Our house had a water leak issue. To many people, this is probably nothing worth writing about or talk about. To many homeowners, they may be able to sympathize how I felt when this happened to my remodeled home, "OMG, another problem, what is going on?" Indeed, it was not a common water leak. It is a short episode in a homeowner journey.
The timing ...
Luckily, California received many days of rainfall after declaring the worst 100-year drought. A couple days after the rain stopped, I noticed an unexplained puddle of water on the kitchen floor, stretching from one side of kitchen cabinet to the edge of the dishwasher. I quickly assumed the water came from my bad dish washing job of the previous night, or probably a one-time water leak from abundant rain. (How could I come up with that stupid second reason?) I wiped the floor dry, went to bed, simply hoped the issue was resolved like that.
The event then repeated for the next couple days. My attention traced to the kitchen countertop nearby and noticed the wall was wet! No kidding, water was leaking inside the kitchen wall. My nervousness grew, because we recently invested in the kitchen remodel and the bathroom remodel upstairs (above the kitchen). We are not prepared for another remodel financially. (I have been learning to build a beautiful life; knowing how to cope with nervousness and stress is an important aspect.). I needed to stop thinking.
Then a twist came. The same day news first broke about the mysterious loss of MH 370 (to fly from Malaysia to Bejing), Isa was about to fly from Bejing back to US. Suddenly, I focused on her safe return. I realized and prayed that all I want was Isa would return home safe. Yes,
If issue can be resolved by money, that is not really an issue.
The cause of water leak and the fix
Isa arrived home safely next day. I felt that I should have nothing to complain. If remodel is needed, do it at the minimal level. Next, all of the kitchen power outlet did not have power (except dishwasher, stove, refrigerator and oven). One week went by and the power did not come back. Our house contractor came to take a look. He was able to trace to the source with an assumption from his experience:
copper water pipe oxidized over a long period of time by an adjacent nail
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| The fix was done from outside instead of inside of house |
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| Classic! The nail inside the wood oxidized the copper pipe over 25 years |
I felt lucky to be able to find the house Type HACR 20 AMP Single-Pole right-clip circuit breaker in HomeDepot.com (available online only) to earn extra UR points and pick up in-store. I am not a hands-on DIY person, so it took me awhile to identify the right circuit breaker.
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| Replaced shorted house circuit breaker |
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| I am going to replace all of them next |
Hallelujah! Kitchen is back to normal.
No matter what happens. Nervousness would not help. A lesson for myself.
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