Renee The Plumber

Since buying this 30 year-old house a little over two years ago, I have been on a mission to find and fix the various foul smells and dripping water. The following is a list of what keeps me busy on the weekends … note that these are not the “fun” projects I want to be doing.


4 leaking faucets – 1 repaired, 1 replaced, 2 on the list to be replaced

2 leaking sink drains – 1 repaired, 1 just discovered

2 leaking hot water supply joints resulting in damaged lower kitchen cabinets and lost powder room ceiling – all fixed, including rebuilt cabinets, except for the powder room ceiling (I actually paid a plumber to fix the hot water lines)

1 leaking refrigerator water line, contributing to the damaged cabinets

2 completely disconnected vent pipes – pipes fixed, one wall repaired, one ceiling in process of being repaired

2 unglued, but not yet disconnected vent pipes – fixed, walls/ceiling as above

4+ instances of bends in vent pipes angled the wrong way, resulting in trapped rain water, resulting in lovely smells when a sink, shower, or toilet was used – all fixed, but two walls in desperate need of a professional drywall person

1 leaking toilet wax ring – fixed – it had leaked for so long I had to break the toilet to get it out because the bolts were severely rusted

1 leaking toilet tank – on the todo list, not a high priority (2 people don’t need 3 toilets)

1 semi-clogged toilet drain – toilet drains, but seems to be another source of rebounding sewer gas smells when the flush hits the clog - read about this possibility, along with all of the vent pipes, on the internet! (Thank God for the internet – how much would I have paid a plumber for all of this????)

Still chasing source of smells in the master bath toilet room

Replaced two bathroom fans with ones that actually vent to the outside (one of these was indirectly responsible for the trip to the ER). Two more to go (fans, not trips to the ER).

1 completely disconnected HVAC duct blowing air into the attic - fixed

1 completely disconnected HVAC return pulling air from the attic - fixed

Many totally gross HVAC ducts replaced with nice, new, clean ones – 90% done

All moldy and rusted HVAC register covers replaced with nice, new, clean ones

A/C drain redirected from clogging vent pipes to draining outside

Installed UV lights next to A/C coils to help kill odors. Electronic air cleaner is on the todo list.

Fixed two roof leaks. One was related to unglued and disconnected vent pipes.

Installed a whole-house water filter and a water softener to protect all of my new fixtures.

Replaced the gross kitchen sink, garbage disposal, countertops, and backsplash.

Installed a dishwasher.

Rebuilt the pool vacuum.

Replaced the chlorinator (which was on backwards!).

And people wonder why I can’t seem to find time to finish the kitchen floor project …