| This story was told to me by a plumber I know and it | | | | more toilet bowl. In the process however, he managed |
| brings home the reason why there are times to call a | | | | to tear the closet flange from the floor as well,and |
| professional.I received a call from a homeowner asking | | | | since it was attached to a lead closet bend, it torn and |
| for someone to come estimate some repairs. When I | | | | now needed replaced too. He determined that it would |
| asked the sort of repairs, he said it would be too many | | | | be necessary to cut out the tee in the stack where |
| to enumerate, but much easier if I just came out to the | | | | the closet bent was attached. Since he had no idea |
| house and looked. I went. It began like this...Old Joe | | | | how to repair old lead piping, he thought using that nifty |
| wanted to change his toilet seat, but couldn't get the | | | | PVC from Home Depot would do the trick.He tried to |
| old one off. So he tried wrenches until he rounded off | | | | cut the cast iron stack with a hacksaw to no avail, |
| the nuts (he was turning them the wrong way | | | | then tried a sawzall, also fruitless, so.... yep, out comes |
| because they were upside down) and then decided to | | | | the good old chisel and hammer, but a bigger hammer |
| get his trusty cold chisel and hammer out. Well, he | | | | this time. He whacks on the stack a few mighty blows |
| tapped a bit on it with no success, so he drew back | | | | and Viola' it splits into several pieces with one tiny |
| the hammer to smite a mighty blow against the | | | | segment still holding it all together. He pried the last |
| stubborn bolt. In so doing he broke the toilet tank and | | | | vestige of solid pipe out of the wall with a crowbar |
| flooded the area with cold water. This cold water | | | | and suddenly the remaining section of pipe (the vent |
| gave him a shock and he drew back in a hurry | | | | going through the roof) lets go and with a mighty crash |
| dropping the hammer into the bathtub causing a big | | | | comes down and out of the wall through the sub floor |
| chunk of the porcelain to pop off the tub | | | | into the now plaster less ceiling of the living room, |
| floor.Regrouping his thoughts, he ran down to the | | | | continues its downward decent until it hits the TV set, |
| basement two floors below to shut off the water to | | | | ricocheting off that and through the floor of the living |
| the house, the house had no other valves installed | | | | room until it hit the electrical panel plunging the house |
| when it was built in the 1890's. Meanwhile water was | | | | into total darkness and finally comes to rest after |
| flooding through the floors and had saturated the | | | | shearing off the main water shut off valve flooding the |
| plaster of the ceiling below to the point it collapsed into | | | | basement.This was a $27,000 toilet seat |
| the living room. Old Joe then removed what was left | | | | replacement.For More Do It Yourself Funny Stories |
| of the toilet tank, and tried to remove the bowl from | | | | visit: Forte has been in the construction field for over |
| the floor flange. It wouldn't budge either, so out comes | | | | 25 years. |
| the trusty chisel and hammer again, and "WHACK" no | | | | |