Friday, February 24, 2012

Septic Woes

Oh dear.  I need a new drain field for my septic system. 
I've had problems for years with sluggish drains, and last year the sinks started gurgling every time I did a load of laundry.  And for the past several months, whenever I did laundry, the wash water would back up into the bathtub.  Recently, I made the horrifying discovery that in addition to flooding the bathtub, wash water has somehow been getting under the bathroom linoleum and saturating the subfloor.  So in addition to replacing my drain field, I'll also have to tear up the bathroom floor and replace it. 

Of course, first I rented a snake and tried to snake out the pipes.  That didn't work, so I hired a plumber.  $300 later, he said it wasn't a plumbing problem.  Next came the septic people, who pumped out my septic tank.  (Another $300.)  They inspected the tank and said that wasn't the problem, either.  The next day, the septic people came out with their camera that can be inserterted down your pipes.  (More money!)  That's when they discovered the problem with my drain field.  And that's when I discovered it will cost $7,000 - $10,000 for a new drain field.  Possibly even more. 

Let me just say one word:  "Ugh."

Like, double ugh. 

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Craft Room Update

A year ago I put up a post about the transformation of a spare bedroom to a craft room for my rubber stamping hobby.  The craft room is finished, and I forgot that I promised I'd post a picture of the completed craft room.  So here it is!  (See below)  I stitched together 3 photos in Photoshop to get this full picture, so it is a little distorted, but it gives you a good overall shot.

I took this picture several months ago, before the closet doors were put up (storage area to the left of the picture) and before the sink was installed.  You can see the hole for the sink between the studs to the left of the craft table. 

The table is 8' long and 28" deep.  I have plenty of room to spread out when I'm making cards and other craft hobbies.  I love this room.  It overlooks the back yard and pasture, and I get morning light through the window.  It's a very peaceful room, and I've been making lots and lots of cards.