Don't put off home repairs

[Dave Sherman]

Two experiences in the last week have reminded me not to put off repairs. In my defense though, I didn't know about the first one because the wife forgot to tell me about it. Noticed on Wednesday that there was a sagging spot in the kitchen ceiling that I hadn't seen before. Touched it, and it's soggy. Uh oh. Went up to stepson's bathroom, and his floor is wet. Wife then mentions that his floor has been getting lots of water on it when he showers, even though the shower curtain is tucked in. Take a quick look, and find out the multi-function detachable shower head is leaking around the rotating nozzle, dripping down the hose, and dripping copiously onto the tub ledge so it runs off the side between the surround and the shower curtain. Also while looking, there's a piece of the surround missing around the washcloth rack, and the shower obviously can leak through the hole. Turns out stepson knew it been broken, but neglected to tell us about the hole. So, looks like we need a new surround and a new shower head.

Number two was I'm getting ready to go to work Thursday, and see there's a huge limb down beside the driveway. Then I spot the smaller limb on the truck's windshield, and the shattered windshield. Well, I actually did call a tree service last week to see about the huge limb over my garage that appears to be dead, and they are coming. Haven't had the trees serviced other than the few limbs I've cut down myself, but the limb over the garage is way bigger than I can handle myself. Will definitely have them check out the tree next to the driveway too. Safelite came yesterday, and put a new windshield in. Amazingly, there's just a small dent in the A-pillar, roof and hood don't have a scratch.

 

[Pablo]

Well you’ll get er done

Now imagine a couple in their 90s nearly blind and essentially disabled saying they can care for their own house…my parents

 

[JeffKeryk]

Well you’ll get er done

Now imagine a couple in their 90s nearly blind and essentially disabled saying they can care for their own house…my parents

I know you will take care of them Pablo. Good on you...

 

[Cujet]

Yikes on that windshield, glad to hear it was fixed quickly! Many people underestimate just how heavy large branches and/or trees are. When a modest (short) South Florida pine tree falls down in my yard, it's average weight is about 6000 pounds. Keep in mind that pine wood is about 55 pounds per cubic foot!

But a larger oak tree can weigh 20,000 pounds. Nice trees are beautiful, but it is a good idea to keep them away from critical areas.

I had a small 'black olive tree' branch fall on my Miata's convertible top. Crushed it down flat. Took a while to repair that, and recover it.

 

[Dave Sherman]

Well you’ll get er done

Now imagine a couple in their 90s nearly blind and essentially disabled saying they can care for their own house…my parents

I know the feeling. My parents just had to move into assisted living, and they are in their 80s. They live 2000 miles away from me. Dad had some significant health issues come up over the last two years, and my sisters who live near them helped as much as they could. The last couple times I visited it usually involved fixing things that dad could no longer do himself. Take good care of your folks, I sometimes wish I lived closer to help mine out.

 

[mrsilv04]

Well you’ll get er done

Now imagine a couple in their 90s nearly blind and essentially disabled saying they can care for their own house…my parents

Understand fully. That said, remember that they grew up in a different time and a different world than we did. Self reliance is very important.
I was always amazed at stories from my grandparents (both sets were farmers), as to what they went through to survive in the great depression.... and that directly rubbed off on how they raised both of my parents.

 

[Donald]

With respect to the OP bathroom. Had a similar situation. Had a "tile" guy remove toilet and redo the tile around the base and put the toilet back when done. A few days latter I found kind of like a paint balloon filled with water in the ceiling of the room below. My guess is they picked up the toilet by the tank and moved it as toilet was leaking between tank and bowl. Replaced the bolts and gasket and that fixed it. Thinking back they were good at painting and re-doing sheetrock walls (skim coating) but only hacks at everything else.

 

[RaymondP]

Yup. Thought I had adequately fixed several roof leaks about two years ago, patching with new shingle in selected areas. Returned home after a few days away to find a section of the bedroom ceiling down. Committed to new shingle roof, now nearing completion. Found some of the rafters had rotted through. Seven replaced, plus associated boards. Should be good for another 25(?) years hopefully.

House is 100 years old so constant attention required. Ceilings and walls are wet plaster. Guess who's researching how to repair the ceiling. Not easy, perhaps impossible to match. A project that could have been avoided.

 

[zzyzzx]

Obligatory:

I actually love trees, as long as they aren't in my yard.

 

[Vil_Riker]

Why I sold my house and moved into an apartment. Every time it stormed and the electricity went out, I worried about the basement flooding.

I sleep much better nowadays when it storms.

 

[Donald]

I think it's all about referrals. My plumber was building his own house and used various contractors. Referrals are good, referrals from people in the building trade even better.

And don't look for the lowest price. Look for best job with best quality materials.

I used the best GAF shingles short of designer.

Ignore the ratings online, Yelp or Angi or similar. I'd go with a referral from someone in the building trade over a 100 Yelp reviews.

 

[John105]

Did the shower head cause all that damage? If so, that’s a shame.

I’m not that hard on my kid like my parents were on me. I wonder at times how much responsibility they must bear. We can’t watch over their shoulders all the time. I heard 20 somethings at work talking about “grandpa” saying never put rice down the drain and they were all laughing heck with that. Grandpa was talking sense and probably younger than I am.

 

[walterjay]

Having worked as a plumber I have seen so much neglect in many homes.

I keep up on all maintenance on my home. It is virtually move in ready if I decided to sell.
I could never let maintenance items go neglected.

 

[Kestas]

I live in the woods. I need to have trees removed if they're too close to the house or start leaning over my house.

 

[repairman54]

It's amazing how people neglect the biggest investment in their lives. I've seen a ton of it over decades of being an onsite tech. in people's homes. Let's not even get into renters....

 

[John105]

It's amazing how people neglect the biggest investment in their lives. I've seen a ton of it over decades of being an onsite tech. in people's homes. Let's not even get into renters....

I think part of it is say I need my chimney pointed. I get estimates ranging from $350
To $1,400. Or a tree removed, $1200 to $3200. There’s a certain unpleasantness to calling for services, and then the expectations are, and responsiveness is low.

However, stuff like a drip, cost is no object. For me, he’s the guy who says $0 and tightens the packing nut