The Story Of Why We Left Yafo P.5

   Before today I really had no clue how harmful not building a house to code really can be to your health.  I am by no means a trades person, but if I were given the task to plumb, tile, dry wall and wire this house I am certain I could have been far more successful than what exists here today. I actually got to meet the builder of the house, it was one man, a jack of all trades and a specialist at none of them. Lets nickname him Jack.

    On the day I received the pleasure of meeting Jack I was surprised to meet a small man in his 50's, years of working in the direct tropical sun had given his face a leathery look that aged him beyond his years, maybe he was only 35, but his life of hard work had etched his face to look much older and weathered. My landlord had brought him to the apartment to get him to repair the water heater which he installed. Jack was lucky my Hebrew skills were too weak to express my anger and frustrations at him, and since his English was poorer than my Hebrew there would have been no way for me to communicate everything I would have wanted to. Instead I watched them fix the water heater scornful and bitter.  If given the chance I would have given him an earful  of questions basically all starting with, "Why did you do it this way?". Where my landlord found Jack, I am not sure, but I bet he came at a great price. If there was a corner to be cut  Jack made certain the opportunity was not lost. The following pictures are all instances of where Jack made sure not to waste too much time, energy or money. 

 This is where Jack decided to have my water and other utilities enter the house, above the door through the plastic window. It is rather common place in Israel to see the intake pipes sticking out of the exteriors of houses. There is never a chance they will freeze so the plumbing is oftentimes out and exposed, however in our case here in Yafo we have the pipes protruding from our plastic window, where you would usually find these pipes coming out of concrete, or bricks. However I bet you it's a lot easier to cut a hole through a 2cm plastic sheet than it is too cut through half a meter of stone and concrete. Not only easier to cut through but it is much less time consuming and if  Jack can save on time it's cost effective as well. You may have already noticed that Jack does not know the meaning of aesthetics, he was merely concerned on getting the utilities inside the building as soon as possible. 

backside of my toilet

 I am no expert nor am I a plumber but isn't the waste supposed to go down and out and not sideways? I just finished reading the chapter about toilet venting in the International Residential Code for plumbing vents and found two diagrams that will explain exactly what is wrong with this disgusting beast of a toilet. First lets take a look at my lavatory's construction. In the photo above we are looking at the backside of my toilet, have you ever really looked at your latrine? Please take a moment and go look at your toilet, if it looks like mine in the above picture, please close the bathroom door, evacuate the area and call a plumber immediately, your health may be at risk. If it does not look like my toilet than you are within the majority of those who own a loo built to code. There happens to be a vital error in the installation of my toilet, my commode has no vent and wasn't installed anywhere close to code. In the second picture below, we see the drain pipe at an angle that is level with the toilet, unless this is some super high-pressure, anti-gravity flushing system I don't know about, I am not sure if this was ever supposed to work! 

drain pipe

The diagram below explains the entire concept in three simple words, Trap, Drain, VENT! and please note the difference between the diagram and my photograph.

"Without those vents, bacteria and gasses from the septic system would be released into the house where they could make people very ill." Read more: About Plumbing Vents | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/about_4673213_plumbing-vents.html#ixzz1Hyt8eMhh


   The toilet's lack of vent drove me insane, probably literally. I felt I was compulsively cleaning the bathroom, because it always smelt horrible. Now I understand what I was up against. Breathing sewer gas has a multitude of health symptoms and going mad happens to be one of them.  I have taken the liberty of researching the effects of breathing in these toxic fumes, and it looks like we are lucky to be alive.  Below you will find a chart of symptoms in relation to exposure. We will never know exactly how many ppm we were inhaling, but from the symptoms I experienced I would guess that we were inhaling somewhere between .5-20ppm, on a regular basis for approximately a year.


"HEALTH EFFECTS OF SEWER GAS"

Sewer Gas

"Sewer gas is a generic name for a complex mixture of gases and airborne agents that result from the natural process of the decomposition of organic materials in sewage. Gases produced by domestic wastewater decomposition commonly include hydrogen sulfide (H₂S), ammonia (NH₃), methane (CH₄), and carbon dioxide (CO₂)."

Human Health Effects at Various Hydrogen Sulfide Concentrations in Air

Exposure (ppm)	Effect/Observation	Reference
0.0005-0.01	Odor threshold	ATSDR 1999; McGavran 2001
0.01-0.6	Increased eye symptoms Increases in nausea Increased headache, mental symptoms, diseases of nervous system and sense organs	ATSDR 1999 (see Appendix B)
2.0	Bronchial constriction in asthmatic individuals	WHO 2003; ATSDR 1999
5.0	Increased eye complaints Mild respiratory, cardiovascular, musculoskeletal, and metabolic changes	WHO 2003 ATSDR 1999 (see Appendix B)
3.6-21	Eye irritation	WHO 2003
20	Fatigue, loss of appetite, headache, irritability, poor memory, dizziness Irritation of mucous membranes	WHO 2003 ATSDR 1999
100	Olfactory paralysis	ATSDR 1999
>560	Respiratory distress	WHO 2003
700	Death	WHO 2003

 "The table was compiled from the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry'sToxicological Profile for Hydrogen Sulfide (ATSDR 1999). These studies suggest that exposure to hydrogen sulfide from 5 to 16 ppm may cause respiratory, cardiovascular, musculoskeletal, dermal, and metabolic health effects, while ocular, gastrointestinal, and neurological effects may occur below 1 ppm"

source : Center for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/ 

    I know two year olds who can match circle to circle and square to square with out a problem, a note to all parents the square, circle, triangle blocks are a vital toy to introduce to your children they will use this skill later in life. Clearly Jack had a neglected childhood.

Exhibit A

Exhibit B

   Alright moving on to the next health hazard/cost effective renovation done in my bathroom, in Exhibit A we see my bathroom sink's drain pipe and hot and cold water delivery pipes entering the bathroom on the side of the wall . In Exhibit B you can see clearly underneath my sink, and as you may or may not have noticed there is no trap. A plumbing trap is required on all fixtures with a waste water exit, if not the pipe will stand dry and allow toxic gas to float up from the sewer into the house. The job of a trap is to trap water in a 'j' or 's' shaped pipe, the water that remains trapped blocks any sewer gas that may enter through the pipe. I think the Romans had this figured this out. Besides not having a trap, the sink was also clearly not vented, Jack obviously did not have a Plumbing code book lying around when he built this bathroom. Below in exhibit C there is a diagram of what a sink built to code should look like, please notice where Jack went wrong. Why Jack Why?

Exhibit C

  Please let the experts explain

  "The easiest way to understand the function of plumbing vents in your home plumbing system is to imagine draining a soda bottle. If you hold the bottle upside down at a 90 degree angle, the soda can't drain properly. As the bottle drains, it creates negative pressure inside the bottle because there is nothing to replace the soda flowing out. If you punch a hole in the top of the bottle, though, air is drawn into the bottle through the hole, keeping the pressure equal and allowing the soda to flow freely.

    Plumbing vents serve the same purpose as the hole in the top of the bottle. If there is no way to introduce air into a closed plumbing system, negative pressure is created and the water can't drain freely through the drain pipes,[also trapping hazardous gaseous inside your home]"  Read more: About Plumbing Vents | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/about_4673213_plumbing-vents.html#ixzz1HytfgpcM

 This photo on the left is the underside of my shower, and once again there is no trap, thank you Jack your are an ass.

   The one sink that had a trap was my kitchen sink, in the picture on the right we are looking underneath at it's plumbing. My sink leaked because the pipes weren't adhered together with silicon.  I guess Jack  had to save money somewhere since he put in the effort and installed a trap. It must have been frustrating for Jack because it's the only trap he bothered with and didn't even care to glue the fittings together. Maybe after this first trap  he said,

 "No way No how No more TRAPS!"

   One thing is for sure Jack has taught us what could have taken us years of mistakes to learn. Cutting corners and ignoring code  not only results in additional costs in the long run but may be potentially hazardous to yours and/or other's health.  Thank you Jack for your effortless contribution. 

... to be continued...

The Story Of Why We Left Yafo P.4

     In this chapter we will be discussing the alternate methods used to repair our home, which are both cost effective and inefficient. Both the builder and I are guilty of using materials other than the recommended, a previous example would be my front door from, "The Story of Why We Left Yafo P.1" I had repaired it with a plastic bag. At one point or another I am sure we have all come up with preposterous ways to fix an object whether it be with a plastic bag, scotch tape or duct tape we've all done it. Let the next few pictures be an example to all us fix-it-yourself-ers, of what not to do while in these situations. Your best bet is to call a professional ask them what to do or just hire a professional.

exhibit A

     In exhibit A we see cement dripping down the toilet bowl, when we originally moved in the toilet had cement where there should have been bolts into the floor, soon enough it broke free because the floor is an uneven surface due to the fact the builder tiled over top of a wood flooring. So in our first example we have learned that cement is not enough to hold the toilet down, it makes a huge mess of any tile work and if your uncoordinated the toilet bowl. 

