Part 3 of the Hot water Tank Saga
A pattern continued throughout the week. Sean would go to work, I’d go mystery shop and run errands and Gary would stay home laboring on the “weekend” job. Stopping the poor connection leak and removing the pan he had placed under it earlier in the week. During the evenings Sean and I would cook dinner, do the farm chores and help Gary.
Slowly progress was made. I love the wallpaper border that is in this room so I wanted to keep it. That meant it had to be blue taped off, so did all the dark woodwork.
While we were waiting for the floor to finish drying I decided it was a good time to take advantage of super easy access to all four cupboards in the room and dumped them all out. Remarkably I put back everything we were keeping and I did so in a totally organized, INVENTORIED fashion. Ahh the Princess Plan rears its head.
Unfortunately it also meant more going into the living room, bedroom, kitchen and utility room, plus now things were starting to move to the stair well to make the trek upstairs.
I found things we’d been looking for and had given up on finding, (isn’t that always the story?) things I didn’t even know we had ( a huge roll of paper I can use for rubber stamping and to make patterns out of) things to discard totally and things to sell.
I also found I was out of certain things I thought were in that cupboard, so the “to buy” list grew. One of which was the Murphy’s Oil Soap I use to wash woodwork down with. I picked that up just yesterday while out doing yet another mystery shop. The woodwork still needs a good scrubbing.
By Saturday the walls were finally all taped off, this room has LOTS of angles—the whole house does, and that is one of the reasons I love it so much. Parts of the room are 8 ft tall, others are 9 ft and the wall paper border follows all the turns and angles of the room. So it was a whole lot of blue tape.
Once the tape was finally up the painting went amazingly fast. I had chosen a light spring green to match a color in the rooster border. It was so light as it was going on it was actually kind of hard to tell where we had painted and where we hadn’t until the natural darkening set in.
Of course Murphy had to make tracks through the paint and the original off white color popped up in places after the paint dried. Quick touch ups solved that problem.
He also made tracks in the wood putty we had filled the knot holes on the subflooring with and the white Kilz primer we’d put on the now well deodorized and sanitized no-no kitty and mildew spots in the form of foot prints from one of the four adult cats.
Luckily the paint and putty were dry enough they didn’t track it to other parts of the house. So no real harm was done, Murphy just got to smile as we added more putty to fill in the dents made by the fat cat.
Rather than sit and watch the paint dry, which we were so tired we could have easily done, we pulled the blue tape off then retired to the over-crowded living room for a little tv time last night.
During one break Sean decided to go ahead and feed the dogs for the night and bring in the meat to thaw for Sunday’s dinner. He turned on the overhead light and suddenly it went out along with every outlet on the outer walls in the sunroom!
For the next three hours the two men armed with volt meters, and other tools threw breakers, checked voltage and much more to try to figure out why we had no power in that room or any outside wall of the house, except the one the camper was plugged in to—which we KNOW is on the same breaker. They never did.
My freezer and spare refrigerator are on the outside walls. So out, with only a nearly dead flashlight, because all but one of the porch lights didn’t work as well (why did that one work?—Murphy was playing games of course). Gary and Sean went to the camper and garage and drug in heavy duty extension cords for a temporary fix.
The brooder full of the three day old ducklings was also now without warmth, so another extension cord was put into play there.
Problem solved on a very temporary basis we all collapsed into our chairs again, but were too tired to watch more than 30 minutes. Sean said good night, retrieved his kitten from my room and went to bed.
Gary and I were following suit when I noticed a puddle of water on our now dry floor just under the wall that had JUST been painted. Okay Murphy, ENOUGH!
After a bit of discussion Gary mentioned how Sean had told him that he thought he might have a leak under his bathroom sink which is directly above that wall. Depression was creeping up on me when I noticed the cold water hook up for the washer was slowly drip, drip, dripping. Now it has a plastic catch basin so Gary had ruled that out as the source. He even said if it was going to leak, it would have done so before he cleaned the lint off of it earlier that day. I looked, Jackpot! A small hairline crack. The faucet would not turn all the way off, so we wedged a plastic cup under the drip and went to bed.
