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PSA: my "30 minute" plumbing fix ate up a whole Saturday afternoon
I had this slow drain in a client's tub last weekend. Thought it was just hair buildup so I grabbed my snake and figured 30 minutes tops. Three hours later I had the whole trap apart and found a kid's toy car wedged in there from like 5 years ago. Lesson learned - never assume the obvious fix is the right one. Anyone else ever have a quick job turn into a whole day project?
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clark.alex1mo ago
...and then I popped the battery cover off my thermostat thinking I'd just swap in a fresh pair of AAs, and it turns out the previous owner had hotwired the whole thing with electrical tape and paperclips. Took me four hours to undo that mess and get it working right. It's always the simple jobs that hide the worst surprises. What's the weirdest thing you've found inside a wall or behind a fixture?
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sarah8181mo ago
@clark.alex did you at least keep the paperclips as a souvenir of someone's brilliant engineering skills?
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noahmartin1mo ago
Wait, so you're telling me there's a possibility my 20 minute light switch swap could turn into a full blown archaeological dig? I already had that happen with a ceiling fan install where I found a nest of old wiring and what looked like a mummified moth family living in the junction box. Plus the previous owner apparently thought wire nuts were optional, so I spent an hour just untangling a fried spaghetti mess. At least your toy car probably didn't try to electrocute you while you were fishing it out, right?
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