The Pipes and all about them

So, here they are, photos. First task was the spelunking trip. Going under the house in the 18" crawl space, joining the territory of scorpions, black widows, and snakes, not to mention large roaches. Yuck. So, I wiggle around under the house looking at broken pipes.








Finally, I manage to find a spot where I can dig, in the 18" crawl space. Like a caver or miner, I have on my headlamp and laying on my belly, using a garden trowel, dig out around a pipe to try and figure out where the sewer line exits the house.








I manage to find what I think is the exit. So we go outside and begin to dig. Digging in the desert is a mix of rocks and very light dust, but mostly rocks or so it seems. After digging down about 3 feet, we manage to find the pipe. Its old cast iron and pretty well corroded through.








The contractor took one look and said rather matter of factly, just dig back another 10' and find the junction. If its more cast iron, thats bad, very bad. If you can find asbestos pipe, thats good. So we extended the trench. Digging sewer lines is no where near as much fun as working in the bead mines.









Here is the trench, in its full 15' long glory. Its about 3-3.5 feet deep and two days work. You can see the rust and corrosion from/on the pipe. Im afraid of whats just on this end of the cast iron, is it more cast or asbestos ? In this case, fear =$.








This is what 60+ year old pipe looks like after being buried in the desert. No holes in this section but dont press your luck by scraping it too hard with the shovel either. Pitty they didnt use something more rust resistant then.










And the result is... HOORAY !
Here is the tie in with the asbestos pipe. So now, once we replace the all the pipe to here, no one will ever need to worry about this again. Course it will bear a heavy burden on my checkbook but whats done is done. As our favorite honey dipper used to say, "its a shitty job but someone has to do it".

Well, now the real work can begin, laying the line back under the house, re-plumbing all the fixtures, cutting into walls and floors to replace all the old line. I just cant wait !

If you bought my beads recently or bid/bought from the PTP sale (Pay The Plumber) on Justbeads.com, Thank You. This is where your $ is going..... into this hole in the yard. It will also explain a lack of new beads, my time is being spent on this. Hopefully the next post on this topic will simply report we are re-plumbed and making beads again !

And the winner is....

Caribbean Blue and molten Lava !

I like the idea that these two winners are so different. A kind of fire and water contrast.

Shamrock, I have your address and will be mailing you your calendar asap.

Trek, email me your address or post it up here so I can send you a calendar.

To the rest of you, the contest is not over yet. I will now try and make beads worthy of the names above. Those beads will then become the next contest prizes, if they come out well.

Thanks to all who contributed to this contest. Im now off to do some subterranean excavations under the house still working on the plumbing.

Contest and stuff

The contest is now moving to phase II.

Stoffobeads contest board has compiled the following submissions for voting. These will be voted on and eventually a winner selected.

Entry 1- Dawn said...I would like you to create a faux gemstone carved scarab bead. Something that resembles lapis lazuli with lots of pyrite or Chinese jade, creamy white and green. I like the boro glass. Don't know any techniques, just like handmade lampwork and boro beads. Dawn, bdluvr from justbeads

Entry 2 -Shamrock at JB (justbeads.com for the unititiated) submitted the following, "Ok, after pining over a losing bid on one of your lapidary donuts, here's an idea: "Molten lava/hot coals". Inner colors of firey reds,oranges, yellows banked beneath an outer (textured?) crust of charcoal gray or black -- lapidary cuts into the crust reveal the smoldering core within. This would also work well on a barrel-shaped bead.

Entry 3- Trek says; "How about a cobalt blue bead with swirls of green - reminiscent of the ocean - then kind of S shaped facets/cuts in it to be reminiscent of fish jumping in the waters. "Caribbean Blue"

Entry 4- anonymous (But I know who you are) Prickly pear beads.

So, please cast your votes for 1, 2, 3 or 4 . We can even go by their names, Jade Scarab, Molten Lava, Caribbean Blue, or Prickly Pear. Please cast your vote ! Send me an email, leave a comment, however you want to let us know which you would like to see. Remember that the bead selected will eventually become a contest prize that I will give away. The two above selections with the most votes will secure the submitters a 2006 collectible bead artist calendar. You have until April 15th, Tax Day, to cast your votes!

On the topic of cool stuff, here is part of a project I participated in and is worthy of support. Its called the Gather project and is worth a visit. You can buy a ticket to win these amazing bead sculptures made around rolling pins. Fantastic stuff and for a worthy charity.

Unfortunately, there are some major plumbing projects planned here at the stoffobeads compound. The whole sewer/drain system needs replaced all the way out to the city line. YIKES ! May need to sell off some beads at cut rate prices to pay for some of this work......

3rd Entry

Well we have a 3rd entry now in the contest but still need more.

Trek says; "How about a cobalt blue bead with swirls of green - reminiscent of the ocean - then kind of S shaped facets/cuts in it to be reminiscent of fish jumping in the waters. "Caribbean Blue" ". Well Im think we can do that, or give it a try for sure.

S shaped facets remind me of the s shaped bend in the pipe under the house.......

Currently the entire Stoffobeads staff is in the crawlspace doing some "tunneling" we have sprung a leak on some of our plumbing. As is bound to happen in a 64 year old house, pipes, like the equivalent of a coronary artery inside a person, tend to plug up.

The house was built by the mining company, built on the cheap and probably before codes came into effect and certainly before they were enforced out here in the hinterlands, is difficult to work on. So we must tunnel under the house to get at the pipes in the kitchen.

So put on your work clothes, bring your paper plates and cups, and grab a shovel. We could use your help, submit an entry for the contest or get dirty in the crawlspace, you pick.