This morning I awoke to the roosters having a crowing battle that sounded remarkable loud until I remembered we have been blessed with very warm weather and were sleeping with the windows open.
As I mentioned this house is all angles, there are no straight shots through any two rooms to a third. Today we were going to lay down the linoleum and move the washer and dryer back in. I was so excited. I NEEDED to do laundry so bad.
Last night Murphy had whispered in my ear ”How are you going to get a 12’ X 9’6” piece of linoleum in to the utility room and cut it right without damaging it?
“Go away Murphy!” I moaned.
Our back deck, the one just outside my bedroom is in BAD shape, It was scheduled for replacement this last summer, but money and time had been tight so it wasn’t done. It’s bad enough I worry about the birds and dogs getting on it. But the only way to get that linoleum into the house easily was through that bedroom door.
Next thought was where in the world were we going to cut all those angles to make the linoleum fit. The bedroom floor was the only space that was near big enough. Only we had been filling that already cluttered room up all week. GROAN!
First thing this morning, while Sean slept—he was nearly out of inhaler, his “overnight” shipment ordered a week before still had not arrived, and the dust we were stirring up was giving him some problems. So we told him to sleep in and keep his kitten up there with him so we could have the bedroom open to “empty the bedroom—Gary did morning chores and I started emptying the sitting area in the bedroom into the living room and kitchen.
As I went I actually “cleaned and decluttered” filling one feed sack with odds and ends that had gathered here and there. Mercilessly boxing up magazines and books I had decided to cull from the shelves and were stacked here, there, and everywhere.
Gypsy wouldn’t let Sean sleep very long, so he soon joined us. He handed her off to me to hold while he got breakfast for him and her because. Lizzie is till determined this kitten is NOT staying the other three totally ignore Gypsy Skeeter now. Mama Amy has even gone so far as to play with her and groom her some, but we can’t let Lizzie near her. The fur flies when she does and Gypsy is terrified of her.
Sean brought Gypsy’s food in through the living room and placed it where he’s been feeding her safety zone in my bathroom. Before I could stop her she jumped down and headed for her chow. Lizzie was on her before any of us could stop her. Only this time Gypsy didn’t run. Oh the fur flew, but when it was all said and done, it was dilute calico fur, not the darker grey of the younger dilute calico that lay on the floor. It was also the bigger cat who had a new “beauty mark” on her nose.
Just as I had predicted the kitten had her fill of being attacked. Even more amazing, Sean’s cowardly cat Murray Mugillacuty ran in to protect his baby sister. Him with no front claws. Jellybean set and watched and Amy went to protect her new “baby”. While I grabbed the water bottle to squirt Lizzie for being a bad girl.
Lizzie’s nose was out of joint all day. It was late evening before she came to me wanting petted. She stalked the bedroom and bathroom doors where the kitten was locked up all day—we have no delusions the war is over—but her pride was definitely hurt today.
Soon afterwards furniture was moved to the living room and the far side of the bed. My huge plant was moved to the porch, the vacuum was ran and the plywood sheets from the living room floor were moved to the bedroom to use as “cutting mats” to protect the carpet. We didn’t trust Murphy, so we took precautions.
Using the old saying, “measure twice, cut once,” the guys set to work marking the linoleum to cut it. Because I tend to be over cautious and sometimes tick the guys off during such projects I left the room and went to the kitchen to see if I could perhaps figure out a way to cook a meal despite the mess in there. I also worked hard all day on cleaning and sorting, after all I was suppose to be able to start putting things back later on today.
On and off all day I cleaned and cooked, between kitten sitting and helping where I was needed. By the end of the day we had roasted chicken, stuffing, green beans, mashed potatoes, iced tea, Caramel Fudge Swirled brownies, and Cherry Mash Candy (recipes will be posted as the final post on this saga . I had culled more stuff from the house, burned trash, and had done a bunch of dishes.
The “quick” installation of the linoleum of course didn’t go quick.
My guys are both draftsmen, when they build something it’s square. Even if it has angles those angles are “square”. A room is the total same width at one end as it is at the other. They expect other people to build the same way.
