Post Race!

[dday9]

It's even worse when the bomb defuser starts to bail too.

[Shaggy Hiker]

The plumbers helper?

[RobDog888]

We figured out that the guy was working 2 projects. Probably underestimated the work for the price he was charging me and figured wasnt worth all the effort juggling 2. Missed a day last week because his wifes truck broke down. Then had a Dr appt tuesday all day but on monday he asked to be paid for the materials and labor on wednesday when we next meet on my lunch hour to go over the progress and deal with any issues. Then Tuesday night I mentioned there is an issue with the distance between the toilet and shower and he loses hit sheit.

I figured he had planned on bailing on Monday and wanted to get some money and I would never see him again. Well I told him if he bails hes not getting paid as our agreement was to pay the materials as he buys them and the labor at the end of the job. So when he came that night to pick up his tools I paid him the $600 for materials and he didnt say a word about the $1,000 in labor he asked for on Monday. One just doesnt walk off a job a couple weeks before Christmas without some other job already in place.

Guess it works out as he was in over his head and did some crappy work. Shower water pipe was "notched" into the walls vertical 2x4 but so deep that there was only 1/2" of wood left. Damn stud is now compromised and has to be replaced. A few other issues like that so glad hes gone. Plus it gives me a break from all his last minute demands of needing materials and fixtures for the morning with only 1.5 hours before he store closes crap!

Anyways at least I saved $1,000 in labor. I have a hauling/disposal guy coming tomorrow to load up a massive truck load of debris for the dump.

[RobDog888]

I secured a guy who came previously for an estimate within an hour that same night this idiot bailed. This new guy does great work for decades but wasnt available when I needed him. The bathroom in question is an on-suite to the master bedroom which I have rented out to tenants. Needless to say I had to get the bathroom remodeled and functional asap. It is a total gut job, everything needed to be torn out leaving just the 2x4's and subflooring.

Once this new guy is done with the last bathroom Im going to have him remodel the kitchen. Then the house is basically solid for the renters. I already replaced the 17 year old water heater with a new tankless on demand system. Maybe by the summer I'll upgrade the original forced air heating system to central air heating and cooling.

[Shaggy Hiker]

That on-demand, is that gas or electric?

[RobDog888]

That on-demand, is that gas or electric?

Its a gas setup with 3/4" incoming line. Its rated for a 3-4 bathroom house but mine is only a 2 bathroom. Didnt want any issues for the renters do be complaining about not enough hot water if they all used it at once. 15 year warranty and so far its been great!

[Shaggy Hiker]

My hot water system is trapped by design. Basically, the house was built around a hot water tank. I can't even get the tank out of the space it's in without removing the door, and possibly the moulding around the door. Also, there is exactly ONE tank on the market that has the right dimensions to fit the space, which means that if it gets discontinued, I'm doomed. Therefore, I'm thinking of going to on demand, which takes up a whole lot less space, but it would have to be electric. Fortunately, the tank that is there is fairly new, so I don't have to worry about it for years.

[dday9]

My hot water heater went out and I considered going on-demand, but at the time I couldn't justify the cost. I'm kicking myself now, I really wish I would've spent the extra dollars.

[Shaggy Hiker]

I'm kind of feeling that way, too, but I have no choice other than electric, and I didn't find a good electric option until after I had the new tank. It barely matters, for me, as the cost difference is likely to be utterly trivial, but that could always change.

[RobDog888]

I cant wait to put in another tankless system at my "new" house (wifes house as I moved into hers). However it was build at the turn of the century (19th) and has so many freakin windows that it wont be up to code to install one. It needs 3 feet on both sides of wall space without windows. Im going to look into an electric system for this as the gas vents out the heat in force which I believe is where the code requirement comes in. Our water heater is ready to be replaced and is undersized too. Hopefully with tax refunds I can start in on some major renovations and remodeling for this house.

[Shaggy Hiker]

If you find an electric one that you like, and still like it after the install, then remember to post the info here, please. I don't expect to be looking for a good long time, but I do expect to be looking.

[RobDog888]

Will do!

So more renovation problems at the rental house. Went to install the gas line for the new dryer (washer installed the day before) and turns out the gas shut off value is decades old and needs to be replaced. Its of the old type which are prone to leak at the seal around the handle. Now replacing it isn't that easy. Its recessed into a pocket in the wall and have to bust the other side of the wall in order to unscrew it from he gas line. Never fails to be a simple upgrade and turn into a major and costly issue lol

[Shaggy Hiker]

Yeah, when it comes to house projects, you never really know what you're in for until it's too late.

A couple decades back, a buddy of mine decided to do a modest renovation to one room in his house before his son was born (it was on the way, and he knew it was a son, so you can see how long he thought this might take). By the time the project was over, he had replaced his entire house from the rafters to the foundation. The foundation and basement remained unchanged, as did the rafters and roof....EVERYTHING else had been replaced...and he was living in the barn for the first few months after the boy was born, since the house was in pieces.

When they took out part of a wall, they found that the guy who built the place had scrounged wood from various places. In fact, the guy doing the bulk of the work found his own name on some of the lumber. He remembered that the original builder had been his neighbor, and realized that the guy had been stealing wood from him to build the house. Other studs were burned most of the way through, and it was clear that the guy had swiped wood from a burned house. It went downhill from there.