exhibit B

exhibit C

     'Cement didn't hold the toilet down, maybe silicone will?' Were these the thoughts running through the builder and my landlord's minds when they decided to secure the toilet to the floor for the second time? At this point I would have bolted the damn thing down like it was meant to be, but they gobbed on the silicone and sat the toilet down.  Exhibit B shows us the result after multiple failed attempts to fasten the toilet with caulking. Okay so the toilet does not just pop out of the silicone on it's own free will, I admit I am the one who dislodged the toilet from it's silicone footing both times and  from the original cement foundation for that matter. All three times of displacing the toilet were accidents caused by my superb gracefulness and my complete lack of clumsiness. The first time I stood up too quickly and my calves uprooted the cement base and it crashed back down grinding the cement connections together with the porcelain toilet and the ceramic tiles it was a dreadful sound. 

     The second and third time when it broke free were both while I was cleaning the bathroom, both times I smashed into the toilet in a similar manor while scrubbing the floor. The toilet really didn't take much force to lift off of it's silicone settings, and that is how we left it, floating around unattached to the floor. In exhibit B you can see the most recent attempt too silicone the toilet to the tiles, with two globs of silicone one where each bolt should have been. In exhibit C the toilet is a few inches away from the wall, since the tank is plastic and slightly flexible if you leaned back on the seat the tank it felt almost like it was reclining or about to snap off. 

exhibit D

     The builder and the landlord of this Yafo piece of work, placed great confidence in the durability and strength of silicone. In the above pictures, exhibit D &E we witness another failure of construction with silicone. The toilet was not the only unlucky object to be mended with caulking the sink also fell victim of this fabrication nightmare of an easy fix-it solution. Exhibit D reveals a big wad of silicone and none to actually seal against water like it was designed for.

  

exhibit E

      Two solitary chunks of caulking were given the responsibility of holding the sink fastened to the wall a task reserved for screws and wall anchors. As you can imagine it certainly didn't take long to disrupt the sink position,(exhibit E). It has been dis-attached for so long I cannot remember who broke it, whether it was Maor or I. Having the sink unconnected to the wall actually made it easier to clean under the sink since I could slide the whole vanity out from the wall and around the bathroom.  

  

    

exhibit Y

exhibit X

     Here in exhibits X,Y and Z we see three more examples of silicone caulking being used in ways it should not. Exhibit X shows the material wrongly used  by stuffing old shower screw holes with it. Exhibit Y shows us what happens when you use silicone to fill holes in drywall and Exhibit Z the builder used it to grout the tiles.

exhibit Z

      The picture above shows us another innovation around the house, my own personal little nightmare lived underneath my sink. In this picture you can see my hot and cold water connecting to my kitchen sink's taps and the waste water drain pipe. They had to cut holes in the cupboard floor to get the pipes in, but underneath the cupboard beyond hole was an abyss; a darkness that spanned. An enternace way  quite possibly into the underworld, cockroaches would make their way up through the hole from God knows where and they would live off the cat food I had kept there. I was also infiltrated by legions of ants entering at this very vunerable access point. The day I discovered their stronghold I took immediate action, I grabbed all the plastic grocery bags that I had saved up and began stuffing them into the holes with the pipes, I started with the drain pipe, and it didn't take too long to fill the tiny gap that was there. However where the waterlines entered the cupboard's posterior there was a much larger space to fill, so I began stuffing plastic bags into the cavern, except they kept disappearing into the blackness of the hole beneath my sink... with my imagination running wild I pictured a giant gruesome hole to a wonderland eating my plastic bags as I feed them through the mouth of the opening. Before long I've stuffed my last plastic bag  into the hole and it is still not clogged, and I imagine the cockroaches would return easier than before with all the new plastic terrain I've given them to climb up to reach their entrance into my cupboard. The situation is getting serious, I reach for the garbage bags and this time bunch the garbage bags together as I stuff them in the chamber, they didn't fall through due to the pressure of them being squished together. I was no longer bombarded by throngs of insects and I continued to safely store cat food there, yet another blunder solved with nylon bags. I still cannot help but wonder how big is the cavity beneath my old sink cupboard ???
to be continued...

