Peter Heimlich
a year ago
Last Tuesday morning did not begin well. Still trying to achieve consciousness via my second cup of coffee, I was startled by aggressive knocking and doorbell ringing which turned out to be our valued next-door neighbor. He pointed at our front lawn near the curb and asked, Do you see that? After scuttling into my sandals, I ran out to discover water bubbling up through the ground about four feet from the meter. (It was flowing about the quantity of the puddle in the opening credits of The Beverly Hillbillies, the result of Jed shootin' at some food.) After cursing aloud (and thanking our valued neighbor), I impressed myself by removing the meter cover, locating the shut-off valve, and turning off the flow, a task I had never thought of until then. I then phoned the county water company and was informed of the bad news: since the leak was on my property, the repair work was on me. (The slightly good news? If I sent in the repair receipt I'd get a billing adjustment.) Despite living in the house for about 15 years, I'd never had a plumbing problem so - what else? - I checked NextDoor for recommendations which produced three companies. More good news? They could all come by that day. The first guy shows up in an hour, looks at the leak and says, I have bad news for you. You need to replace the entire pipe from the meter to the house and then quoted me over $3000 for the job. Resuming cursing, I waited for the next bid. That's when Alex and Daniel from Alliance showed up. They explained that they needed to dig up the ground to get a better look. First, they carefully cut squares of the sod and put them aside then started carefully digging with shovel and hands. Upon getting to a pipes-eye view, they showed me a connector pipe fitting. Daniel, the junior member of the team, turned on the water and it sprayed from one end of the fitting. Alex: That's what I thought it would be. We arrived at a mutually-aggreeable price and, in less than an hour, they replaced the connector, filled up the hole, and replaced the sod divots. They then tested the water pressure in the house. After I stopped thanking them (which took a while because I was so grateful), they went on their way. I then cancelled the third company and thanked my lucky stars that I had called Alliance. Next time you need a plumber, I strongly urge you to do the same. (Rest assured I will.) Also, I suggest you learn how to turn off the water at the meter - and don't necessarily take the first bid. (P.S. This morning I gave my valued neighbor a thank-you gift of some excellent cookies and he seemed quite pleased.)