J. F. Shumate

Never, Never on a Sunday

Plumbing jobs always meet Murphy’s Law: “Whatever Could Go Wrong, Will Go Wrong.” If you insist on doing plumbing yourself, which I gave up on while living in a 100-year-old house, start very early on Saturday, when you might have a chance of getting a plumber out to clean up your mess.

That leaking faucet in the bathtub isn’t going to cost you but a few gallons while having a plumber out on Sunday will deplete your retirement account. That is, if you could find one. After all, they enjoy watching football as much as the next guy.

This is more than a suggestion, it’s an absolute. Never, ever start a plumbing job on Sunday. It’s a virtual guarantee of a cold shower on Monday.

Included is fixing your lawn sprinklers. No way start that on Sunday. It means at least 2, probably 3, trips to your Ace Hardware, Lowe’s or Home Depot. First trip you buy what you think you need. Second trip is to get what you forgot or return the wrong part. And the third trip is after you broke a key part or pipe. All of this is doubly important if you are planning to hook up the system to your house water system.

Just don’t start it on Sunday.

Paint on Sunday, change a lightbulb or light switch, fix squeaking doors, sort out the garage but never do plumbing on Sunday.

Never, not ever.