The hunch

There's a vehicle repair shop within walking distance of my house. I'll bring my car there for routine things, like brakes. In fact, I took it there a month ago for brakes. I could just walk home after dropping it off, and walk back to pick it up. In and out no problem.

They can't do state inspections though, so I had to go elsewhere. There's another place I'll do that. Usually I drop it off at the end of the day, and they'll pick it up the next morning and I'll have it back by the end of the day. It passed inspection, but they 'found' a host of other issues that are gonna cost me $2K to fix.

Issues that the other guy didn't see at all. Things they can and will take care of, they didn't see any issues whatsoever. But they just appeared in the two weeks between.

I took the car back, and a couple days later half the warning lights went off and I started to hear a grinding noise.

The reason I don't take it back to the dealership for maintenance is because I need to schedule an appointment, and it's never convenient. I booked it anyway, and waited a week doing so. They had the car, and discovered two problems. One under warranty (nice), and another minor issue that was definitely the cause of the noise I was hearing. Didn't cost me a fraction to fix that issue.

And people wonder why I have trust issues.

Tinker Falls

So we took the kids on a hike. Supposed to be an easy one, for hikers anyway. Tinker Falls is close to a hang glider launch site, which is a 1260 elevation from the parking lot. My kids tuckered out about halfway up, but powered through and got their second wind. The wife lost steam about a third of the way up, but slowly finished the climb.

I spend 15 minutes on a stair master every day, so it was nothing to me. Until we had to go down.

Going down uses a different muscle group, one that apparently doesn't get worked nearly as much as the ones used going up. Oh no, the kids were racing down the trail. The wife merrily hopped downhill, and I wobbled like a rookie sailor.

I earned that one.

Leaves

Ah, fall. That magical time of the year when people ooh and aah over the dying leaves. I can appreciate the dynamic contrast, but knowing that it's all happening because they're dying and being shed so the tree can survive winter just adds an odd morbidity to the whole thing.

First day of whatever

The first day of school used to be like a minor holiday. I'd take the day off work and the wife and I would go out and do whatever. Now that our oldest is capable of watching the younger ones, we don't need to arrange a sitter. 

The first day of school came and went without much fanfare.

But not entirely finished

There used to be a closet in the downstairs bathroom. I suppose there still is, the gap where a closet could go, but nothing went in. It was built in, a custom job by the previous occupant. They used a very thin  wood wall, and when the walls went back up, the contractor used a mold resistant drywall, which was thicker (and should have been used in the first place). Turns out that small difference was enough that the shelves don't fit in there any more (custom cut), and the door frame didn't fit over it (it's close enough to the wall to make a difference). The general contractor was, admittedly, stumped. They do bathrooms, and only bathrooms. The original plan to reinsert the closet materials simply wouldn't work. 

So in the end the closet is now just an open space we have to figure out. Had I known ahead of time I would have had plywood put in between the studs, because they're just awkward enough that I can't put in supports for new shelves, but it's too late for that now. Finding something I can insert into the space has been frustrating because, well, nothing is the right size.

Lesson: don't go to work while the contractors are busy. Just take the time off and babysit the job, because it won't get done right otherwise.

Done early

It was originally scheduled to last until this upcoming Wednesday. They gave it that much time because of the extra work to put in plumbing where there was none before, but apparently it was incredibly straightforward. They also added more time due to the perceived complexity of the soil lines, but that also turned out to be incredibly simple.

A contractor finished a job four days early. Is that some sort of record? Either way, I'm not complaining.

Driest week ever

So I got home today and the water was back on, where it could anyway. Both bathrooms are still demolished, but they capped off the water lines and turned it back on, so I have running water in my kitchen and laundry room. They also did the work replacing the valve and toilet downstairs (yes, I have a toilet in the basement. It sits in a small closet with no door - only a curtain, but the valve always leaked so it was always shut off) so we at least have one functioning toilet in the house.

I have a constant compulsion to wash my hands. After I do anything I, at the bare minimum, rinse them off with clean water. Baby wipes are a cheap consolation prize, but better than nothing.

I have never wanted to spend my day at work so much in my life.

Having the basement plumbing redone was a long time coming. The soil pipe, which went straight up through both bathrooms (adjacent to the kitchen) and through the roof. It was cast iron, and had been punctured when people tried installing things onto the walls. In the basement, they covered rust with duct tape and painted over it. (The home inspector said it was sound, but to have the whole thing replaced the first time I did any work on the plumbing) The previous owner, when they redid the kitchen, put the old kitchen counter and sink in the laundry room. First thing I did was pull that garbage out, but the pipes were all over the walls. The pipes also clanked like crazy when I did the laundry. The utility sink was a small cheap flimsy piece of nonsense that was on the wrong side of the room entirely.

But today the basement portion of this remodel is done. Which puts my backup toilet in service, so we don't have to hike next door to my grandfather's house for that.

First world problems.

Now we wait for the showers to be installed. Having been torn out to the studs and joists was going to make it a longer project, but the fact that there was never a tub upstairs meant they had to add all the pipes in themselves, making it take even longer.

But having only one shower with four kids this close in age is gonna suck.