“Baby, I sure wish I could lend you a hand but plumbing’s one thing I don’t understand….”

Plumbing. That is the next step. Not drywall and insulation as I previously thought.

The pipes in the basement leave A LOT to be desired. I blogged about that back when we first moved in too. There doesn’t seem to be a single copper pipe anywhere. We have plastic, steel, and other various metals running all across the basement ceiling and there is a lot of corrosion. And rust. Lots of rust.

Also, the water tank is on one end of the basement and the pipes run way across to the softener on the other side and then back again. Not efficient. The softener will be moved. Mike ripped out a bunch more of the basement shelving so he could have better access to tanks and pipes and what not.

Here is the water tank. Notice the old timey farmhouse walls. The original walls were made with rocks and stones found on the property. Pretty bitchin’.

And for kicks – here is what is to the right of the tank. Yikes. Many of these materials are just a wee bit past their prime.

So about that rust and corrosion and what not – I have noticed flecks in our water before but as a country girl who has grown up on well water I haven’t paid it much heed. Plus we had our water tested and everything was up to snuff. But last night Mike bled the pipes and I didn’t really like what I saw.

Here he is cutting open a pipe to change a fitting followed by his “Stop taking f%&^ing pictures and hold this bucket!” face.

Check this out. Yikes!

And this was AFTER he had “bled the pipes” into the utility sink for like 20 minutes or so. Our well and the water in it is just fine. In fact, it’s downright delicious and I love an ice cold glass of tap water. But the rust and corrosion in the old pipes is not that awesome. It’s likely what has been staining the tub and the inside of our dishwasher and what is plugging up the tiny filters on the spigots throughout the house.

While I’m at work tomorrow Mike will continue to work away on the pipes. He’s ripping out all the old and replacing it with new. Once this is all up to snuff then “we” move on to electrical issues and then insulation and drywall.