Skip to main content
  1. Blog/

Down Under, Pt. 2

·1 min
Author
Lance Barker
Exploring my own creative expression and building things that help people.

With my friend Tony helping me out,  we prepared to go down under.  I borrowed a pair of coveralls, and we got lights and some tools in place.

After having widened the access hole and clearing away as much stuff as possible, I tried to go in head first.

It didn’t work. I had to do something about a pipe in the way. After backing out, I went in again with a reciprocating saw to cut off the abandoned galvanized pipe. There was also a gas pipe coming out. Couldn’t cut that! Being used. Tony did a good job of keeping it out of my way.

Next I tried going in feet first. Got fully inside but just couldn’t see how to move on to where I needed to go. I was feeling frustrated and a little panicky in the confined space.

Screw it. I’m a failure. I’m out of here.

We decided at that point to go back into the bathroom to see if there was any way to get at the pipes from the small hole in the floor.

 

But it was just too hard to get to the pipes. Feeling deflated, I decided to try one more time to go under.

Related

Down Under, Pt. 1

·2 mins
Some water pipes broke. Again. Winter, apparently, holds a grudge. The break is in a cruel spot—just under the bathroom floor. Close enough to hear the drip, far enough to be unreachable by any civilized posture. I peer through the access opening and see what appears to be a metallic bowl of spaghetti assembled by a sleep-deprived raccoon. Pipes crossing pipes, angles defying reason. Nothing labeled. Nothing obvious. Just a cold, damp riddle.

D-Day

·1 min
Tomorrow is D-Day. I’m going down under!

Water, water everywhere. Not a drop to drink.

·2 mins
I knew the cold weather was coming. Worried about yet another broken pipe fiasco, I decided to turn off the water at the street knowing I wouldn’t be around to check on things while in New Mexico for Christmas. I don’t like turning off the water that way. Keeping the pressure in the pipes is good for the system, I think. Less likely to break something? When I turn it off, then on again with the pressure surging in all at once, I cringe, imagining old joints giving way. It has happened before.