Plumbing at the folks

During our last cold spell my Mom called in a panic because a pipe had burst in their basement.

I suggested that she should call a plumber instead of her unemployed landscaper son who knows nothing about plumbing.

She asked if I could come and look at it before she called a plumber, “because they are so expensive”. She sweetened the deal by offering me a lasagna and some cabbage rolls. It's almost impossible to so no to my mom and it is impossible once she offers cabbage rolls.

When I got there I found the problem was not a burst pipe, but simply a broken valve that was slowly leaking water into a bucket she had set below it. They had not tuned off their outdoor hose bib and it froze, thus breaking the valve.

I assumed it was a simple fix and got to work by turned off the water and cutting the copper pipe in order to remove the valve. Once out I took the whole thing to the hardware store and bought the correct parts. They informed me that I would have to “sweat the pipes” in order to finish the project. Then they sold me a torch and some soldering stuff.

I had no clue what I was doing, but that never stopped me before.

I connected the puzzle of pipes into place and proceeded to Google “sweating copper pipes”... It seemed simple enough that an idiot like me could do it.

I prepared the pipes by sanding the connection points and I applied the flux stuff as the YouTube video had shown me. Then I started the torch.

I quickly learned that you should not hold it directly above you as the hot solder drips onto your face and burns like hell. So I stood on a flimsy chair and tried it from a different angle. I held the flame in place and waited for the solder to melt into place.

When I smelled smoke I didn't think much of it, there was a torch in my hand after all. But it smelled more of wood burning. So I looked from another angle and realized I had set the floor joist on fire. I adjusted my position to get a better look and the chair collapsed.

I put out the flames and stood on a paint can in order to give it another shot. I was able to get it done and I was rather proud of myself. Until I turned on the water and watched as it simply poured from the joints.

Defeated, I called a plumber. Who was able to sweat the pipes into place within a moment or two, like it was no big deal... Then he charged me $75 for the service call.

Basically, I paid $75 on cabbage rolls and lasagna...