Honey... The Water Stopped.

I stare through the crack in the bathroom door at Deb.

"You couldn't have waited until I finished?!"

"I thought about it, does that count?"

So began my morning. Obviously something had frozen up outside in the 20 degree air, but what, and where? I had been worrying about the hose bib on the side of the house freezing up, but this was certainly topping that! I had in my possession the phone number for the plumber, sent to me buy the builder just yesterday, but it is early on a Saturday morning, would he answer?

I dial the phone as I walk around the house looking for any faucet that will produce running water. Doug the plumber answers!

"Did you put insulation around your well head?" he asks.

"No, I didn't know I had too."

"Well, I'm just the plumber, not the well guy." he is quick to add. "But you need to put some insulation inside the well cover... After you heat up the pipes and get the water going again."

"Heat up the pipes?"

I am instructed to take a blow dryer out to the well head and heat up the pipes. I my mind, as he is talking I see myself firing up the brazing torch and "Gettin' 'er done!" My mind snaps back as he says, some "Crazy" guys might even do it with a torch, but I wouldn't advise it, "cuz you wouldn't want to end up melt'n someth'n."

I thank him and then ask the question I originally planned on calling him for... The garage wall hose bib.

"There is a valve right above the water heater that will shut off the whole outside wall." He says dead pan, like everybody should know that! Note to self: Call builder and thank him for all of the useful information about insulating my well, and the secret shut off valve for the hose bib.

Time to get the water flowing again! I head outside into the bitter cold armed with a phone, (so Deb can call me when the water starts running) and a BRAZING TORCH! What kind of man hauls out an extension cord and fires up a hair drier when he owns a TORCH! A fire breathing, blue flame producing, makes a satisfying hiss while it's running TORCH! "Crazy, my ass!"

I get out to the concrete cover, but it is frozen onto the base. I think about hitting it with some heat, but imagine the lid cracking into multiple pieces. I eventually end up just rolling the whole base and lid off as one unit. And there are the pipes that need to be heated. But wait, there also is an electrical box with some wires and... STUFF I COULD MELT! I actually thought about the hair dryer option for almost a second before the index finger on my possessed right hand pulled the trigger on the torch.

I took less than 2 minutes before the phone rang in my pocket, "It's on!" I check the wires... No damage done!

I will pick up some insulation today from Lowe's, (makers of fine artificial Christmas Trees I might add) and then work on shutting off the garage wall hose bib... If it is not already too late!