Calling in the Pros When a DIY Home Project Fails

Sponsored by Benjamin Franklin Plumbing®. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

You may recall last year that my husband and I remodeled our master bath. It turned out beautiful and I am still in love with how fresh and welcoming it is compared to the dark closet it used to be. Of course, transparency requires me to share that one year later the job is still not 100% done. The framing around the door is still missing. One small section of the wall near the shower never got the wainscoting the rest did. And the drywall on the other side of the bathroom…where we had to rip out part of the wall to get the shower in, is still missing. ETA for completion? Who the heck knows!

We also ran into a problem with the plumbing shortly after we semi-finished this DIY job. A couple days after the completion I came home to holes in the foyer ceiling where the drywall had been ripped out to try and find the source of a water leak. There was also a bucket on the hardwood floor to catch the water. Our foyer is directly below the master bath, so we could clearly see that water was getting between the shower pan and the drain and then leaking downstairs. My heart kind of sank honestly because I was terrified that we had botched this DIY job and that we may have to rip out some of the work that had been done, including the shower.

My husband did try to fix it, many times, with DIY products like spray foam and pipe sealant. The fix was always temporary, and it would inevitably start leaking again. We had holes in the ceiling and a bucket on the floor for the holidays…which is why we ate out for both Thanksgiving and Christmas! I also avoided having guests because the foyer looked so bad.

But this story is very much on its way to a happy ending. We finally called in the pros!

The folks at Benjamin Franklin Plumbing® stepped in to take care of the leak once and for all and it was actually quite painless. Why did I put this off for so long??? Doh!

Our plumber, Mike, was super nice and immediately put us at ease that this was completely fixable and did NOT require gutting the bathroom…again. I let out a big breath I had been holding. We made an appointment for two days later to complete the work and it was all over. Whew. We also had him fix a clogged sink and pop up assembly in the downstairs powder room because why not take advantage of having a pro in the house? It was AFTER I made the appointment for an estimate that I walked into that bathroom and found a sign written by my teen that said, “Do NOT Use”. It was clogged and overflowing and smelled pretty gross too. Since this sink has been an issue ever since we moved in we had some parts completely replaced and it’s like a brand-new sink.

We know who we are calling now when it comes to plumbing. Our DIY endeavors will now include a call to the pros for such matters because the stress of a DIY fail and torn up house are not worth the pennies you “think” you are saving. If I had known how painless and fast the repair would be, I would have done it last year.

Now I can enjoy a leisurely shower via candle light with my spa music playing on my waterproof speaker once again and NOT worry about a puddle downstairs. Stress free showers!

I also love supporting great companies. Benjamin Franklin Plumbing is part of the Direct Energy family of brands and have independently owned and operated locations around the country so even if you don’t live in my neck of the woods you may still be able to use them. They are brands you can trust and provide quality service.

You can trust the local, licensed professionals at Benjamin Franklin Plumbing to identify, explain and address your plumbing needs. When you hire a Benjamin Franklin plumber, you can feel confident that you’ll be served by a dependable professional, who’s skilled, clean, courteous and background checked. Our plumber was warm and put us at ease. He was also a consummate professional.

Their service is backed by an On Time guarantee and endorsed by UWIN®, a consumer service resource that allows home services contractors to provide an extra level of protection and peace of mind to the residential consumers for which they provide services.

To find the location near you, visit their website or call 855-BEN-1776.