wasn't rocks, but tree roots that had grown through the old pipes (our home is 50 years old) Luckily it didn't cost so much to fix but it was still a pain! I'm so glad you got it taken care of!

Amber said...

Glad to hear you are all moved in. Not fun about the pipes but at least you were able to get it fixed. We are excited to stop by sometime and see your new place.

Carson Calderwood said...

Glad to see you jump on to the homeowner lifestyle so soon.

dan and audrey said...

oh the joys of owning a home! good thing it was resolved so quickly. And you guys might have set a record for moving the most times in a 1 year period, among people I know! pregnant, really pregnant, new baby + 2 kids, across country, across one more state, and across the street! you guys are AMAZING! here's to staying put for awhile. (:

Starley Family said...

Bummer. Glad you were able to laugh about it as usual. Congrats on your new place. It really is beautiful. We can appreciate your hoops from the underwriter but hopefully we close the first of next week. Not quite as frustruating as your guys' ordeal.

Anonymous said...

That there is an R.V. Now don't go fallin in love with it . . . Too funny.

Cousin Jayson

Unknown said...

I can picture you out there like a jackass too! que wierd?

Holly said...

That's a bummer! But, it's a beautiful house, with a great view, so it's worth it, right?!!

Lisa, how's your bed project coming? That is a SWEET bed. It will look so cute in Aubrey's little room. By the way, I think Cole is looking a lot like Aubrey!

Hope all is well in Utahland, and Happy Mother's Day Lisa Ü