We already knew that the people who built this home didn’t own a level. We now know they didn’t own a straight edge or a t-square either. We discovered this AFTER the linoleum was cut.
Sean later said we should have made a cardboard pattern, but of course Murphy blocked that intelligent thought from happening before they cut the linoleum. So there was a little piecing that had to happen. Murphy giggled.
Luckily Gary is GOOD at matching up patterns, and it was a simple pattern (rectangles) to match. The piecing is totally unnoticeable and it behind the washer and dryer, and in a small niche at the far end of the room. So no traffic on either area.
The type of linoleum we are putting down is the type you tape. The roll of tape said it was enough to do the utility room and the bathroom. It LIED.
We had no plans to do the bathroom today, we had the simple plan of getting the linoleum in the utility room down and the washer and dryer back in. Then tomorrow Gary would work on the bathroom, where the carpet is still down. Followed by the two steps, down into the kitchen, which also still have carpet on them as well.
There was just enough tape to put down from the back wall to just past the washer and dryer. So that’s what he and Sean did. Next was to put the mop boards back on—NO finishing nails, Murphy stole them I’m certain.
They tried taping the boards up, nope. Sean made an executive decision. It was after 10:00pm and he had to get up early because he has to work tomorrow and they are starting road construction on highway 75 in the morning, so he needs to leave early to take an alternative route.
He said “Let’s set the machines, I need work clothes for tomorrow.” Then once we have finishing nails we’ll move them out from the wall, put the boards up and put them back.”
So that’s what they did, once again using the shoulder dollies—we really love those things.
Gary and I have stayed up late to do Sean’s laundry and a load for Gary while I typed this.
We still have to clear a path to and off the bed. Gypsy is sleeping in our room tonight because she won’t let Sean sleep. He had taken her up with him, but she was so keyed up with all today’s activities she wouldn’t settle down so he asked us to baby sit her for the night. He’s really not feeling well without his meds if they don’t come tomorrow he’ll call his doctor and get a one time RX so he can breath.
Luckily the shops I had scheduled for tomorrow are flexible days, so I can possibly sleep late and do them on Tuesday and Wednesday , if Gypsy will let us.
Gary just came in from feeding the dogs and accidentally discovered all the electric is back on out there. Funny Murphy, real funny. Now I’m worried about an electrical short!
Our plan for tomorrow. Get the finishing nails and tape we need, check under Sean’s bathroom sink for a possible leak—just in case, do laundry, finish the utility room, check the outlets and such again—we have to find the source of the problem and then move on to the steps and bathroom.
Jan who steals a quote from Red Skelton when she says “Good Night and may God bless.” In OK
Showing posts with label Hot water tank replacement. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hot water tank replacement. Show all posts
Monday, November 9, 2009
Sunday, November 8, 2009
LIKE FALLING DOMINOES, MURPHY KEEPS ON KEEPING ON
Part 2 of the hot water tank saga.
November 8, 2009
It’s now 8 days later and visits from Murphy keep popping up, bless his little pea pickin’ heart.
Prior to the discovery of the wet carpet I had been working my way back into my Princess Plan. For those of you who aren’t on de-cluttering lists with me I’ll give you a quick explanation of the Princes Plan.
It’s a system I’m developing to help people come from being paupers enslaved by clutter and debt in their all aspects of their life to being the royalty they truly are. I plan on finally being the princess my Papa always called me.
I had started the plan on January 1, 2009 and was doing pretty good on it with the help of Dave Ramsey and with working out a system that was greatly improving the look and feel of my home and ranch.
Then the surprise unemployment hit and I hit the road, things not only backslid as far as the clutter department went they had worsened. Only our basic finances had continued to improve, albeit slowly and not the gazelle intense like I had planned, but we were current on all our bills and had even paid off four small ones in the last eight months.
Then this series of Murphy’s visits started hitting and things went from bad to worse real quick.
When last I left you it was Halloween and the day after. We were starting to empty the utility room. Now what comes out of a room in any home has to go into another one somewhere in the house.
