Toilet Drama

So, both toilet's have slowly become liabilities to me. Really, why do we have to worry about these types of fixtures?

I was hoping to get by on another year without replacing them. Yet, when you have people living below you, sometimes the requirements for replacing things are based on other facts. Instead of "I'll make do and just put towels around it so the leaks don't go through the floor" it is "I need to replace these ASAP before I have to pay for toilets and for the ceiling and walls of the person downstairs."

These types of things are interesting ventures. If only our money would explode in growth the way these projects unfold.

Let's take a look at how it plays out:

• Search the Internet - toilets range from $140 to $1,400. Golden seats?
• Ask around - the guy at work that knows these things suggested the "Champion 4" toilet that boasts the ability to flush golf balls by the bucket full. Pray tell, why? If you have the need to flush golf balls (or produce anything like golf balls for the throne), shouldn't you be getting some kind of professional help? Either way, his suggestion was entertained.
• Go to Home Depot - the toilets are elevated at a 45 degree angle at about four feet above my head (which is itself located 6 feet above the ground) which seems like bad Feng Shui to me and doesn't allow you to test the flush handle. You feel like the wall of toilets will come crashing down on you and so I step back a few feet for personal protection as I make this important decision.
• Compare the charts - each toilet has a little chart about height, flush potential, and all of these other details no one would ever think about on a day to day basis. Luckily, I learned that I needed to measure the length from the wall to the little plastic knob on the toilet base that conceals a very important screw. The standard is 12 inches from the wall, but sometimes there are 10 or 16 inch distances.
• Select the toilet that is around $200 - way too much for this, but at least it lasts a few years. Pay $115 for each to be installed. Yes, they provide directions. No, I will not do this because who knows what troubleshooting will come up.
• Shipping - that would be "Me" that took care of this after a worker promised to help me load both toilets if I drove to the door. It became obvious that I was the woman for the job when no one returned to assist. One box fit in the back seat (barely) and one in the trunk. This made me a road hazard for about 2.5 miles.
• Handling - that would be "Me" dragging each out of the car and up two half flights of steps and into my entry way. That counted for weight lifting for the day.
• Scheduling - they said they would come between 9 a.m. - 1 p.m. the next day.
• Next Day - he came at 12:45. Two toilets removed and one installed in 45 minutes. Other toilet needs a necessary part. It will cost $125 for parts and labor. Yikes! I've already spent $630 I didn't have for this effort. He does the "call the boss" thing and says they can get a cheaper patching up solution for me at $45. My response - "Would you do that to the toilet at your house?" His response - two second pause and a "well, it depends." The pause said it all. I'm going for the $125 solution, especially after seeing some more cracked plastic on the flange or whatever it is called.
• Later that Day - He says he will go pick up a part, finish a quick job and be back. I sit at home working on my computer waiting. I get a call at 5 ish saying that they are ready to schedule his return the next day. What? Yep, apparently he told them that when he left the house, but told me he was coming back. Come on - have enough guts to tell me what is up. I inform them that I have to re-arrange meetings the next day to be home.
• Second Day - They come at 1 p.m. right after I get home. Two new guys. They ask how much I was told the job would cost. I tell them and they act all bugged. They spend the next 45 minutes installing the new part and toilet making a big deal about how it should be a $300 job. And, yet I remain unmoved. They told me $125 the day before and I asked them if they had a problem with it. But, I'm writing the check as I say it.
• Tip - I'm not a total jerk or a total idiot. These guys have been in my house. They know the entrances and exits. They have my personal information on my check. They are each getting a tip. They seem pleased. After all, Home Depot gets the $125 and they get their additional cut of the deal as well.
• Pricey, yet Priceless - new toilets built for tall people, no leaking tanks, no need to replace neighbor's ceiling, two less appliances that need to replaced, and ....then of course the pricey part ($800 plus interest - cash back on the credit card = still pricey).

This post had to be long. That way it demonstrates a little of the ordeals we go through for those seemingly hidden and useless areas of our lives that are very important to our daily existence.

Should I have gotten the "Champion 4" toilet? After all, I live on a golf course. I opted for the Kohler - the bold look. It was taller and cheaper and the flush rating was an 8 (fairly close to 10). Perhaps I'll take a walk and pick up a golf ball and try it out.

