My Saturday bathroom renovation turned into a 2 am plumbing emergency

I tried to replace a vanity sink myself last weekend and somehow cracked the main drain pipe behind the wall. Water sprayed everywhere for 20 minutes before I found the shutoff valve under the house. Has anyone else had a simple swap turn into a total flood?

2 comments

2 Comments

aarons363d ago

Oh man, I've been there. The key thing to remember is to always locate the main shutoff valve before you even start working, not after the water's already spraying. That little bit of prep would've saved you a soggy crawlspace adventure.

sage_lewis103d ago

Three Saturdays ago I was swapping out a bathroom faucet and figured I'd just wing it like always. That little ball valve under the sink? Yeah, it was completely seized up from years of hard water deposits. I ended up with a geyser shooting straight into my face while I fumbled around the basement in a panic. I swear I must have soaked through three towels before I found the main shutoff behind the water heater, which was buried behind a stack of old paint cans. Your crawlspace story hits home, man. That fifteen minutes of prep work would have saved me a whole afternoon of mopping and a bruised ego.