Before we began winterization though, West View water came out to shut off our water service. They turned off the water inside the house, removed our meter, and shut off the water at the street. Also, the serviceman took the time to explain how the plumbers would need to drain the water between the house and the street.
Then Roto Rooter came to winterize our house. We got John and Pete who are brothers and have obviously been doing this (plumbing) for a long time.
Here's what they did to winterize:
- Drained all our Radiators and left them open (they'll need to be closed when we come back)
- Drained all our pipes by turning on all faucets and running them till dry.
- Drained our Hot Water Tank
- Drained the boiler and the expansion tank
- Put RV antifreeze in all the toilets and in all the sinks/tubs. Anything with a water trap.
- Drained the line from the street.
Shannon thinks I was overcharged because I am a woman alone. I have no idea if that's true or not since no one ever says how much things cost I have nothing to compare it to.
John and Pete were courteous and clean. They walked me through the house after to make sure they had gotten everything.
One odd thing: John pulled me aside to tell me he had heard there are copper thieves in the area. Like as in stealing my pipes?? That seems unlikely to me, I don't think there's enough copper in my pipes to tempt anyone to try to get past the security system. Nonetheless, when I talk to the police today to let them know our house will be vacant I will tell them that John mentioned this. If John didn't seem pretty disabled I would suspect him of potential copper theft if only because he seemed to think it would be worth it to break in to get my pipes....
When we get back to the states in a couple of years, I'll edit this post to let you know if I was completely satisfied (as in there are no leaks!)
The boiler being drained!
I don't want to scare you, but I want you to be aware that it DOES happen! Copper pipe theft happens more often than you think, especially in a high-scrap-value market. I have a friend (pretty sure you know him too - message me on Facebook later) who had it happen to him. He was doing something similar to you - he was leaving town to work for an extended period of time and had a contract with someone to keep an eye on the property while he was gone.
ReplyDeleteApparently the person who was supposed to be checking his house was most definitely not checking the house. When he came back, there was a squatter living in his basement and all his copper piping was gone. Now, I don't know if he had a security system or anything, but it sounds doubtful based on the fact that a squatter was able get into the house undetected. Like I said, I don't want to scare you, but it does happen!
~Dee
I'm going to have to agree with the above post. Copper is selling so high right now, people are taking it from everywhere they can. It's a real concern. I might not post a picture of your pipes or put anything that someone can track back to your house.... Just to be careful. It's crazy what people will do.
ReplyDelete