Keepin Up with the Jones

This evening we went on an exercise walk and as we were coming up the stairs the new neighbor started to talk to us. She was really nice and invited us up to her condo. It was beautiful! New paint, new carpet, new appliances, really nice furniture, everything spotless and in place. We felt a little gross being all sweaty and everything. Her son even had a nicer tv in his room than I have in my living room (mine is a $100 20 something inch "tube" tv that has lasted me seven years so far. There was no clutter at all and everything looked well organized and brand spankin new. We enjoyed talking to her and I said I'd invite her to my place in a few days.

Well, we both came down to my place afterwards and both started laughing at the same time. It was a nervous laugh. My furniture looks so college dorm after seeing that living room. I started to bionic clean my house afterwards in the hopes that it would somehow come out looking picture perfect like the home above me.

It didn't work.

Ah-well, my little place has character. It shows that someone lives here. It shows that projects are being worked on, that a gadget girl is trying out technology, and that Goodwill may get a visit soon (hence the pile of stuff by the front door). I've got clutter even though I scan everything into the computer. I sit on a couch I bought six years ago and should probably give to a family of boys for their basement family room. My 2nd bedroom is halfway painted because I didn't have the stamina or the interest in finishing the job. My treadmill is the center attraction of my living room along with the massive (and cluttered) bookshelf that spans an entire wall.

Well, this lady isn't going to be "keepin up with the Joneses" any too soon. But, this lady will hopefully do some other meaningful things. My home won't make it into a Martha Stewart (or preferably a Frank Lloyd Wright) magazine, but it is home after all.

Kitchen - Day 3 - done

My brother suggested that I add a picture of what the kitchen looked like when I bought my condo originally.

Here it is:

Kitchen - Day 2 progress

Kitchen - Before and Middle - still waiting for after

My kitchen is getting a "refacing" from Sears. I used to think that meant that they walked in the door with new door fronts and walked out with my old doors. But, now I'm seeing why I spent quite a few thousand on this effort.

This morning my dining and kitchen area looked like this:

Notice the unclean picture of my kitchen. "Before" photos should always be messy so as to enhance the "after" results. Just like those face photos where they put really bad make-up on people to make them look worse before they glamour-ize them.

Right now it looks like this:

Completely gutted! Kind of cool that this is about $10,000 less than if you have them put in new frames.

This posting is primarily for my father's viewing since he has crowded our email with very large attachments showing sheet rock, unfinished deck framing, window sills, door frames, sheet rock, rocks, more unfinished deck framing, tiles, more rocks, more sheet rock, more deck framing and more tiles. (-: The difference is this - he actually does the work and I just prepare the work area for someone else to do the work while I do my job work and post pictures of their efforts to my blog.

Before the end of the week I will have the "after" pictures.

Downsizing

So, I donated my big stereo system to the Goodwill the other day. The tape decks weren't working (even though I never used the tape decks) and the display wasn't showing what CD was playing or the radio station numbers.

I went into Costco the other day and found this cute little set of speakers. You just put your iPOD into the back of it and it will play. Pretty cool. Look how small it is.

I've been using it as I've been painting this weekend. Thank goodness. I was going to pay someone to paint my place, but realized that I could paint it myself and save over $1,000. It's not so bad listening to the music and just giving myself 1 room a week to paint.

However, the fumes are getting to me.

Home Improvement

So, this weekend I tried my hand at home improvement. It's something that I try every year now in January. It always ends up the same. I end up hiring a professional from craigslist to come over and do it for me.

This weekend I tried painting both bathrooms and installing new lighting. I know what to do, but somehow my brain and hands don't cooperate to make the final product presentable. While I was trying to balance the new light in one hand and balance the electrical wires in the other, I had one knee on the sink top and one foot on the toilet seat. First, the toilet lid broke off and landed on the floor. Second, my other knee slid into a little plastic container of nails that promptly fell on the floor. Third, of course, the light ended up barely hanging from the wall by the horrible electrical connections I had created with those white, black and cooper wires. At that point the task ended. A guy is at my house right now installing them all the while talking about how he can have his crew paint my house AND re-face the kitchen cabinets. Hmm, tempting, but no. This experience, like all the other Januarys, have taught me that we all can't be good at everything we try.

Sears and Craigslist will be getting all of my future business.

Ok, now he is telling me to buy bathroom ceiling fans that have little lights. They somehow add value to the house?