I've been so bummed that everything has slowed to a crawl that I forgot to post the final (I hope) reason I hate the plumber: Part of the sewer pipe had to be redone because he laid it out straight instead of on an incline. Just glad our contractor called him on it.
This is what the front "yard" looks like right now because they are digging up the sewer pipe.Rob says it looks like we have police tape. Yes, that mess is certainly a crime. Ugh, when will it end?
This is view looking down into the pit they've dug around part of our sewer pipe. The pipe is made of clay and has crumbled in places.There had been talk of somehow forcing a new pipe through the old pipe so that our yard wouldn't be disturbed, but for reasons I don't quite understand, that's not going to work and we have to dig out the pipe from the top down -- including the part that runs through "the farm."
We are putting in a bathroom in the basement and they have to dig under the foundation wall to connect the basement plumbing to the sewer line. Luckily, our sewer pipe is 9 feet down at the curb, so we can use gravity to do the deed and save on a sump pump.Our poor contractor, though, had to move steel and the sand and gravel he'd put down for the basement floor. Sigh. Some things are just destined to be done twice.
Our sewer pipe is made of clay and one of the seals has cracked, possibly when they were digging out around it to figure out where it goes.It was going to have to be moved (and partially) replaced anyway, but this just moved it up in the urgency column. We've got a little bit of seepage going on, but so far nothing too unseemly...
The location of our sewer pipe has been a concern from day one.We now, happily, know that it comes out of the back of our house and then hooks out to the front of the house. This means we don't have to move it, or install a very expensive pump.Our contractor thinks we should replace it since it's 100 years old and made of clay. But I'm of the mind it's not broke, don't fix it. We'll see what the estimate is.Oh and yes, that is a roll of plastic stuck in one side of it. I asked, and the contractor said not to worry...
I've been so bummed that everything has slowed to a crawl that I forgot to post the final (I hope) reason I hate the plumber: Part of the sewer pipe had to be redone because he laid it out straight instead of on an incline. 
This is what the front "yard" looks like right now because they are digging up the sewer pipe.
urning more into a gardening blog than a house blog. With all the renovations we're doing, I feel like we're going to really need all our plants so we can afford to eat this summer!
oved about 1/3 of the farm to other parts of the yard. It looks like we lost one, maybe two squash plants in the process and did a little damage to a couple of the tomatoes. Hopefully everything will spring back the way the phoenix roses did. We're getting good at moving things: roses, oak trees...
This is view looking down into the pit they've dug around part of our sewer pipe. The pipe is made of clay and has crumbled in places.
We are putting in a bathroom in the basement and they have to dig under the foundation wall to connect the basement plumbing to the sewer line. 
Our sewer pipe is made of clay and one of the seals has cracked, possibly when they were digging out around it to figure out where it goes.
The location of our sewer pipe has been a concern from day one.