Cleaning Up After the Flood That Was

So just to bring you up to speed. On Tuesday night I was going to go walking right after work but I had forgotten my shirt and shoes at home. Thought I would pop home, grab my stuff and then hit the walking track. Silly me.

When I walked into my house, my plans changed. There was major minor flood in the dining room. Apparently when I let the toilet fill in the morning to flush it, I did not shut the water off completely and it dripped all day long. Crap, crap, crappity, crap!! Half an inch of water on the majority of my dining room floor. Thankfully it missed the oak buffet and the dining table but it soaked most everything else. It was like the rainforest in here, I almost expected to see parrots and lemurs moving about.

I was mature, I was grown up, I handled it well. I ran about like a chicken for a moment or two before I managed to engage my brain enough to create a plan. Up the stairs to check the bathroom, the shut off value, flush the toilet and grab an armful of towels. Back down to the dining room, spread out towels, fill a pail with water then move the eleventy million things out of the laundry room so I can get to the basement to shut off the water. Move the cat from the living room to the kitchen because little girl had a lake inbetween her and her litter box and food, she was not happy. Once I relocated Madam Minou, I made my way to said basement, were I promptly had another moment of panic because it occurs to me that I do not know where the shut off is. Now I know my brother  the Carpenter, told me where it was when I moved in. He was all here is this, this and this and I was all "put the buffet there, paint that room blue, lalalalala. Once again I took the sane logical approach, I started turning off anything that looked remotely like it was connected to water. I did finally find it. Thank goodness

Back up the stairs and make my dining room look like this

What a mess but eventually it all stopped dripping. The good news is the ceiling tiles stayed up on the ceiling and the floor didn't show any damage. Well I would not have totally cried if the ceiling had come down a little. This is an old house and I would love to know what those cardboardlike tiles are hiding but I am too scared to pull them down myself. SO if they had fallen down, without any help from me,  I would have been ok with it. No such luck. I may never know what is up there. I my imagination its a tin ceiling but it could be just a mess. Once this was all water was under control, I totally forgot about going walking. Water really is a complete drama queen, is it not?? It makes so much more of a mess than it strictly necessary.

Mr Handyman came on Wednesday and the problem was the toilet tank had cracked in two places. I had night terrors about burst pipes and a complete gut the place plumbing wise episode in my futre. I have no idea how the thing cracked  unless it was from of old age. I have wanted to replace the old monster since I moved in here but it got pushed to the back burner when other reno's got my attention, now I could not put it off any longer.

This is the culprit minus the tank. Mr handyman removed it and caped off the water so I could have water in the house and not flood the place. I refrained from snooping through his tool box to see what interesting things he had in there. The man is doing me a favour so pilfering his stuff was just not on. He had thought he could get me a deal on a toilet but they had sold out. I was then on Thursday night right after work, I was off to Home Depot to get a replacement.

Well lets be honest, I live alone, in an old house that needs work and I have an handyman in my clutches. So I did what any normal red blooded gal would do, I let him know I had a couple more things for him to look at. He just groaned, hung his head and said something like "typical". At the Depot, I got a nice new toilet, all dainty and duel flush, then I got cute new taps for the upstairs bathroom and headed home.

Here is the new princess like throne: (which thankfully covers the unpainted portion of the wall where the old tank was)

Not only was the old toilet a monster water user, the former home owner had double sided taped her fuzzy green toilet tank cozy onto the tank. It was some super good tape because I could not budge it off the toilet. I have lived with a fussy green sticky strip around the top of the tank since I moved in. BLAH!! How germy could that be but its gone and my pretty new convenience is pristine and green fuzz free. Only down side is this, which often happens when you change these things.

There is now a gap in the flooring in a most prominent place. In case any one notices, my floor is not normally that dirty. The toilet sits up on a little platform which must had had to be installed to accomodate plumbing when the bathroom was made modern back in the day. I do not want to pull up all the floor so what to do. Another sleepless night and I have come up with a solution. I will share it on another day. Its a little diy project for me. Back to other things:

The bathroom taps went from looking like the 1970's and a constant drip, drip, drip to:

Looking like the 1900's (with no drips). I had wanted taps that looked like an "x" because that is what is on the claw-footed bath tub but they were twice the price of these and checking them out online they were poorly rated. I went with my second choice, cheaper, better ratings and I am happy. No drips and they look more like they belong in my house. I plan to get another set for the main floor bathroom and new taps for the kitchen sink but that is for another day. I could not totally overwhelm Mr, Handyman all at once. I already had him doing four projects for me.

Mr Handyman then installed a shut off value on the main floor toilet so I can shut it off, if needs must, without having to get into the basement. Today he came back and fixed my dishwasher. It was heavenly to hear my dishwasher chugging away for the first time in months. I have spend the most of the day washing things, towels, dishes, cleaning rags. Its amazing how much we use water and what a pain it is when its not readily available  We are so luck in this country. I am happy to have the more green choices of toilets and taps in the house now, and I will eventually get all the taps changed. The bank account has to rest for a bit.

The silver-linings in all this damp drippy week for me are:

1. I now remember where the water shut off is in the basement.
2. I know the downstairs toilet has a shut off in the basement as well as upstairs in the bathroom
3. that I have a gas water heater
4. the Christmas trees, garland, and lights have finally been put into the basement.
5. I have been reminded yet again that I am blessed with the best of friends.

Thanks to staying out of Mr Handyman's way, I am almost finished my quilt, I can get it done this weekend and then it will be ready for me to deliver at Easter time. Last night was a retirement party for one of the nicest people in our office. It was great fun, we ate, had a song, a fashion show and a film. It was all fun and so funny which is what she wanted. She did not want sad and sentimental, she wanted fun.  It started early and some of them were staying on to drink the night away but Teddy Bear and I opted to head for coffee with the No Cook gals. Its been a good weekend so far!!

Tomorrow I have to get my printer up and running then I can do my income tax. Finish the quilt and get the upstairs bed rooms fit and ready for company as the Nurse and the Entertainer are coming to stay for a couple of days.  Busy Busy Busy!!

I hope all is well with you!!
Toodles,
Linda