Remember the “Uninvited Guest” story, well we still have all the dining room stuff in the living room. Now the utility room items needed a place to park. Some went to the overstuffed sunroom, more went to the living room and some went to my bedroom. The clutter was deepening. Small paths were starting to form through the lower level.
My kitchen cabinets are now covered in small appliances, which in turn makes it FUN to try and cook in there.
So let’s flash back to last Saturday.
As soon as he could Gary turned off the hot water tank because the leaking was pretty bad. Not only was it making a mess it was the hot water that was leaking so the electric meter was doing a boogie dance on the back porch while the water meter readers were rubbing their hands together with glee as the meter spun gallon by gallon.
This meant no hot water in the house until the floor dried. You know the one that was absolutely sodden. As Gary labored to get the tank drained I continued to fold the laundry I had done earlier that day.
Sean has a lot of allergies, dust and mold being two biggies so pulling up wet starting to mildew carpet was something he could not do without risking a severe asthma attack, so he took over farm chores when it came to that job and Gary pulled the carpet up by himself Sean helped drag the dripping carpet and pad to the “non-burn” area for things that will go to the dump on the next run there. He of course started wheezing.
While they did this I cooked dinner.
This brought up a slight problem. Dishes, no hot water—oops! Gary cheerfully loaded the dishes in the dishwasher and assured me by the next afternoon the hot water would be back on and we’d be fine. Does that man live here? Has anything ever gone as planned on this ranch?
The next morning I went to the camper and brought in a large supply of paper plates, plastic cups and silverware. I am the more realistic of the two of us on things like this. I KNOW how things happen around here. It’s called life and it happens to everyone.
We seldom use paper and plastic when camping so this was an unusual thing for the guys and I so we periodically forgot and still grabbed dishes out of the cupboards and drawers out of habit. So we added a Murphy expense by using paper and plastic instead of the usual wash and reuse.
All day Sunday Gary and Sean worked on getting the floor dried out, while I ran and did a single mystery shop and picked up more supplies for the project.
When I got back home I discovered the two of them had used every single towel in the house trying to soak up water so the floor would dry quicker. EVERY single one, including my cream colored ones!!! I was not amused, but hollering would not have solved anything. They were trying to fix the problem. They had drug the dripping towels across the carpet that was still down in the bathroom and placed them in the shower stall. Gary promised he’d put them on the line the next day while I was gone so they’d at least dry and not sour.
They had made some progress, there was no longer standing water from the hot water tank, and the mildewed sheet rock no longer existed. A large hole in the wall, with a small one a now nearly 10 week old kitten could have easily gone down under the house through had taken its place. Thankfully Gypsy was locked securely in my bedroom.
I pointed out that Lizzie B was only slightly bigger and she might just take a trip (or an opossum come in) through that gaping wound so they blocked it temporarily at night with heavy plywood to prevent this. During the day there was always someone in there working so the board was removed to aid in the drying out of the lower wall studs and insulation. Yep all my interior walls are insulated, luckily the mildew had been limited to the outside of the sheet rock, there was none on the interior of the walls. .
I suggested fans and a small heater to speed up the drying process as Sunday passed into Monday, still no hot water.
Gary had already winterized the camper since we knew we’d be home for a month or two and now he had to un-winterize it because for some strange reason Sean and I thought we might need showers before going to work on Monday. Luckily they had forgot the towels in the camper when they were mopping water up. So we were all blessed with nice hot showers and the world was a safer place for it.
Dishes were starting to be more than the dishwasher would hold. Enter the boiling teapot into the daily scenario. I’ve done many a dish by heating water on a campfire at rendezvous (pre-1840 Fur Trade Era re-enactments), so this was no biggie.
Monday I mystery shopped, picked up more materials, did a few returns while Gary stayed home and took things down off the wall to prepare to paint the room. Sean went to work of course.
While I was out I picked up paint chips for both the utility room walls and the dining room wall that would need painted when we got back to it
Tuesday, still no hot water, but the wall studs were finally dry so Gary put up the new piece of sheet rock, and then had to take it back down because he forgot to put the mouse/rat poison down the conveniently open wall and under the house. Luckily I reminded him before he taped and mudded the wall or Murphy would have gotten a giggle I’m certain.
