Wednesday, July 20, 2022

Big project to come: broken pipes

Back in February, when we had another ice storm I found this outside of the barn:
And I knew that I had made a major mistake of not bleeding the pipes to remove the extra water and prevent them from bursting.  In my defense, I was on call and couldn't get up there to do it.  If I could turn back time, I would have gone up there anyway, call or not, and I know Mark would have made the trip to do just that and save himself the future trouble.  Lesson learned.
Turns out the pipe was broken in several different places, including at the main valve.  Main valve broken = no water a the barn.
After I unpeeled the insulation Mark had carefully wrapped it all in, and found a big chunk missing I saw that it was cracked all the way through, so no, you can't just glue it all back and use Flextape.
He created this little jog of pipe around the structure so that he could furnish us with water inside the barn, as well as all the way back to the rear where we had a sink and a shower head.  All of that will have to be assessed and repaired. (but the outside sink is going to go) I found a bit more pipe, some connectors, a cutting tool, and PVC cement in the storage unit.  When the weather cools, one or more of the kids and I will tackle it.  Having water up at the barn is somewhat crucial if you want to stay cool and have a way to put out a fire.  But right now, it is so very hot and jobs like this can be time-consuming.  Plus, I'm learning as I go.
So for now, I' working on this other smallish project: moving all of this stuff off the BBQ patio, storing the BBQ pit, table, and Dutch oven pit, getting rid of that smoker, and killing the brush that is sprouting up between the pavers.  When its nice and cleared, I will have a solid space for the two lounge chairs to sit.
(You can see them in the bottom left of the above photo)
It will be a better space for them, I think, and since I'm not grilling up here, I might as well make a nice little lounge chair patio to sit and read and contemplate what I want to do...plus, the view will be just as nice. 


Gina



No comments: