Pasadena Renovation

The leak from the upstairs toilet needs to be repaired, as the ceiling and wall are a bit soggy. The home warrantee people will repair the plumbing but will not put back any of the plaster work (huh?)

Peeled a large paint chip from where the hole will be to get the paint match. Then removed soggy plaster and cut the metal mesh base with wire cutters until there was a hole large enough to slip the digital camera in. A few pictures in each direction told if the leak was local or running down something (local) and whether there were wires and pipes to watch out for.

Once the whole is open you can see the leak is coming from ABS new work pipe connecting to ABS new work pipe. The joint between the new work and the old cast iron pipe is fine. A bucket goes under the leak until the plumber can get to it. I also draw a diagram of the whole situation to make sure they don’t start working on an assumption.

The plumbers appreciate the diagram as it save a bit time understanding the fix, especially since I am not home to point at things. They seal it up good and then it has to be sprayed with bleach to kill the bacteria and then sit open for a few weeks to dry thoroughly. This is NOT a job for a hair dryer.

Used metal mesh material to patch the hole and shape the curve just like the work that was removed. Then Fix All for the base build and patching plaster for the build up. Don’t go crazy with the Fix All since it hardens like a rock and you don’t want to sand it down. Better to build on top with the patching plaster. A large metal trowel was used to shape the curve.

A final skim of spackle and then primer. Painting to match was a matter of getting enough coats on to ensure even color and then lots of feathering around the edges. Vista Paint is so good at the match you can’t tell where the edge is even looking hard in good light!