From the Start
When we had our home inspection, we were made aware that the second floor kitchen and bathroom needed work. We didn't care because the kitchen will be coming out, and the bathroom needed to be renovated anyway. Home inspectors can't see behind walls, they can only tell you about what they see. Also pipes age differently depending on the type of water you have. We have hard water which means it is full of minerals, and they chemically react to metal pipes. We knew all this, so the plan was we would tackle one bathroom at a time and then finally the kitchen. The estimated year that this house got running water and functioning bathrooms is 1968 - 1970. That is the back story.....
Here We Are
So about a month or so ago Jeff and I noticed that the carpet in the bathroom was getting wet while we showered. We had changed the shower curtain and rod shortly before that. I also noticed that the weather stripping around the tub was shot. So we picked up from Lowes some flexseal tape and made sure the new curtain wasn't flipping out when we showered. Wet rug kept happening and the smell of mildew was taking over. Next step was for Jeff to remove the rug (the bathrooms and kitchen all had carpeting when we moved in and I have bad allergies so removal is Jeff's lucky job).
Hoping that the rug was getting wet because of shower run off we set off to stay the course in home repair. Well that was the plan until we showered and the floor became wet, and not just over spray wet but rain puddle wet in the middle of the room! It was time to investigate and determine what was causing our bathroom to be waterfront property. After running a few tests and some investigation it was determined the cold water line probably has a leak that is causing the water to run behind the tub along the floor and in to the room. The flooring is rotting around the tub, and the smell of mildew started to stay. The next step was to find out what was causing the second floor tub to drain so slow.
It was time to call in the professionals and that is when it all came to light on how bad things are. I have to say the benefit of living in such a small county (population wise) is that you find the best companies and they put you before the dollar. The plumber knew the house before he even got hear and let me know that he knew there were some issues from the previous owner. I explained to him what was happening and that we needed to use the upstairs bathroom so we can renovate down stairs. He really did try to make things better without having to give us the bad news. He tried everything he had, but it was inevitable that it was a bigger job then I expected.
So here is what is happening. All the pipes in the house are original to when they installed plumbing as previously stated. The copper feed lines are starting to get pin holes in them as proven in the downstairs bathroom and the kitchen sink. Since I want to move plumbing around to make the downstairs shower more usable, and we have to move plumbing in the second floor bathroom to create the new floor plan we will need to replace all the lines. That wouldn't be bad if we could do it room by room, BUT once you mess with one line the others will weaken and cause issues. SO instead we need to do all the feed lines at once.
Of course the waste lines don't want to be left out and the old cast iron pipes are starting to show signs a leakage. FUN! The good thing is the pipe above I wanted to be moved anyway. See I found a bright side to this! But since we have to replace the waste lines that means we have to replace all the way out to septic!!!! Oh the joys of owning an old farmhouse!
So what does this mean for us and the adoption?
So once we decide it is time to move forward we will have to do both bathrooms at the same time. Since the state requires running water and functioning bathrooms (which we have currently just a little slow) the adoption will have to be put on hold. We are now 3 1/2 years active with our adoption search, I don't want to put anything on hold. So we have a plan, let me correct that we have an idea of how to move forward.
Where has our agency been during all this you ask?
So Covid happened as you are all aware and it has caused our agency to pretty much go on a pause. Since they aren't allowed in hospitals to work with birthmothers who want to do adoption, and those who would normal seek the agency out during pregnancy are stuck at home, nothing has happened. Its been a scary time as we watch months pass by with nothing happening. We know God has a plan and I believe its time we do more of the work ourselves.
So what is the next step?
First it requires the help from all the people we know. YES each and everyone of you gets to step up and take part in our journey. In the next few weeks, with the help from an amazing friend we will be creating a new adoption profile video. Once it is completed we are going to ask everyone to share it. Help us get our faces out there. You never know who may have an unexpected pregnancy or know someone who does. With your help and the help of everyone you know we hope to get our story spread out across the country.
Meanwhile we will keep doing all we can here at Winnie Dog Farm to prepare the house for the adoption, renovations, and of course annual home study. We will continue our education classes required for the adoption, hope the agency is able to get more active, and share with all of you our progress. So stay tuned for more information, and thank you for supporting us on this adoption journey.
