I cry for mercy! This has not been the best of months at Holiday House. First world problems, to be sure, but as I said on Facebook last week, "I haz poltergeist."
And he does not like electronics, or machines, or maybe it's just me he dislikes...
First it was the tv. Kaput. Then it was the washing machine. ( I may have called The Poltergeist's attention to the washer's frailty when I mentioned it in my "I hate Samsung" post. Darnit.) Then it was the garbage disposal. And then, wait for it...both water heaters.
"Why do you have two?" you ask. Hell if I know. I just turn the tap and shimmy in the hot water, I ask not where it comes from.
Until that hot water is orange. Then I start asking questions.
Sooo, silly me had a plumber come. $700 later I had a working master bath faucet (hooray, that only took 6 months), another pressure valve thingy (the banging pipes are gone again, but, yeah, I'll withhold judgement for a few months before I call it "fixed"), and a diagnosis of "water heater(s) gone all to hell." Cue plumbers number two and three and a bill that hovers near the laughably large. In some ways it's a relief that it's so big that I don't even have to think about paying it out of my personal checking account, you know? Like if it was just $700 I'd feel guilty tapping into the savings account. Hah! Tap away, tap away.
As we drove to work, leaving plumbers 2 and 3 (kind of a young Ben Affleck type, actually) to do their thing, JWH says to me, "there goes your sunroom." Indeed. So, the list I shared with you in January is already crap. This time, crossing off means "not gonna happen" rather than done-dealio. Oh, the pain!
- Get a plasterer to smooth the ceilings in the dining room and living room
- Remove the old smoke detector bracket on the stair landing and spackle the holes
- Fix the giant crack in the master bedroom ceiling
- Repaint the ceilings in the LR, DR, stair landing, and kitchen (this is kind of an obvious follow up to the items above)
- Refinish the antique desk
- Fix the gutters (we had them looked at, and they need minimal work, but I'd like to get it done!)
- Repair and touch up the trim up at the eaves of the house (again, we have a quote, just waiting for spring!)
- Replace the mailbox
- Add landscape lighting to the walkway
- Remove the space heater from the back hall wall
- Finish the vanity project in the hall bath - DONE
- Sunroom to mudroom conversion Hahahaha, maybe I can get the windows replaced as a starting volley. Maybe....
- Re-tile the 2 bathtub surrounds
- Put a new toilet in the hall bath
- Replace the window in the dining room
Might as well revise it now and deal with reality. Much in the way that JWH did when he called of plans for his new BMW and decided to rock the Volkswagen.
Holiday House: known for thrift.
Sorry to hear your plumbing decided to go all berserk. However, I'd rather have hot water over heating water in buckets at the sunroom :)
Posted by: brooklyn plumber | Tuesday, February 21, 2012 at 05:26 AM
Hmmm, looks like you've come a long way when it comes to repairing your house, huh. When will the renovation be completed? By the way, how are the water heaters?
Posted by: Jasmin Shakespeare | Monday, February 27, 2012 at 02:28 PM
Jasmin, that's the thing about these budget-eaters, you don't even get to show off the result! Nobody ever compliments you on your clear hot water!
The "renovation" was mostly done when we moved in, I'm just tweaking and making it more family friendly. And more my style. Slowly.
Posted by: Holiday | Monday, February 27, 2012 at 09:18 PM
WOW! Sounds like you had a very busy time in the Holiday House. Glad you got it al worked out. As for myself its always good to get some estimates from licensed plumbers. Some things are great to do yourself and then there are those times you need to just hire the professionals.
Posted by: Christopher Pia | Friday, March 30, 2012 at 03:17 PM
LOL! You're funny, it is upsetting to give up on a sunroom only to use the money to fix piping problems but you got to do what you got to do. In the meantime do your sun bathing at the beach :)
Posted by: Soho Plumber | Thursday, April 05, 2012 at 09:34 AM
Sorry to hear your plumbing decided to go all berserk...
Posted by: mudroom storage | Friday, July 27, 2012 at 04:02 AM
Sorry to hear that, hope that is all ok now :) Sometimes is better to buy a new one, than repair.
Posted by: Water heater prices | Sunday, July 29, 2012 at 06:21 PM