That fiberglass inspection hatch I installed saved my bacon yesterday

I finally got around to putting a $30 crawlspace access hatch in my laundry room floor after putting it off for 2 years. Yesterday morning I heard water running and found a busted pipe right under the washing machine. Instead of cutting through drywall or calling a plumber to find the leak, I just popped the hatch open and fixed it myself in 15 minutes. Anyone else put off a simple improvement like that and then kick yourself for waiting so long?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_jana16d agoTop Commenter

Kick myself? I literally bought the same hatch last year, set it on the floor next to the hole, and then tripped over it every day for six months before I finally screwed it down. @maxpalmer, that attic panel story hits close to home because my buddy did that exact same thing with his water heater - paid a guy $350 to cut a hole in the ceiling and then patch it. I swear my procrastination is a superpower, just in the wrong direction. The worst part is I actually knew the pipe was old and crusty but figured "eh, it'll hold." Never again either, learned my lesson the hard way.

maxpalmer16d ago

Bro, same. I bought an attic access panel like three years ago and it sat in my garage collecting dust. Finally put it in last summer and two months later my AC unit had a drain line backup that was dumping water into the ceiling. Pop the panel, saw the problem, cleared the clog with a shop vac in ten minutes. Would have been a drywall repair nightmare without it. Totally feel you on the "why did I wait so long" thing. I even had a buddy who paid a plumber $400 to cut a hole in his ceiling to fix the same issue. Never again.