Can’t help but think of the medicine chest scene in “The Money Pit”
If you never did so, you should watch the movie, The Money Pit. The first time I saw it, I laughed so hard my sides hurt and I couldn’t breathe.
But I’m not laughing now.
The first 4 days of the household renovations went well, except for the discovery of the leaky corner of the roof. Read that story here.
Day 5: Long, long construction day (8:30 am to 6:30 pm). No access to the bathroom or the kitchen, so lots and lots of trips to the local grocery store (hmm, need donuts) and to Bon-Ton (hmm, maybe some new furniture? Not). In between, I spent the time in an 8 x 10 room with non-cable TV and Puppy Cody. Ok, those old 1940s and 1950s shows bring back memories, but after numerous days of watching them, I was ready to move on.
Later in the evening, we noticed Cody had fresh plaster on her paws. *sigh* The contractor tried to be neat, but alas, he wasn’t perfect (I thought).
Day 6 (Saturday, the 4th of July): We told the contractor that he must finish the project by Wednesday of next week, or work would have to be suspended until Fall because hubby and I were both running out of paid time off. We had lost a day due to the roof leak. The contractor agreed to come in a few hours on both Saturday and Sunday to catch up.
Gee, why can’t I use the facilities?
The contractor started the day in the bathroom.
CONTRACTOR: Hey, do you know you have a leaky toilet?
Say what? There was water under the tile around the base of the toilet. A quick check downstairs showed that, sure enough, the toilet was leaking into the coat closet. And it wasn’t just a trickle. Had the weather not been so nice that we didn’t need coats, maybe we would have noticed the leak sooner.
Hubby ran out to the nearest hardware store and purchased a new wax ring. The contractor installed it, reseated the toilet, and flushed. The water came out of the toilet in the area between the tank and the bowl. Never did that before! In the contractor’s own words: “Well, that’s not good.”
For the next hour or so, the contractor fiddled with the toilet. Calling a plumber in on the 4th of July would require mucho bucks. We discussed moving into a hotel for the weekend – but would they take Cody? The contactor did something or other with the angle of the toilet, and hubby ran out to get a second wax ring. For the time being, the leaking stopped, but we knew we would have to get a new toilet NOW.
Once the toilet issue was under control, the contractor went downstairs to do some more plastering (personally, I felt like getting plastered, too, but it was only 10:00 am).
CONTRACTOR: Say, was your dog scratching at the wall?
(Damn, now I know how Cody got that fresh plaster on her paws. And why she has loose stools this morning. You’d think plaster would be binding – guess we know better now, don’t we? *sigh*)
After the contractor left to join his family for their 4th of July festivities, hubby and I decided to hit Home Depot and Lowes for those items we needed to complete our renovations.
First on list – new toilet. Single flush or dual flush? Regular or high efficiency? Round or elongated? Forget it – I just chose the one that claimed you could flush an entire bucket of golf balls. ‘Cause, you know, I do that a lot. [Sounds silly, right? But the plumber told me that people have actually tried it – and then had to pay to have their entire sewer line replaced.]
We needed a vanity base, but not the sink – the sink we have is in very good condition. Try to find a vanity without a top at Home Depot or Lowes! Maybe on-line, but not in either of the stores we looked at, and we needed it now. We finally just bought a vanity combo – we’ll decide later which sink we’ll actually use.
New bathroom light fixture needed. Each store had a whole aisle of bathroom lights. New medicine chest – at least that choice was easy.
So many decisions on a Saturday afternoon were giving me a serious headache. Dragged all that crap home and spent the rest of the evening trying to figure out ways to keep Cody from reacting to the boom-boom-BOOM of fireworks.
Day 7: Sunday – even contractors on a deadline need a break, and we sure as hell needed one.
Taking a break from the construction.
And at this point, we all need a reading break. Come back tomorrow for the grand finale!
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I love to hear from my readers. You may comment on this post, comment on my Facebook or Twitter pages, or email me at cordeliasmom2012@yahoo.com or notcordeliasmom@aol.com
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Images by Cordelia’s Mom
Cordelia's Mom, Still 
Whew – you were lucky you caught the leaking toilet before the ceiling fell in the closet. That was good fortune. Having animals in a reno always adds a level of complexity to it. It was good of your contractor to agree to doing extra work so you could fit it all into your days off. I’ve always had a hard time picking out new fixtures and such – too many choices.
Sounds like things are going rather well CM – so much better than the worse case scenario. 😀
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I was expecially upset because some of the work we were having done was to repair the ceiling and walls where a prior toilet had leaked into the same closet and kitchen area.