The Story Of Why We Left Yafo P.3

Lets for a minute talk about the standard of living, and the quality of craftsmanship.While growing up in a country where a building code is strictly enforced you come to expect a certain benchmark in house building. While residing here in Israel I have learned that even though a building code exists in the land of milk and honey, there are clear ways around it. Building to 'code' and building to make living tolerable are very far apart, and even when code is long forgotten some common sense should still be kept. Shouldn't it?

This is our first example of the expertise exhausted to construct this gem of a loft. This is the second door, you may recognize it from "The Story of Why We Left Yafo P.1" ,the door with the plastic bag repair. It certainly is irresistible isn't it? With it's lovely chicken wire charm, held together by exquisitely durable polyethylene zip ties who could resist such a first impression?

This is my solid granite counter top which is a great example of the quality craftsmanship you'll be able to expect here in Yaffo. Here the "builders" follow the motto:"Measure Never and Cut till it Fits.

Here we see the telltale signs of water damage. The drywall and paint blistered with water one night more recently while it rained. The dry wall was replaced twice in some places in the house due to water and mold damage, caused  from the countless times we experienced floods. At one point it was raining inside my house there might as well have been a storm cloud inside my vaulted cieling loft. Why were we flooded, 1. the door had zero weather stripping anywhere on it resulting in an indoor waterfall down the inside of my exterior door 2. the story above us had no roof or/and no windows 3. there was only ever a single layer of wood beams between our ceiling and the construction workers floor. Like sponges the wood ceiling beams soaked up the rainwater they had been drenched in, causing the house to feel damp up until present day. When you put your clothes on it felt like they had been outdoors over night and the dew had dampened them. I doubt the beams will ever dry out. ....4. my landlord is a liar...
 to be continued ....

The Story Of Why We Left Yafo P.2

The house is filled with history, it's construction dates back to the mid 1800's. It was built by German Templar settlers, from stone and wood. The original ceiling beams exist until today, a unique feature the other apartment are with out, since a fire destroyed most of the original wood in the building. Like the house every picture here comes with a history of itself complete with an agonizing story of completely unnecessary stress.

This is the crack beneath my door, which created countless issues to contend with. The steel door itself was fashioned for a warehouse not a home, this is my exterior facing door and it does nothing to block sounds or elements. I am sure when the space was renovated to be a warehouse the builders were not concerned about the water, earth, sun, or wind  entering or leaving the warehouse since it was not required to keep human occupants comfortable, safe and healthy.

I was continously bombarded by the enslaught of anything and everything that could enter through these cracks. An assortment of debris small enough constantly entered ; cigarette butts, dust, rocks, plastic bits, wind, water, heat, cockroaches, slugs, ants and anything else that could work it's way in. So I did what any person would do; I suggested to my landlord that he fix the door and make it livable. I suggested an industrial door sweep, you know those plastic broomy comb things with a rubber strip attached at the bottom of the door to keep these things out..... Our landlord's inferior solution was to take a thick vinyl sheet, cut it and screw it into the door, this is the result in the picture. The hideous chunk of vinyl provided minor improvements; less slugs, but still slugs, less dirt mostly only the smaller stuff, it didn't slow down the cockroaches one bit, or water for that matter, and maybe it stopped some of the wind who knows? My conclusion is that the landlord couldn't care less about his investment and the people providing him with the rent income....
 to be continued...

the lovely vinyl solution in the corner, here you can see what a great job it does. Piles of corrosion and erosion caused from water continuously entering through the corner crack here. 

The Story Of Why We Left Yafo

Welcome to my ex-home, a beautiful 60m+ loft, in a historic Templar building downtown Old Yaffo. Just a minutes walk to all the amenities you could want; beach, local transportation, post office, shopping, ancient archeological sites, historic sites, markets, entertainment, nightlife, restaurants you name it! The building is located in an up and coming neighborhood, what is not to like?

Well this is my front door let it greet you, as you enter my home. You may notice that I have repaired it's opaque plexi glass with a plastic bag, this so passerby's would not have a direct port hole view into my living space! I asked the landlord to fix it countless times, to no avail it remained like this for months. The day we moved out the landlord had a contractor in changing the entire door! Welcome to my home. to be continued...

I was playing with photo shop this morning, and thought I wouldn't mind if I had two different coloured eyes, it would most definitely accentuate my kwirky-ness.

A Start

Well, creativly lately i've been saving trees and just not writing, a shame because once I was proud of the way I could write, now I am afraid my english skills have declined while making room in my brain for a second language. However I know the brain is an endless storage device with many potential terabytes available for use. So in order to maximize my abilities I must polish my rusted and dulled writting dexterity into a sharp blade that will shine and pierce into the mind.