Home Repairs

Back in March, we noticed a lot of water on the floor of the basement bathroom, which we rarely use. A plumber came and was able to get into the wall by sticking his fingers through it because it was so wet and warped. He fixed a leak behind the sink, and we have lived with the mess for a while now because Nate and the neighbor had plans to patch up the wall when Nate's semester ended.

Our neighbor Delmer is a former contractor and now is in the business of testing and lowering radon levels in homes. He installed our radon mitigation system in January, and has been very kind to us throughout the long process of tinkering with it to get the radon down to a harmless level. He recently offered Nate a job as his assistant, so Nate is having fun learning a lot about all sorts of tools and the radon mitigation process.

Taking some time out from radon jobs, Delmer and Nate have spent several days fixing the bathroom. When the wall was opened, we discovered that someone failed to pour concrete on that section of the basement, under the stairs. So Delmer and Nate mixed and poured concrete before they closed up the wall. In the process of taking out the rest of the rotten wall, they discovered that another wall was rotten and termite-damaged, too, so they replaced that one as well. They also enclosed the radon mitigation system so we don't have to look at that green tube anymore.

The walls are back up and just need a little more mudding before we can paint them. We're really thankful for Delmer's expertise and willingness to help. The next project is to replace the monstrous utility sink by the washer and fix the plumbing so we don't have the washer draining into the sink.

This is part of the adventure of being homeowners, right?