We’re having another summer of major changes for our Marquette house–which we purchased some years ago as needing no renovations or repairs. Laugh out loud! A couple of years ago we experienced some sewer line blockage, so we called in the plumbers and after a (literal) roto-rooter job, they explained that the lilac bushes along our driveway had invaded the sewer line. The correct solution would be to replace the sewer pipe with one impenetrable by roots, but if we wanted to go cheap, we could put a product called RidX down the drain once a month and that would deter or kill invading roots. We also terminated, so to speak, the lilac bushes, but it turns out their roots are sort of forever…
This year, after a re-inspection, the plumber explained that the roots had not just invaded the sewer line, they had obliterated the top part of it, and the whole pipe was in danger of failing. And so we faced the music and decided to replace it. With that decision, came a few others. The old sewer pipe connected to the house through the basement. Instead of replacing it, the plumbers advised installing a new pipe parallel to the old–which of course would also run under the basement That meant they’d be tearing up our basement floor.
When the work commenced, they discovered that the basement originally had a floor drain which ran out to the sewer line. Some intermediate owner, for who knows what reason, poured concrete over that drain. The advice was that a drain would be very useful, so we added to the project a new floor drain. The galvanized iron basement sink was one of the few original features of the house from 1905, but the plumbers suggested that it might fail soon and although Terri was sad to see it go, we agreed to replace it. Many other pipes in the basement were replaced, and we agreed to take advantage of a “deal” to install a tankless water heater.
It surprises many of my friends to hear this, but Marquette, Michigan situated in the middle of the northern Midwest is very much a beach town. We’re located on the south shore of Lake Superior, the largest fresh water lake by area in the world. And our house is just three blocks from a popular beach! That also means that many of the houses in Marquette are literally built on sand dunes, and our house is no exception. When the excavators arrived to dig out the sewer line channel, a mountain of sand was deposited on our front porch.
Well, here we are reaching the end of our Marquette journey for this year. In a week, Terri and I are planning to return to Knoxville, a couple of months earlier than we had hoped. My left knee was replaced in 2012, and my right ankle about a year ago. While I was hopping around on my left leg to spare the ankle, I injured the artificial knee, so it will need to be replaced. Theoretically, I could do this in Marquette, but this old house of ours can’t be outfitted with a chair lift, and we’d have to install a wheelchair ramp for the front (or side entrance) steps. Our Knoxville home already has a chair lift and a ramp. And since she’s still a couple of years shy of retirement, I still have a world-class P.T. person in Knoxville. Maybe, if the recovery goes well enough, Terri and I can still return to Marquette in the latter part of the Fall. We’ll see. In the meantime, I’ll leave you with another view of “this old house.”
3 Responses
Such a big job with a big sticker price! But since you plan to spend a lot more time there, it will be worth it!
Safe travels.
In addition to the plumbing job this summer, we added a 1.5 car garage, a back deck and gutters to this old house. A neighbor told me the improvements were good for the neighborhood. Maybe eventually. Right now the sand in the front yard seems endless. After 2 days of trying to put it all back, the 2 man crew left a little early today for Labor Day. They certainly earn their rest
Shabbat Shalom