First, let me explain. My parents lost power in the storm and their pipes burst. I went over yesterday morning to help clean up the limbs all over the yard, and to see what assistance I could offer with the pipes. My cousin Dave is a plumber (and MUCH thinner than me) so I gave him a call to see what help he could give. (I totally forgot to mention to him that the pipes were in a crawlspace that is FILLED with insulation and many big bullsnakes. OOPS!).
My cousin gets out there, and he gets under the house and becomes seriously not very happy. He sees about an 8' bullsnake wrapped up under there, and you have to crawl about 80' or so to get from the access hole to where the pipes are. The former owner of the house thought it would be brilliant to put insulation UNDER THE HOUSE (WHY??????????) so it is hanging down all over the place as well.
Sooooo... I tell my cousin that, if I can fit through the access hole, I will go down there and help him. (I have some REALLY broad shoulders and no one thought I could fit). Ok, to fit down this access hole I basically have to put my arms over my head end "dive" into it. Yes, I go head first. And it is TIGHT. Oh man. Once you get in there you see insulation hanging everywhere and a dirt floor. Bear in mind however, that there is MAYBE 20" of space between the dirt and the floor above you. You can't even crawl... you have to shimmy along the floor. Not for the claustrophobic. :)
These are BAD pictures mind you... I took them with my phone. Did the best I could.
View when you first get inside:
Ok...so you shimmy along the floor for aways and then you get into another "hallway" of sorts. This at least has plastic on the ground. Then you go about 40' to the end where the pipes are. In the meantime, there are snakes hibernating around. Sheesh.
Anyway, These pics were taken from the halfway point with my cousin Dave at the other end with a REALLY bright light helping him work on the pipes. You can't see him because of the light, but the pics get the point across. What you see hanging down and on the sides is insulation (we shoved it all out of the way) and the ground has plastic on it. Bear in mind that, this is only 18"-20" high, we were in here for a total of about 6 hours, and made about 5 trips in and out.
What an interesting day eh? :) I also took a few pictures with my phone to show how much ice we got:
Ice covered branch
Ice covered walnut looking thingy you find on Maple or Birch trees ( I forget which)
To show how much wind there was and how it shaped the ice that formed:
You can't tell really well, but this is some ice I broke off around a branch. It is about 1" thick, and it is only ONE SIDE:
Lastly, my wife and I are avid Jenga players and got my brother and sister EXTREME Jenga for Christmas. These following pics are pretty funky as they show how the entire tower is leaning, but not falling, and it is resting on one block that is on one side. It looks phycically impossible, and my brother about crapped his pants when I pulled that block out and it stayed like that. :)
You see Marilyns hand in the background... she is not holding it, she is trying to find a block to retrieve without knocking it over! :)
Anyway, I think that is enough. I am VERY sore and VERY tired still. I just could NOT sleep from being so sore. UGH!
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