[RobDog888]

Wow, just wow!

Ive replaced allot of the major components of my house already over the decades and have to remind myself is secondary now and I need to just get the basics done so I can move on to my primary house which needs everything!

[RobDog888]

So finally got the new washer and dryer installed last night. Washer I finished on Sunday but the dryer is gas and the valve at the wall was 60 years old. So the valve needed replacing. Had my plumber neighbor friend do it yesterday while I was at work but the flexible gas line to the dryer was the wrong size. Had to run to home depot and exchange it, go back and install it myself. Glad they now have a working washer and dryer as they had been broken for a couple months.

Looking forward to the weekend!

[Shaggy Hiker]

They must have been smelling a bit rank after that long without a washer.

[passel]

This is California, not Idaho. They have these things called Laundromats, often collocated with a bar and restaurant so doing laundry can be an entertaining social event.

[RobDog888]

Anyone seen the new star wars movie yet? No spoilers please.

[Shaggy Hiker]

This is California, not Idaho. They have these things called Laundromats, often collocated with a bar and restaurant so doing laundry can be an entertaining social event.

We just wear our clothes until they smell so bad that a bear runs off with them. If we ever get them back....they're 'distressed', so we sell them all in designer boutiques to make extra cash for the holidays (bears are hibernating, so it's easier to get the clothes back).

[Shaggy Hiker]

Anyone seen the new star wars movie yet? No spoilers please.

It's got this big subplot where Chewie is taking bets on the outcome, while trying to get some action. It's just a bunch of hairy, bookie wookie nookie.

[RobDog888]

We just wear our clothes until they smell so bad that a bear runs off with them. If we ever get them back....they're 'distressed', so we sell them all in designer boutiques to make extra cash for the holidays (bears are hibernating, so it's easier to get the clothes back).

[RobDog888]

It's got this big subplot where Chewie is taking bets on the outcome, while trying to get some action. It's just a bunch of hairy, bookie wookie nookie.

So theres a female wookie in it?

[Shaggy Hiker]

How would one ever know?

[RobDog888]

Actually isn't that big blonde woman from GoT play chewie now?

[dday9]

I lost my grandmother last night rather suddenly and unexpectedly.

[RobDog888]

Sorry to hear that My condolences.

[szlamany]

@dday9 - very sorry to hear that.

[dday9]

Aside from my dad’s mother who passed away when he was 18, this is the first grandparent that I ever lost. So I’m simply happy with the fact that I got to spend 26 years with her.

[dday9]

Plus I have no regrets. In fact, just three weeks ago, after volunteering up at Boy Scout camp, when I was leaving it was right around the time that my grandparents would be going to church, and so I decided to attend church with them. And I could tell that it really made her day. Plus just this past Saturday she was at my house for my one year old’s birthday party.

[dday9]

I guess what I’m saying is that I’m confident that she knew we all loved her before she died and I’d like to believe that have her some comfort.

[Shaggy Hiker]

How old was she?

I'm without grandparents, at this point, but since both grandmothers made it to about 100, I knew them for much of my life. My mother's mother took a picture with a digital camera in the year before she died. She had been born in 1905. There were cameras around at that time, but they were a fair bit different. Just think of the changes in technology she saw in her life. Might be even more for us.

[dday9]

Well, it's weird. She lied about her age and even lied about a lot of other personal things that we didn't find out until my mom was about 45ish. So as far as we can guess she was probably close to 80.

[Shaggy Hiker]

We didn't start learning about some interesting things my grandfather did until he got dementia. Probably could have been called dimenstia for him, since it opened up whole dimensions of his life. He was always pretty taciturn up till then.

[RobDog888]

Hey guys finally getting a moment to post this up. Bought my wife a Golden Doodle for Christmas that she has been wanting for a long time. Now we have 3 dogs

[Shaggy Hiker]

Cute pup!

[RobDog888]

Oh he is! Pics don't do him justice at all. Hes like a teddy bear but dog version

[dday9]

I used to be a dog person until I owned a pure-bred border collie... he drove me insane!

[Shaggy Hiker]

Border collies can do that. Those are serious working dogs. If they don't get to herd things, they can be terribly high-strung.

I got caught in a sea of sheep last year. A herd of several thousand (maybe tens of thousands) were being moved down a highway to get them away from a fire. There were a handful of shepherds and a handful of border collies. The sheep were going absolutely bat-spit crazy, and me driving up to them didn't help. The rancher was in a truck leading. He told me to just drive through them, but as I approached, they started moving back the way they had come, and off into the woods on either side of the road. I felt the shepherds would prefer that I not spook the sheep in the wrong direction, so I parked. It took a while for the sheep to get up the nerve to pass the car, then they went by in a long, flowing, stinky, stream.

At the back of the herd were the border collies, and they were loving every minute of it. The sheep were moved a few miles, the collies ran a few tens of miles during that time. You could pretty much hear them saying, "yeah, yeah, let's move these frickin' oversized cue tips!!!"

[dday9]

That is a perfect description of border collies.

[RobDog888]

I thought they liked to patrol the border for illegals