Honey-Doings: Trappings

When Honey-Do things have to be Honey-Done, Honey-doers have no clock.

In the last posting in this series, Honey-Doings: Reprise, post No. 311, I was left with a hopelessly clogged drain pipe between the kitchen sink and the waste line running to the main soil pipe. I had isolated the clog to be in a four to five foot run of pipe behind the kitchen cabinets and inside the outer wall.

I decided that option one to rip out the cabinets and to tear into the wall was not a viable one. (In other words, any other option was preferable.) The next option was to run a hose and use a power blaster to send send high pressure pulses of water into the pipe in hopes that the clog would be blasted free. This option was scratched because the products that I could find of this nature would not work. One required that the blaster be completely submerged. As the access point to use this device was seven feet off the ground in the basement, I didn't think that Honey-Boss would want the basement filled to the ceiling with water. And I just don't happen to own a set of Scuba gear.
....Another option was to contribute to the "Help Feed A Plumber's Family Fund." I have nothing against tradesmen such as plumbers, but I too have a family to feed. I receive no benefits from the HFAPFF. That was three options scratched. That left option four: Honey-Do-It-Yourself.

By Saturday morning the course of action had been put in place. We would by-pass the old section of clogged pipe. The end under the sink would be cut back and capped off to prevent any possible back up of any foul gases. The other end of it would remain in place, as it fed to the rooftop vent. We would cut a hole in the floor directly beneath and plumb to the output tube from the garbage disposal. That would drop into a trap, again necessary to avoid gases coming up into the kitchen. We would be using 1 1/2" PVC from the disposal to the trap which would be 2" PVC. From there we would run 57" of 2" PVC into a 2" offset Tee which in turn would be cut into the existing drain line.
....That was the battle plan. With a little luck there would be no snags. (If not for the courage of the crew ... The Minnow would be lost ... The Minnow would be lost!)

With the necessary measurements taken and an inventory of needed supplies in hand, Scott, my future son-in-law and future Honey-Doer, and I went to Home Depot to harvest those supplies. It took a while to go through all the bins to gather the various parts and fortunately everything was in stock. With a ten-foot length of PVC pipe, a trap, a reducing adapter 1 1/2 X 2, a compressing coupling, an offset Tee, a can each of glue and reactant, and some emery paper we checked out to the tune of $43. It was then 12:30.

It was 1pm when work began. It was 4pm when it was all hooked up and ready for the ultimate test. When the water was turned on into the sink we held our collective breaths. For several minutes the water ran with out the slightest back up into the sink. Next the process was repeated with he garbage disposal running. Once again everything went the way it was supposed to go. (The Minnow didn't get lost afterall!)

After the cleanup, gathering and putting away all the tools and getting rid of the trash, Scott and I admired a Honey-Do project well done. Not only were we successful in our endeavor, but the finished job looked neat and professional. It was completed at a fraction of the amount that I would have had to contribute to the HFAPFF!

Once again Honey-Do Honey-did the Honey-deed and was Honey-Done. Honey-Don't want to Honey-Do anymore this weekend. Honey-Do is Honey-Pooped!

No.320