Thursday, February 20, 2014

No Bathroom Big Reveal Today.

Let's hope for tomorrow. We're waiting on the granite man. Once the countertop is in, my daughter and I will spend an afternoon debating paint colors, then arm-wrestle over who gets to paint, but we'll do Delaney's big reveal of her new bathroom before the finishing touches. It already looks FAB-ulous.

When we started the job, we all thought we could just re-install the existing toilet. Yesterday morning I stopped by the house before work, to drop off the towel bar, shower rod, light fixture, and cabinet hardware for the vanity. The old toilet was standing in the garage, in the bright morning sun.

Oh, fuck no, you have to be kidding! All these years I'd owned that house, I'd never really noticed that the fixtures weren't a real white. It's not white, it's that 80s era bone white. Not the same thing at all.

Now, if the toilet didn't stand RIGHT NEXT TO THE TUB, I would have been able to shrug this off, but they are directly next to each other, and remember, I see things with a picky buyer's eye, and that would have bugged the hell out of me as a buyer - Ooh, pretty updated bathroom, with pretty new undermount sink, pretty new tub, lovely tile, new vanity, brushed nickel details everywhere, and... the toilet ...doesn't match. Unacceptable.

Called contractor. He was on his way to Lowe's anyway, to pick up random pieces he needed. He said he'd shop toilets and call me back with prices and options, and I bought a throne over the phone. So we now have one of those fancy "dual flush" toilets - my daughter was particularly delighted that the "heavier flush" option is Number Two. (It's done in fancy Roman Numerals, but still, it's Number Two.) It was on sale and cost half as much as I'd mentally adjusted my spreadsheet to accommodate, and now EVERYTHING in the bathroom is brand new. It was meant to be, obviously.

And I got a call this evening from the nice young man who fixed my AC when it died while the remodeling was going on (yes, my homeownership expenses are endless). He does re-screening on the side, and I kept his number for when I was ready to re-screen the balcony. It really needs it this season, there are holes big enough to admit really big bugs, not to mention squadrons of mosquitoes. Turns out he's doing my downstairs neighbor's screens this Saturday, and said he could do mine as soon as he was done with hers, and he'd do my balcony for $200 - even less than the original quote, because he'll have two jobs back to back in the same place and just have to walk upstairs. He uses a nice quality screen (he'd left me a sample months ago) and it really needs to be done, so, hey, It's Only Money - and these are all things that Had To Be Done, and that phone call was uncanny. I'd just been looking at a quarter sized hole in the worn out screen and thinking it really needed to be done before the serious bug season hits, and, hey, my phone rang! The Universe wants my house to be bug free this summer.





8 comments:

Anonymous said...

The big old moggie of cherished memory, Vegemite, was an inveterate climber and the screen doors suffered accordingly. When he screened in our back porch with shade cloth, Ernst decided to do the screen doors the same way. Vegemite could clamber all over them to her hearts content and no holes !
Extra advantage on the front door, with the screen door closed, unwanted callers could barely see whoever answered the door. And the shade cloth was just as effective in keeping the mozzies at bay.

Gae, in Callala Bay

Catherine said...

The condo commandos would be all in a tizzy if I used anything that didn't match the other units, but that's a good idea! Here it's not cats, but squirrels that scramble over the screens and leave holes. I think this new material is good enough quality to resist their little nails.

Anonymous said...

Ah yes, I keep forgetting The Rules! in condos and unit blocks, here it is called Strata Management, because such apartments are usually owned under Strata Title.
I remember the consternation when we visited Ernst's family and friends in Hamburg with two energetic toddlers. Keeping two children, used to a free standing house, quiet in an apartment block was not always easy.

Gae, in Callala Bay

Catherine said...

We are lucky here, these buildings are concrete block all the way up, and very quiet - I rarely hear anything my neighbors are doing unless it involves power tools.

As for keeping kids quiet, I am maybe a little bit evil, but I LOVE the fact that this place is transitioning from being mostly retired golfers to more and more families with kids! (I'm "evil" because some of my neighbors have whined to me about it, while I think it's the best thing that could happen to the place.) It's still mostly empty nesters because most of the units are 2 br., but we do have some young families.

Anonymous said...

I think a mix of ages and family types is best for all, with a little thought and consideration thrown in.
I was a little shocked in Hamburg at how demanding some of the older residents were about children - even trying to limit the times during the DAY when the play equipment in the courtyard could be used.
Heaven forbid that the old biddies "Nachmittagspause" or after lunch (the main meal) nap should be disturbed by childish laughter.

Gae, in Callala Bay

Catherine said...

Oh, Gosh, you should see the sour faces and stinkeye when CHILDREN are in the POOL, swimming and playing and having fun! It totally interrupts the endless yammering about doctor visits, critiquing the landscapers' work, and other extremely important adult conversation! One neighbor even told me she wanted us to become a "55 and up" community, and I had the opportunity to explain to her the legal requirements to be one. I didn't tell her that though I am 55, I'd vote against any such conversion, if the idea was ever even floated.

Anonymous said...

Children, who are simply being children, playing and laughing - how sad and sour do you have to be to dislike that ?
If they are not fighting or being destructive, leave them be, childhood will be 'cured' soon enough.
If the old biddies have headaches, then they should get out of the sun, shut themselves in their own four walls, and take an aspirin or something.

Gae, in Callala Bay

Anonymous said...

And even if I AM 70, an over 55's community would simply not suit me. I am working on staying as healthy and sturdy as possible, Ernst will be 80 in June, and has long term chronic problems, and has just been diagnosed with Short Term Memory loss (due to shrinkage in that area ONLY), and he will go into care ONLY over my dead (or very sick) body.

Fortunately I have some good longevity genes in my background.

Gae, in Callala Bay