Can I phone a friend?

So, today was definitely an adventure on site.  Since last week, I have been working with another LTV (long term volunteer) named Jon.  We were working in this wonderful old shotgun house for a woman whose great-grandaddy built the home.  We had been extending the closet so that it would fit a washer and dryer.  But today, the boss came on site and wanted us to work on the bathroom counter.  We were just supposed to level it.

Well, of course, it was not that simple.  It was not just a quick, shove some shims under the low-side and re-attach the countertop.  The sink did not fit the cabinet.  So we had to move the cabinet out from the wall.    In fact, we had to move it so far out that the plumbing was behind the cabinet, rather than inside of it.  Before we lifted the cabinet unit, we noticed some moisture on the hot water supply line.  While lifting the cabinet, we heard a dripping sound start.  By the time we had adjusted the cabinet, the drip sound had changed to a hiss.

As Jon noted, "This is not good.  We have a problem."  Water is now streaming from the hot water supply line.  We run outside to find the main shut off valve.  We can trace the lines to the kitchen sink, the tub, the front spigot, the back spigot, the other bathroom, but cannot find the main shut off valve.  (Meanwhile, water is still streaming down.  It's making a puddle underneath the house.)

Suddenly, I remember my good buddy from ASP 2010, Barry Stough.  Like a "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" contestant, I phone that friend.  Quick pleasantries are exchanged and then I ask, hypothetically, if I were to want to shut off the water to the house, how would I do that.  He directs me to the city shut off valve.  A quick turn of an adjustable wrench and the flood stops.  The day is saved, or at least a calamity is averted until the real plumbers get here.

Definitely, it added a bit of spice to a cabinetry job.  Although, I might prefer bland jobs for a bit.  Anyway, I thought I'd share my special work adventure.  As brother John says, "Laugh and the world laughs with you.  Cry and you weep alone." Besides, my ASP Admin team would be proud, the training scenario actually did happen, just on a different worksite, and thanks to them/Barry, we worked it out.