TheBanyanTree: I'm Looing for an Honest Plumber

[Margaret R. Kramer]

I was so excited to begin this day.  Joe and I got up early, so I had a good
start right from the get-go.  I got the bed changed, took a shower, and ate
breakfast.  I went down the basement to get my laundry started, and then I
felt the squishy, wet carpet.

The main drain was backed up!

Ick!

I went upstairs and called Mr. Rooter.  They said they would be at my house
by 9:00 am.  It was 7:30 am when I called.

While I was waiting, I took out the garbage and watered the flowers and the
gardens.  We’ve been very warm and dry this past week.  In fact, it got to
87 degrees yesterday, a record!  The warm weather goes so well with the
beautiful oranges, yellows, and reds of the leaves.

I watered the indoor plants.  I swept the empty room upstairs.  I’m hoping
to buy a cheap futon and coffee table and bookcase for it and just make it a
small sitting/reading room upstairs.  I got my office set up in the boys’
old bedroom on the main floor.  Joe and I painted it.  I ripped up the
carpet, but decided not to do the wood floors.  They’re OK, but they need
refinishing.  Too time consuming and too expensive.  So I bought a big rug
instead.

I love having my office on the main floor.  I feel more a part of everything
than being isolated upstairs.

I swept the kitchen.  And then waited. And called.  And waited. And called.
The plumber didn’t show up until 10:00 am, saying he put the wrong address
into his GPS.  Yeah, right.

He talked so much, I finally led him upstairs to show him where the out pipe
and valve were.  I’d rather have him working than talking.

I paid bills while listening to him grind away with his snake machine.  Then
he came upstairs and told me he was hitting cement and could not open the
drain.  He needed a camera to see, but his camera was broken and he had to
call someone else.  But he would keep trying.

Whatever.

I went outside and began to cut the grass.

He came out and told me that I would probably need to have someone dig up my
yard to get to my pipe and fix it.  The pipe probably collapsed.  I asked
him how much that was and he said $4,000.

I told him I didn’t have that kind of money and I’d set up a port-a-potty in
the backyard.

He said he would try a pressure wash thing and see if that would get the
pipe open.

I kept cutting the grass.

I figured if he wasn’t done by the time I finished cutting the grass, which
takes me about 45 minutes, then I’d ask him to leave and find someone else.

I needed my main drain open, because I couldn’t do anything with water.  I
couldn’t flush the toilet, couldn’t do dishes, couldn’t take a shower,
because the water going down the main pipe would back up through the drain
in the basement.

But I was willing to go without these conveniences in order not to be ripped
off.

He was trying something on me and I didn’t like it.

Sure enough, when I was putting the lawnmower in the garage, he came out and
told me that the drain was open.  But he still recommended a camera
look-see.

Then he wrote up the invoice.  He tried to charge me for an extra half hour,
so he had to write up a new one.  The final cost was $470.  He delayed
finishing the job long enough to charge an extra $150.  What a rip off!

I wrote out a check and watched him pull out of the driveway.  He forgot his
big snake machine that weighs over 100 pounds, so I called him back to get
it.

I can’t believe plumbers nowadays.  A plumber I called earlier this summer
to replace my garbage disposal charged me $800!

My cousin is in the trades and I’ll ask him to recommend an honest plumber.

What’s wrong with doing a job honestly?

It’s absolutely gorgeous today.  I have all my windows open.  My garden is
still going strong.  The grass is cut.  It’s just like a summer day except
for the beautiful leaves on the trees and that it gets dark so early.

I took Shadow and Axel to the off leash dog park.  I kept Axel on a leash,
because he’s a beagle, but Shadow had free roam of the place and had a great
time.  He went swimming the dog lake, so I had a wet dog in the car going
home.

Joe and I going to grill this evening, have some wine, and watch the Twins
lose (most likely, let’s put a fork in it and look forward to next year) to
the Yankees – the Evil Empire.

Margaret R. Kramer
margaretkramer at comcast.net
www.linkedin.com/in/margaretkramer

May Jack-o-lanterns burning bright
Of soft and golden hue
Pierce through the future’s veil and show
What fate now holds for you.    
-Author Unknown