Even More Dripping Waterfalls

Posted in

It's been a while since I've posted anything here. Not much has happened or changed since the last post. The walls are still exposed beams and the upstairs floor still doubles as the ceiling for the downstairs bathroom. Pipes and beams have become the new decor trend in my house. No, no changes until this week. My husband calls me to tell me he will be late coming home from work because he needs to get some parts for the toilet. He says that while he was using the toilet in the downstairs he felt water drip on his back. He looks up (big mistake--I don't recommend it) and sees that the beam surrounding the pipe for the upstairs toilet is wet and dripping. At this point, I thought he was imaging things because I had used the downstairs bathroom all day and had no such thing happen. I went in there and looked and saw nothing. But okay.

So today, Upon waking I stumble into the bathroom for the morning toilet ritual. Except this morning there was an added experience. Water dripping on my head. I learned from my previous encounter regarding dripping water landing on my head and did not look up. No water in this eye this time! At this point, as I am sitting there all vulnerable like, I realize one of my fears has manifested: water from the upstairs toilet is dripping on me as I utilize the one directly below it. An added bonus: The Man is in San Diego until the end of the week.

My mother suggests I turn the water off to the upstairs potty and just use the one downstairs. Yeah, I've never done anything like that and have no clue on what to do. Google Time! My mom sends me a message detailing how to shut the water off to the toilet. I go upstairs and look at the knobby thing. There's no "on" or "off" on the thing. It's symbols. Symbols?? Really?? I don't speak symbol. It was at that moment my husband called. He was calling to let me know he was getting on the plane. My response: "Okay. Uh, which direction do I turn the knobby thing to turn off the water to the toilet?" He laughs and tells me to turn the knob clockwise. I turn the knobby thing in the direction of time and it's done. Nothing exploded. Sigh of relief. So now, we are down to one toilet until the end of the week. This should get interesting.

  • Digg
  • Del.icio.us
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • Twitter
  • RSS
Comments ( 0 )

Quiet

Posted in

It's scary quiet in the Money Pit these days. I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop. Or in this case, a beam, or wall. No progress on the video just yet. One of the key funny people for this project was away for the weekend. Now that she's back--We will give it try.

This weekend would have been great too. It was super windy and would have added an additional comedic scene for what I have planned. No spoilers here. You will have to wait and see the final result.

Til next time....

  • Digg
  • Del.icio.us
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • Twitter
  • RSS
Comments ( 0 )

video

Posted in

So this week, we are going to try to make a funny video to submit to HGTV on why our house should be chosen for their complete makeover. If nothing else, we get a funny video and hopefully some fun out of it. Never hurts to try and at this point I'm willing to try just about anything. If this was Hogwarts and I had a wand, this house would be transformed already.

But alas, there are no magic wands.

  • Digg
  • Del.icio.us
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • Twitter
  • RSS
Comments ( 0 )

Never poke a bulging ceiling

Posted in

I know "chronicles" implies an order of events, however this blog will bounce around from past to present and back again. I will try to date the post for when it occured. I wrote the following on 09/09/09 but it occurred in 2007--I just don't remember when exactly.
 
I wake up one morning to get ready for work, like usual. I blindly search for my phone to shut off the alarm. In the process, I knock it off the nightstand into the abyss under my bed where it disappears. I stretch my arm out and sweep under the bed to feel for it, and all I feel is fuzziness that I quickly interpret for spider webs. Forget it! I don’t need a phone. I am not crawling under there to get it.

I stumble down the stairs, tripping over shoes and animals. Somewhere along the way, I step on the cat’s tail who expresses her displeasure of this assault with a swift open clawed smack to my foot.  That cleared the cobwebs from my head…sort of. I manage my way down the next set of stairs, steering clear of anything with more legs and hair than I have. Finally, I make it to the bathroom to start the shower. As I am adjusting the water, I feel a drop of something wet on my foot, followed by another on my head. I look up toward the ceiling and a drop of water hits me square in the eye. I am certainly awake now.

I take a step back to examine the ceiling and I see that it has grown a hump. The hump is large; about the size of a basketball. I sprint up the stairs to wake my husband. I tell him there is something growing on the ceiling in the basement bathroom and he needs to come see it right away. Now, it is his turn to lumber down the stairs, clumsy over shoes and cats. However, the cats have learned from the first encounter with awkward ogres and summarily vacate the area. He eventually makes it to the bathroom, where I am pointing up to the ceiling. My husband examines the protuberance in all directions. Then he pokes it. First rule when dealing with a ballooned ceiling…never poke it.

Immediately, the bulge transforms into a waterfall that my husband is holding at bay with his finger. He starts yelling for something to catch the water. I run off to get a pot, bowl, bucket, anything I could find to catch the cascade. Once I have the bucket in place, he removes his finger, and the ceiling follows suit with all the water in its cache.  There is water everywhere by now, and I’m not sure what the purpose of the bucket is at this point since hardly any water made it in there. This is the second waterfall produced by this house but by far the biggest. The other waterfall happened right outside the basement bathroom in front of the office door about 6 months earlier. That ceiling fell down too.

 I look around at the destruction and realize that all the plumbing will need to be replaced immediately. I know I will look up at beams, wiring, spiders, birds, and the occasional cat for quite some time before the ceilings are repaired. I dare not ask, “What’s next?” This house seems to take such musings as a challenge and is all too eager to show you “what’s next”.

UPDATE: It has been FOUR years since the waterfall and I still look up at beams, wiring, venting, insulation, and the occasional cat.

  • Digg
  • Del.icio.us
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • Twitter
  • RSS
Comments ( 0 )

The Money Pit

Posted in

I have a love/hate relationship with my house. I love that it has 6 bedrooms and 3 baths plus a family room and two car garage. I love that it sits on 2 acres out in rural Nevada. I love the potential that this house has. I do not love all the problems, cheap repairs, creative fixes, and unpleasant surprised this house has to offer. I will try to record in this blog, to the best of my ability, the events of trying to remodel this house. I have to start back 5 and a half years ago when we first bought it. From there, I will bring everything current to today. I will also post pictures of the progress or lack thereof.

  • Digg
  • Del.icio.us
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • Twitter
  • RSS
Comments ( 0 )
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)