We got notified today by our water company that they thought we had a leak due to a sudden high consumption rate. There were no obvious signs of leaking in the house. No wet spots on the ceilings or walls. The toilets aren't running and cutting off the dishwasher and washing machines didn't help. We could hear water running in the pipes, but even cutting off the main valve inside the house didn't stop it. That left only the crawlspace.
We have the crawlspace from hell. It's actually just a 3x3 pipe chase that runs between the garage foundation and the foundation of the house. To access it I need to remove a panel high on the wall of the furnace room in the basement and then squeeze my big ass up through the opening. Just what I want to do at 10:30PM. As I was removing the screws holding the access panel, it suddenly popped loose and cracked me in the head. Great way to start.
As soon as I removed the panel I knew I'd found the leak. I could hear the water dripping. I got up into the space as far as I needed to shine a flashlight and sure enough, the main water pipe coming up out of the ground had three pinholes right where the first copper fitting is. Water was spraying against the garage foundation wall, which was a lucky break. If it had sprayed the other way, it would have ruined the sheet rock in the furnace room or the ceiling of the furnace room.
So the next step was to access the meter pit outside and cut off the flow of water to the house. That was loads of fun late at night, but it went easier that I thought it would. Tomorrow I need to find a plumber willing to come out on very short notice. Never an easy thing around here.
