Sorry to hear about what happened.
On the bright side... At least there were no rabid zombie skunks...
Right?... I mean I didn't miss that... Did I?
I get the frustration... I live in a hundred year old house with a hundred year old steam system... It actually started out as coal... moved on to oil and ten years ago to gas... None of which anyone really needs to know or cares about, but it's old and decrepit and constantly leaking.
With the exception of a big blowout last year, 90% of the time I end up fixing it... Mainly because as I'm sure you have found out, it's only slightly less expensive to build your own working space shuttle then to replace a few pipes.
I feel like Scotty trying to keep the Enterprise from blowing up sometimes.
I fix a pipe, the thermocoupler in the furnace pops, fix that, the radiator valves need repacking, fix that, the big 1950s fluorescent light fixtures in the basement die, replace that, the roof under the upstairs window leaks and the ceiling falls down... On me... Fix that, the washing machine finds a hollow spot under concrete basement floor and breaks through...
That I left because now I don't have to go looking for the washing machine after every spin cycle... It actually stays in it's little hole... It gets shorter and shorter every wash, but I'm sick of chasing it around and maybe it'll uncover some pirate gold hidden under the house...
That would be nice...
What really sucks is old houses like this are supposed to be stuffed full of gold, old money and stock certificates... But so far all I've ever found is old newspapers and dead birds.
That and my dear little daughters are constantly finding new things for me to fix...
I'll be in the middle of fixing one thing and I'll hear: " Daaaaad.... The shower handle broke... I tried to do a chin up and it fell off when the pipe came out... " .... "Daaaaad... How come come the refrigerator door comes off so easily..." "Daaaaad which kind of fire extinguisher do you use for burning plastic?"... "Daaaaad... There is a big hole the shape of my sister in the living room wall!"...
The worst part is they always act like they just discovered it and had nothing to do with it... They will be chasing each other around and then announce a chair fell out the window... Like as if it was balancing on the window sill or a breeze carried it off...
Most normal kids run off and don't say anything hoping they will be off to college or living somewhere else by the time you notice the dining table broke in half...
But they immediately call attention to it and then act like "would ya look at that... Amazing that the toilet ended up turned around like that... How'd ya suppose that happened... You know.... You really should fix that..."
Fun stuff.
Well, I'm sorry to try and commiserate with my tales of stupidity, but I thought it might cheer you up, but then I thought some more and after the thinking stopped hurting, I came to the conclusion that it might be depressing or stressful.
Most of my writing is stressful, but writing about home disasters to someone in the middle of a disaster probably isn't conducive to their wellbeing.
I hope your reconstruction proceeds effortlessly and quickly and is over with no problems as soon as possible.
Good luck.
