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Help me with this dumb I AM THINKING ABT WHAT IVE DONE old house im housesitting in.  

post #1 of 13
7/5/10 at 2:07am
Thread Starter 
This house is about 80 yrs old, and probable not up to code I dont think anymore. One of the switches in the bathroom doesn;t work suddenly. When you flick it it doesn't click like the switch below it, but if you play with it will turn on (wethter in off or on position) stopped doing this after it sparked below the surface. To fix this should I just cut the power to the area in the fusebox, then see if it somehow came off? or is this some bigger problem. It is one of those old fuse boxes where you pull it out, rather than just flick a switch.


Seconed. The bathtub downstairs is backflowing sewage suddenly. When I flush the toilet it just fills up, if I plunge it it spurts through the spill valve in the bath tub. Fucking disgusting. Is there anything I can do to mend this for now other than bucketing all the water to the upstairs toilet and flushing it.

Is the mainline likely plugged then? there is some construction going on in the neighbourhood (two houses on this block, one I think being built by owner, who might have damaged the sewage, i doubt this as the upstairs toilet still works). Should I snake it, I don't know if this is an older sewage with a drum whatever thing near the drain from the tub. There is a piece of wall with screws in it next to the toilet, if so what would I do???? get an auger, a snake?
post #2 of 13
7/5/10 at 2:20am
Do what any normal person would do, call a plumber and electrician.......
post #3 of 13
7/5/10 at 2:25am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by TylerDurden View Post
Do what any normal person would do, call a plumber and electrician.......



Well im a student with limited funds, it's sunday night. and Im housesitting. So the thought of a grand to get a mainline snaked isn't too tempting. I am looking for someway to get this stuff cleaned up till shes back to be dealt with professionally.


There's also a thing called do it yourself. for the light switch I would rather not spend the money or make the owner, if it can be fixed with a screwdriver and 10 minutes work
post #4 of 13
7/5/10 at 2:33am
Isn't the point of housesitting to just get the mail/make sure nobody robs the place/feed the pets? How is any of this your responsibility?
post #5 of 13
7/5/10 at 2:40am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by phildo View Post
Isn't the point of housesitting to just get the mail/make sure nobody robs the place/feed the pets?

How is any of this your responsibility?

Im also taking care of the dog!!!! While Im here the bathroom light working would be nice, as well I know the woman quite well so that would just be out of kindness of my heart.

As far as the sewage backflow, that is purely sanitary clean up for my own health. Id call a plumber tonight but im a poor student with a limited credit limit
post #6 of 13
7/5/10 at 3:57am
What's with all the snark? Nothing wrong with trying to fix things yourself, it can actually be quite satisfying when you succeed. He's not talking about gutting the place and fixing it up. For the light switch you can unscrew the faceplate and do a visual check to see if all the connections are in place. Sounds like the switch itself is faulty since it still does turn the light on sometimes. You can test this by swapping in the light switch from another room to see if it fixes it. Unscrew the fuse, make sure the electricity has stopped flowing, and make the swap. You'll need pliers and a screwdriver.
post #7 of 13
7/5/10 at 4:10am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by skinnyman View Post
What's with all the snark? Nothing wrong with trying to fix things yourself, it can actually be quite satisfying when you succeed. He's not talking about gutting the place and fixing it up.

For the light switch you can unscrew the faceplate and do a visual check to see if all the connections are in place. Sounds like the switch itself is faulty since it still does turn the light on sometimes. You can test this by swapping in the light switch from another room to see if it fixes it. Unscrew the fuse, make sure the electricity has stopped flowing, and make the swap. You'll need pliers and a screwdriver.

thanks for the reply, its as if it doesnt make that switch like a normal one woould though, like its just sitting there loosely
post #8 of 13
7/5/10 at 5:00am
In Liverpool, it's called "Scousesitting". (Liverpudlians, feel free to use that)
post #9 of 13
7/6/10 at 12:29am
Quote:
Originally Posted by lastlight View Post
thanks for the reply, its as if it doesnt make that switch like a normal one woould though, like its just sitting there loosely

Being the current owner of a 80 year old dumb fuck house and not an idiot, just go buy a new switch. The old porcelain ones break down over time. That said, the wires are the same, the switches are the same. Just be careful becuase you sound like a complete pussy and the wires are going to be old and decaying and need to be treated very very carefully. As for the backflowing sewer line, thats really a bad thing, and not a real DIY type repair. Could be any of a number of things. Do you know if they have a sewer or grinder pump?
post #10 of 13
7/6/10 at 12:34am
Make Sure You Turn Off The Power To The Switch At The Fusebox Before Fiddling Around With It.
post #11 of 13
7/6/10 at 12:41am
And test it too, don't trust the breaker to actually turn off.

Get a test light, they are like $5 at Home Depot and verify the circuit is NOT ENERGIZED!

For the bathroom, try putting some lye/toilet helper stuff in there. The lye eats away organic matter.

If you don't know what lye/sodium hydroxide is read:
It can make you blind

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodium_hydroxide
post #12 of 13
7/6/10 at 1:11am
How long are you housesitting for? A few days or a week? Don't bother. Give the owner notice shit's falling apart but don't fix their problems for them. IF it's for the summer, buy a book on home improvement and work on the little stuff. Home improvement projects (that don't take more than an hour) are very satisfying and it'll save you a lot of grief as you get older and get your own place.
post #13 of 13
7/6/10 at 7:08am
thread closed, timeout coming. can't believe how dumb you guys are.
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