Bellingham Wildlife

Plumbers encounter some dangerous critters in our travels around Whatcom County. These two are ferocious hunters that were stalking me in Sudden Valley and Fairhaven. Luckily, they gave me a pass.

In memory of Dianna Hanson 

Fairhaven, Wa Sewer

The first picture is a 3/4 sewer snake that popped out of broken sewer under the house (shack) in Bellingham (Fairhaven neighborhood). Crawling under the shack (house) was impossible because of limited access and raw sewage:

We dug outside and was able to replace the broken section after tunneling a few feet under the house (shack).

Water pipe in Fairhaven, Wa

No, not the water pipe to smoke with. This job was in Fairhaven, Wa  from the water meter to inside the house. We replaced the sewer, too.

Call Before You Dig: A Free Service

There's a phone number everyone must call before digging in your yard.

That number is 811.

The website: www.call811.com

What happens when you call 811 is a request goes out to all the utilities and they send locators out who will mark the utilities at your property line. If the mark is near where you are digging, be very, very careful digging around it.

If it's an emergency, they get right on it. Otherwise, it's a 48 hour turn around.

For example, the picture is a typical yard (happens to be in Fairhaven) within a few inches of the public sidewalk. The yellow pipe is gas, the small white pipe is unknown (!), the large white pipe is drainage, and the old rusty pipe is their water main, which the plumbers replaced.

All those pipes were less than 8" below ground level. Scary stuff.

Remember 811 and it is 100% free.

Good Plumber here

Another day driving from one end of Whatcom county to the other. At least the weather is nice.

I did a quick water heater repair in Glacier, WA. The connectors corroded right through so I unsoldered and then soldered on new connectors.

From there I went to Fairhaven, WA. to clear a washing machine drain line stoppage. Easy enough, but the drain didn't have a trap! I added one easily enough (for me), but there should have been one there. DIYers cause a lot of damage and usually spend more in the short run.

Not that I can blame 'em. This homeowner had called another plumber out of the phone book, (small ad, big promises) and the plumber quoted him some outlandish fix for a weird price. Luckily, the homeowner had the sense to call us.

I think my motto "Honest, Reliable, Local" will get painted on the truck.

Plumbing

A Grand Dame of Fairhaven, WA (95-year-old Lady) had broken a very valuable glass and most of it went down her disposal. She wasn't amused when it took me less than a minute to repair it, but at least I was able to salvage the unit, if not put the glass back together. I hope I'm as active, good-looking, and richer than her at 95. Well, I can sure rule out good-looking....:)

Did a water heater in Blaine, WA today. Darn thing was only 9 years old and the tank gave out. Of course, the homeowners were on vacation when it blew out, so the garage walls were damaged. It was a 50 gallon Bradford White water heater and I replaced it with the same. Not much choice up here for brands.

From there, I went to Sedro-Woolley, WA to a mobile home that had a broken PVC water main under the house. It took longer for the glue to dry than anything. Darn PVC, anyway.

So I went to a millionaire to a border town to a mobile home in a logging town....such is the life of a plumber!

ABS City

It's been an ABS sorta day. First, I had a broken ABS fitting in Sudden Valley. What was sad was the house is only 4 years old. The plumbing (probably the whole house) was done by a "boom" construction company.

Then across town to Fairhaven to a collapsed ABS sewer line. That's scheduled for replacement on Thursday.

I use only the best PVC material and fittings and all my work is permitted and closely inspected and today proves me right.

Stupid Keller Supply. I'm actually looking forward to them moving---I'll be forced to use other suppliers. They are real close to me right now and that's the only reason I use them.