Wow! Last week was totally insane! We ended up calling Mr. Rooter, who told us we needed to install an access outside the house (all the houses around here were built in the 1950s and go through installing an access at some point and this had never been done to our house, since it was a rental before we bought it). So we deliberated but ended up signing a contract for $2,000 to get the access installed and the pipes cleaned. Mr. Rooter dug a hold just outside our front door and broke a hole in our clay pipes to run a snake and clear away enough roots for things to get through. He came back the next day with his supervisor, who ran a camera down the pipes and then he recommended replacing our entire pipes, which I knew was coming and we declined - until they used the scare tactic of showing us where the roots had gotten in through all the joints every 4 feet, (which we expected, since all the neighbors have had the same problems) but they told us we were fertilizing our front lawn with the waste from our pipes and so we signed on the dotted line for $6,000 to replace the main pipe from our house to the sidewalk and install an access and then Erik signed a waiver of our right to cancel the contract so they could begin work immediately. Then they left for another job and didn't come back that day. I sweated bullets all night because there was no way I wanted to take on a payment plan for this. I had a $2,000 check from an insurance claim that I had just made on half the fence and so I could come up with $2,000 (even though we still need a new fence, but still). It just didn't feel right and I got about four hours of sleep. I got up the next morning and ran to the neighbor's house, and she helped me look into our rights and getting out of the contract and found out we were only liable up to $750 for emergency work so then I felt better (Except, I still had a pipe that was broken just outside my front door and I could watch all of our sewage floating by. It was lovely.). I called someone else in for a second opinion, and they came at 1 pm and told me they could get rid of the roots for a year and install the access $1,200. Then Mr. Rooter showed up and they were both there at the same time and I had to fire one and hire the other with them both watching. It was stressful. Then Mr. Rooter fought with me over how much I owed him. At first he said $1,000 and I told him I wasn't paying more than $750. I knew my rights. Then he called his supervisor (who had brought the camera and was practically gleeful at the amount of work we "needed" done), who said he had done 85% of the work and we should pay $1,800. I said, "No way in heck." But I didn't say heck. And then I said, "We're gonna have a problem here." I called the supervisor and said, "What you've done is worth $500 to me." He was insulted and told me his guy's time was worth more than that. I said, "Too bad. Do you want a dissatisfied customer who is going to say a lot of bad things about you or should we cut our losses here?" I used that tip from my neighbor, and I was amazed that it worked. He said, "Fine. We'll call it even at $700." I said, "Fine." So it cost me $2,000 in the end. Erik brought me home ice cream and flowers for the first time ever, because he recognizes that although he has to put up with my mouth, it does get us out of things occasionally. But after the new plumbers cleaned the roots out, they saw that there are breaks in the tops of the pipes under the sidewalk and street and even though it's city property technically, we'll probably still have to pay for it. So we will need to pay $6,000 in a year or two to get the work done. It feels like we're paying for car and getting a pipe in our front yard, but at least I have the time to figure it out now. This pretty much took all week and I still had kid duties so by the end I could barely put a complete sentence together.
Thankfully, we had a weekend away at Windsor with friends and without the kids. It was a nice and much-needed break, but it did rain. We went to a couple wineries and took the tours, which we've never been able to do because we've always had the kids with us. Our friends weren't members and sampled wine. It was a strange feeling to live vicariously. I found myself asking, "How was that one? Did you like it?" and swallowing a lot. Anyway, it is strange to me that it is such a big business that we don't participate in. I asked one lady if they made anything nonalcoholic. She sarcastically said, "Yeah. Water." I would even be willing to pay $8 a bottle for a good grape juice but I guess it's not worth it to them. They told me grape juice was grown in the Central Valley.
Well, I hope to never have another week like the one I just went through but I'm glad we survived and came out OK. I called the insurance company and claimed the other half the fence and they're sending another $2,000, so now we can buy the materials, but unfortunately for Erik, it won't be enough to pay for labor so he's going to have to do the work.
Something funny is that when I was in the middle of it, I told Mom, "We don't need a titanium pipe! We just need a good enough one to get by," meaning we have a cheap, crappy house - why should we put in a shiny new pipe? I get everything at a discount, as you know. So she calls me back at 11:30 at night and says, "Dad was talking to his coworkers and everyone thinks it's ridiculous that you are getting a titanium pipe installed. Why can't they just use PVC?" I said, "Mom, I meant figuratively!" Hopefully Dad thought that was funny.
