OT-Major Frustration

Glad to help...rant away! Some days are like that.

Will they buy you a new medicine cabinet? Seems like they should cover the cost of that, if they broke it.

There must be *some* redeeming quality to this new bathroom. What color is it? How are you going to decorate? Any special new amenities like heat lamps, heated towel bars, or other such luxuries?

Sue

Then I had them take off the old mirror, which covered the whole wall and bought two cabinets, one for over the toilet (that matches the vanity) and the other a 36" x 30" mirrored medicine chest, the one he broke.

The walls are a medium blue, think DMC 809, and the cabinets, trim and floor are white. It's very pretty, provided you like blue, and very crisp. Here in muggy, hot Florida, I like cool colors.

As to heat lamps and heated towel bars, absolutely not necessary except for

2 or 3 days when the temperature goes below 50 and the Floridians are frozen. It's so darn hot that it's extremely rare that you can even get really cold water and water comes from the tap luke warm.

They just came back with a new chest and hopefully they will leave soon and let me get my life back. I simply can't imagine going through a major renovation now. It's just too frustrating.

L

Welcome to the world of dealing with contractors, subs and builders. It's hateful. I have a great cartoon that I'll have to scan and send you.

Imagine how I feel about our builders.... I can't wait to get rid of them after their next 2-day stint.

So, but aren't you going to love the newly done bathroom???Something thrilling in there?

ellice

Lucille,

{{hug}}

Want my next woe - I need a roofer and some one to fix the French drains around the house....

Ask me about water in the basement and husband that shouldn't be doing heavy work and how my legs feel....

Oh and I have to do a major delint of the dryer again. As in replace the exhaust hose and insert limbs in to the bowels of the machine....

Cheryl

Here's your hug back. It sounds like you need it more than me.

I'm at the end of this ordeal and I've already started to put stuff back. After all the aggravations and unexpected problems, I'm delighted to say it looks good. Needless to say this whole thing would be easier if I could make up my mind whether the toothpaste should be on this shelf or that one. lol

Here's my hopes that the weather clears, the basement dries out and the dryer does what a dryer is supposed to do without any moaning or groaning.

Lucille

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I'm feeling your pain at this moment, especially #3. It helps if the repairman you're hating is not yourself.

I have that on my plate as well. Has anyone tried

any similar product? I figure it would be easier than contortions,that's assuming they do what advertise.Tara

We have one of the really long slightly conical lint brushes. Another super duper gift from the crazy SIL. Don't even ask about the tuna fish can strainer, or the plastic thing that hooks to the water faucet so that you can blow the shell off a hard-boiled egg. That said, the brush is pretty useful in going down after you've taken out the lint filter - to get anything that went beyond.

You could just use a regular vac with out putting it down too far for the hose exit. I have a mini-vac attachment set which attaches to the regular vacuum, and can be used for vaccuuming keyboards, small electronics, etc.

What we learned a few years ago is that if you have an old plastic exhaust you should change it to a metal foil one, and also they should be checked every couple of years at least. Similarly, washing machine hoses should be changed IIRC every 5 years.

So, personally, the brush has been a little helpful - but that's the best I can offer.

ellice

I was so lucky with the company that I had for my kitchen re-do. A friend had some construction done, and said, "If you ever need any work done, call these guys. They're a joy to have around -- really nice people who do really good work."

With that kind of recommendation, when it came time for our project, I called that company and told them what I wanted done and what I expected to spend, and they said it was quite feasible. It's possible someone else could have done it cheaper -- I didn't even shop around. Dealing directly with a small, family-owned company and good people was something I couldn't put a price on. They did a terrific job and were always pleasant to have around...even when the inevitable surprises and delays popped up.

I was very fortunate to have been in that position. (for once in my life!)

Sue

About the roof: If you're doing a tear-down, remember to cover up the stuff you have stored in the attic! Nobody told me that, and I didn't think of it on my own (DUH!), and was left with a huge mess...all the dust from the shingles, nails that fell through, etc. Had I thought to put down drop cloths, cleanup would have been much easier.

Sue

That's great. IT sounded like a good project when you were doing it. We have friends with him being a principle/co-founder of a Design/Build firm. And we thought about using them to redo the old house, but then decided to just get the new one instead. Our friends' company is pricey, but very honest, and we'd use them for anything else- if they'd touch our little jobs. However, he was happy to recommend a kitchen guy to us when we were searching for just getting the granite countertops done in the new house. The funniest thing - friends parents came to a hockey game (the friends sit essentially next to us - sharing those seats with the main guy). Parents very nice, we had a great time - they were moaning about needing to redo their house - or just move (in older McLean house). We said "hey, just get J's to do it" - their response "We can't afford him"... We said "Family discount?" - they laughed. Next week, saw our friends, relayed the story - he said "There is no family plan" . So, they've become so successful, won a bunch of architectural and remodelling awards - that it's hard to get them for something small. But, the houses we've seen that they've done are stunning.

At least once the builders are out of here we'll hopefully not have too much to redo, and just the fitness room, and the "studio" off the rec room to be finished with likely hiring someone.

Always good to hear someone with a good experience - helps curb the bitterness for the rest of us :^)

ellice

The sun is out, the basement is drying and I've got most of the mud dealt with! I still need to do the dryer though. Tomorrow.

C

No attic - lots of "cathedral" ceilings. C

I had my shingle roof replaced after the hurricanes. I too have cathedral ceilings and didn't have any problem with that at all.

I hope that goes as smoothly for you as it did for me.

Lucille

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Brand???

Done that - check the exhaust yearly and switched to metal AGES ago. The new washer came with the super whoopee hoses - those have a lifetime warranty.

The dryer is over 20 years old. I bought it from a co-worker when it was 3-4 years old (he moved away) and I've had it since 86 or 87. I could just need a new one....

I'm thinking you probably do need a new one. It will make a huge difference. When we were still at the old house, and clothes just weren't drying, wern't drying, we finally gave in. Also, the washer was leaking transmission fluid, and finally dying - so we went shopping. That was our first "major" purchase of appliances - and well worth the $$. Our first set of HE washer, and we decided to get the dryer to go with - as the >20 yr old one seemed to take forever, and would've been small in comparison with the new washer. What a difference . Worth every penny. That was Whirlpool Calypso (they have a different name now).

For this house we got the Duet (top of line) with the sanitizing cycle (for my medic clothes - bleaching dark blue not a great idea). And a Maytag drying Center (huge) which has the normal tumble dryer on the bottom, and a large cabinet on top that has 5 removable racks for drying items "flat" and some long hanging spaces, plus if you take out the racks can hang a bunch more. Great for sweaters, and gear - plus you can do a refresh steam the clothes kind of cycle. I think Whirlpool now has a similar one, and to be honest, I was happier with the Whirlpool large tumble dryer than with the Maytag tumbler - but wanted the entire center and at the time Whirlpool wasn't making theirs.

Seriously - you likely do need a new dryer. It's amazing - the time for us was cut in half, and having a much better variety of heat settings really helps for me (the old one said it did, but in reality it was hot, cool or nothing).

ellice

I'm asking, what pray tell is a tuna fish can strainer? Or, better yet, why would you need one (doesn't everyone just use the lid to strain)?

Actually, my dryer setup isn't what I've been used to. The lint trap is just when you open the door. I.E. inside the dryer. Below that, it just tapers around the entire side of the dryer to the vent in the back. Very angular, very lint catchy (I would never buy a similar setup again).

Tara