The drywall/paint guy was wonderful, and so were his crew. We even got them to carry the heavy trash to the curb on trash day.
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Awesome!
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Having been through many projects at home and several as a contractor, I have to say this isn’t too bad. Discovering the leaking toilet is always bad, and having to fix it twice and ultimately replace it is just the worst. I hope in the end you guys are happy. Can’t wait to finish up 🙂
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I know. All the contractors told me my house wasn’t the worst they had worked on, but to me? I’m just glad it’s over (read tomorrow’s post for the ending).
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It sounds like you have a really understanding contractor. Feed him well. (seriously) And having heard (and been part of) renovating horror stories, you’re doing better than most, in spite of surpises along the way.
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Thanks for joining us this morning! Yes, this contractor, especially, is a keeper. He obtains new clients by referral only, and he seems to have more work than he can handle.
(And he and his crew are all kinda cute, too – a definite plus.)
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Having remodeled 3 houses doing the majority of the work ourselves (saw that movie in the middle of the 2nd on – just weeped along), all I can say is how wonderful you have a good reliable knowledgeable contractor and crew. Worth their weight in gold.
At this point in life, I’m ready to sell all the tools ….cheaper, faster, better for your health to just move!
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There was a time when we would have attempted some, if not all, of the work ourselves, but not no more. Once we retire, we’ll probably sell the house so we figure the professional work will pay for itself in the long run.
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Reading this just makes me want to crawl into a ball and regress to being 5 again. Unfortunately my parents are old. So, I must join you in responsible adulthood. I am well rid of my ex-spouse, AKA Voldemort. However, homeowner stuff makes me long for those not so good old days of servitude and neglect, or what in my case passed for marriage.
You and Mr CordeliasMom have my sincerest condolences regarding all these stressors, setbacks and buckets of money spent. I am completely jittery in support over what you have experienced. I am waiting in breathless anticipation for your next installment.
Most of all, my heart goes out to Puppy Cody. These things are hardest on our pets. My cats always want to be apprentices to every handyman and repair person who enters my home. And they are little escape artists, even though they have a well-appointed room of their own. If I wanted to introduce them to company, they would be nowhere to be found. Given I am paying for a project by the minute, the are happy to rack up the charges by appearing and interacting with strangers. Puppy Cody gets my love💙 and support.
You have had a heck of a summer with the family next door and this remodel. We need to invite a season for you to recover. What will we call it?
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The Money Pit is one of my favorite movies. I laugh just thinking about it … until I realize that we are going to have to deal with the electricity and the plumbing. Soon. Oy.
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I love that really long scene where Tom Hanks is sliding down the outside of the house in the cement covered wheelbarrow, with that white tarp over him. The first time I saw it, I laughed so hard I lost my breath.
Being the weirdo that I am, the second or third day of the renovations, I decided to watch it again. Hubby thought that was a bit inappropriate since I had to turn the volume up pretty high to hear it over the construction noise.
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I’m sorry but contractors make me very very angry… they always take too long. Your posts on these renovations are giving me anxiety by the way… thanks a lot!
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Oh, Trent, I’m so sorry to be upsetting you. You have my permission to have a drink (or whatever) to relax yourself.
There’s still one post to go – you might want to have that drink (or whatever) before you read it tomorrow.
But at least the ending is happy, so you can look forward to that.
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I’m drinking scotch! You have given me permission, after all. I like happy endings, by the way.
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And I’m drinking wine. I know I’m getting happier!
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I’ve been almost afraid to look, but the ride seems to be coming to a stop. 🙂
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It’s getting there.
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As you will see, dogs and household construction don’t mix well. I hope never to have to do it again …
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Oy. My first emergency plumbing situation occurred the Friday prior to Labor Day, meaning we had a temporary fix until Tuesday. Many shiny pennies… *cries*
I feel for you on the plumbing and puppy bits. That’s so sad.
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Emergency plumbing situations are definitely not fun. Recently, we had to call our plumber on a SUNDAY! Fortunately, he only charged double for the initial call, but not double for the work that was done.
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Not too bad for a Sunday plumber!
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I remember when we first moved into this house and the toilets didn’t work because the people who moved out had their truck drive over the pipes and had crushed them. We watched the movie that night, but it wasn’t nearly as funny. Now, it’s funny again. But sometimes, NOT so much.
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How awful. No, that movie’s not as funny if you’re in the middle of repairs. I was watching it with Cody while my own renovations were in process, and my husband said I shouldn’t because the contractors might get annoyed if they realized what I was watching.
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