Plumbing Emergency

I was in the kitchen when I heard what sounded like splashes of water. Found two puddles of water in the entry hall and the hall leading to the kitchen. Then I saw that the coat closet wall was wet and had peeling paint. Same with the opposite wall for the utility closet. The floors inside both closets were also wet.

I called the HOA, and they sent a plumber right away. Half an hour later, two more plumbers showed up from another company. The HOA manager forgot to cancel the first plumber. But the first plumber was able to find the leak before leaving. The other two plumbers finished the job. Before any of the plumbers even arrived, one of the board members stopped by to check out the leak. 

My friend Sindhu will take me to chemo in the morning, then she'll come back to my place to let the plumbers in. They need to cut out the wet sheetrock and let the interior dry out.

I expect that the HOA will pay for the pipe repair, but I'm responsible for the sheetrock repair. I've opened a claim with State Farm, but my deductible is $1000. I don't know if the sheetrock repair will cost that much.

The plumber said he will recommend that the HOA replace my pipes with copper. The old galvanized steel pipes are pretty corroded. Ten years ago I had a similar leak in the same area. One good thing about this fix is that I now have hot water in the faucet in my master bathroom. For a long time I was getting only a trickle, possibly due to a blockage somewhere along the pipes.

I'm very happy with the service I got from the HOA, the board and the plumbers. I did mention that I start chemo tomorrow. I don't know if that made a difference in the speed of the service. But I got prayers and good wishes, and one of the plumbers said he's a cancer survivor himself.