I am Leaking Money Again

I had received a nice note from the HOA (seriously - it was actually polite) saying that we needed to paint our garage door. This is true without doubt. The garage door in question was carefully examined. It is the original from 1981 and the wood veneer was starting to lift which caused me to pronounce, "Talk about putting lipstick on a pig! I think it needs to be replaced." I contacted three garage door places. 

One never returned any calls. Another came and looked. I said I had a couple of questions since I wanted to know how much I needed to move for them to be able to do their work. He asked if was in a hurry and I responded "kind of" but I was getting one more quote. He told me to call him after I get the quote. I said I had some questions. He said call me after you get the quote. I expect he was going to try to shop the price. I do not care to operate this way and told him I had something I wanted to show him. He was escorted to the front door where I pointed to his vehicle and told him to leave as we were done. He did not even seem to care. I won't mention the name of company.

I will mention Overhead Door Company of Tucson. They were responsive and quoted a fair price. The work was scheduled and completed as promised. No muss or fuss. Nice job.

Remember the title about money? The refrigerator we have in the garage died while waiting for the garage door to arrive. Lowes had something on sale that would work and was delivered the next day.

I have been concerned about the water heater as it is the original from 1981. That must be a record for longevity. I can only think that it lasted that long because soon after we moved in, I replaced the drain valve on the unit with a full throat ball valve so that it would drain properly. This was done once or more a year. We decided, since there was a nice clear path after reorganizing the garage, to have it replaced. I tried to get three prices. Again, one never returned calls. The second was questionable. 

The third was from Just Water Heaters. The price was fair, and they were ready, willing, and able to come about any time you wanted. The man that replaced the gas unit was done in 1 hour and 35 minutes including putting things away and paying the bill. He did a nice job.

My better half commented that this should be about it for a little while since these things come in threes you know. I commented that the water heater was elective and wasn't sure that it counted, I really don't believe in the thing of threes.

The next weekend we heard water dripping after the AC turned off. The old coils were not dripping where they should be and was running down the side. The 23-year-old split unit has now been replaced with a SEER 16 unit. I figure that difference in the electric bill might pay for the unit in about 9 years or so. By the time the new was installed there was a nice stain in the ceiling downstairs I waited for it to dry and used some Kilz before spot painting. Looks OK for now.

My better half stated that this should be good as that is about everything. I said, "Don't say that! There is still the washer, drier, kitchen refrigerator, dishwasher...."

I could have purchased a guided elk hunt with all the services and a new rifle/scope combination of choice for the money that has been spent! Maybe two trips! Aaah, the joys of home ownership.

The Upstairs Bathroom or How I Spent Memorial Day Weekend

The tub surround turned out nice and the girls are pleased to have their shower facilities back. I am glad also so they may now stay out of the downstairs bathroom. The only challenge was final fitment of the vinyl. This unit had the molded corners that actually expect the wall corners to be square. I am sure that the company that built these houses didn't own a single square and probably wouldn't have known how to use one. This was only a minor challenge for one with my skills. You can do almost anything with enough caulking!

Remodeling a Bathroom

The old ceramic tile was loose and leaking so here we go. The tile and green board have been removed along with some nasty pieces of drywall. New wallboard has been put in place. The old tub is still in good shape so a new vinyl shower enclosure will go above the tub. I still have a little patching and painting to go but should be ready to install the vinyl and new fixtures over the holiday weekend. I am not sure which is worse, going somewhere on the holiday and join the throngs of people or to stay home and do chores all weekend. I like doing this just about as well as replacing fences - not. I hope my darling daughters enjoy having an upstairs shower again.

One More Gate

My fence is done! My neighbor's portion has one gate to go which I have agreed to finish for him. My daughter helped him put in his last two posts. I am amused that she has paid attention and after one stretch of fence has more working knowledge than the man next door about how to level something, mix concrete, set posts, etc. Our neighbor offered to pay more than his share if we finished his last piece. He may be smarter that we think as he has avoided most of the shared work (see previous post) and now offers extra money. We will see at collection time.

Bottom line is that the fence looks good! I now have a double gate that will allow me a place to park a boat. It's shopping time!

Putting in Fences

Can you say, "I hate caliche"? Digging holes in the Southwest has to be one of my least favorite tasks. Actually, I don't think that I like to dig in any part of the country.

I would like to offer some of the better hole digging techniques. The best diggers are children so it only makes sense to let them dig while you pretend to work at other tasks. Offer them money when they become disillusioned with the task but do remember that offering and paying are different topics. As the payer, always remember to negotiate the price for these services after the task is complete. Use your wife as a reason to not immediately know how much the task is worth. "I'll have to ask your mother what she thinks it is worth." Praise any digging efforts even though the hole may be five times the diameter necessary as it is much easier to fill un-needed space back in. Try to remember if there is anything that they already owe you for so that you may get at least twice its value. It may even be a good idea to buy them something so that you can proceed to overcharge for it.

Did I mention that I hate caliche?

Finally - a new post.

It has been a whirlwind! Sinus/nasal surgery for removal of polyps seems to have been a success. I can actually breath without opening my mouth. I did learn that microsurgery plus outpatient is not equal to painfree. Overall it was not toooooo bad. I am still enjoying the saline with baking soda nasal rinses. Area you grossed out yet?

Not to be tied down to one event at a time, I also changed jobs. Woohoo! I really like the new company.

Since I am almost allowed to do manual labor, we ordered fence material to redo the old one that is propped up by a variety of devices. It is a good thing that this portion of the fence is not visible from the front as I am sure that the HOA would not appreciate our creative fence support efforts. My daughters say that they will help. Digging holes for fence posts is very good for building upper body strength. Hint, hint.

The tub surround to replace the old tile for the upstairs bathroom should arrive tomorrow. I think that removing old ceramic tile is also good for building upper body strength. Someone mentioned that they wanted to build more upper body strength if you haven't already figured that out yet.

Enough fun, back to work.