The Joys of Home Ownership

A few days after we got back from Chicago we had an issue with the toilet in our downstairs bathroom.  I was getting ready to leave the house when I heard a gush of water.  As soon as I walked into the bathroom I saw water spouting from the toilet.  I immediately tried to stop the water by turning the valve on the bottom of the toilet.  When that didn't work I called Carl.  After I got off the phone with him I tried to turn the valve again but the valve broke and the water started shooting out faster.  I frantically called Carl again and then ran to our neighbor's house to see if he could help.

When I got back the bathroom floor was covered in about a 1/2 inch of water and had started spilling into the hallway, down the basement steps and towards the front door into my office and the living room.  While I waited for my neighbor I called Carl again and he told me to turn the main water line off.  Even after getting the water shut off I had a mini panic attack when my neighbor arrived.

As frustrating as it was I'm just glad I decided to take that day off and was home.  We had to get rid of most of the drop ceiling tiles but the damage could've been far worse had it gone unattended for 5+ hours until we got home from work.