When you live in the country you take all the precautions you can to head off rodents. I cannot tell you how much money we’ve spent due to rodents over the years everything from fifth wheel and vehicle repairs to a whole new re-wiring of the landlines in our home, so we are very cautious about them. We have mousers inside and out of the house. We put Just One Bite (a vet recommended mouse and rat poison) any where we can that we know for CERTAIN our animals can’t get to it and if we notice a mouse dropping we set traps. Again where the pets can’t get to them.
That evening the guys thankfully slid the new hot water tank into its place. Only the connectors and plumbing didn’t match! Murphy snickered.
While I was out the next day doing mystery I picked up the right parts. That night we all did a jig, and then the water line started leaking!! Dang it Murphy I needed to do dishes!
While I was doing the mystery shops I checked the discounted returns and mis-mixed paints at all the stores. At the very last one I found the exact colors I wanted at half price!!! That’s one for the good guys, finally.
Jan who will post this and move on to part three of the saga in OK
November 8, 2009
It’s now 8 days later and visits from Murphy keep popping up, bless his little pea pickin’ heart.
Prior to the discovery of the wet carpet I had been working my way back into my Princess Plan. For those of you who aren’t on de-cluttering lists with me I’ll give you a quick explanation of the Princes Plan.
It’s a system I’m developing to help people come from being paupers enslaved by clutter and debt in their all aspects of their life to being the royalty they truly are. I plan on finally being the princess my Papa always called me.
I had started the plan on January 1, 2009 and was doing pretty good on it with the help of Dave Ramsey and with working out a system that was greatly improving the look and feel of my home and ranch.
Then the surprise unemployment hit and I hit the road, things not only backslid as far as the clutter department went they had worsened. Only our basic finances had continued to improve, albeit slowly and not the gazelle intense like I had planned, but we were current on all our bills and had even paid off four small ones in the last eight months.
Then this series of Murphy’s visits started hitting and things went from bad to worse real quick.
When last I left you it was Halloween and the day after. We were starting to empty the utility room. Now what comes out of a room in any home has to go into another one somewhere in the house.
Remember the “Uninvited Guest” story, well we still have all the dining room stuff in the living room. Now the utility room items needed a place to park. Some went to the overstuffed sunroom, more went to the living room and some went to my bedroom. The clutter was deepening. Small paths were starting to form through the lower level.
My kitchen cabinets are now covered in small appliances, which in turn makes it FUN to try and cook in there.
So let’s flash back to last Saturday.
As soon as he could Gary turned off the hot water tank because the leaking was pretty bad. Not only was it making a mess it was the hot water that was leaking so the electric meter was doing a boogie dance on the back porch while the water meter readers were rubbing their hands together with glee as the meter spun gallon by gallon.
This meant no hot water in the house until the floor dried. You know the one that was absolutely sodden. As Gary labored to get the tank drained I continued to fold the laundry I had done earlier that day.
Sean has a lot of allergies, dust and mold being two biggies so pulling up wet starting to mildew carpet was something he could not do without risking a severe asthma attack, so he took over farm chores when it came to that job and Gary pulled the carpet up by himself Sean helped drag the dripping carpet and pad to the “non-burn” area for things that will go to the dump on the next run there. He of course started wheezing.
While they did this I cooked dinner.
This brought up a slight problem. Dishes, no hot water—oops! Gary cheerfully loaded the dishes in the dishwasher and assured me by the next afternoon the hot water would be back on and we’d be fine. Does that man live here? Has anything ever gone as planned on this ranch?
The next morning I went to the camper and brought in a large supply of paper plates, plastic cups and silverware. I am the more realistic of the two of us on things like this. I KNOW how things happen around here. It’s called life and it happens to everyone.
We seldom use paper and plastic when camping so this was an unusual thing for the guys and I so we periodically forgot and still grabbed dishes out of the cupboards and drawers out of habit. So we added a Murphy expense by using paper and plastic instead of the usual wash and reuse.
All day Sunday Gary and Sean worked on getting the floor dried out, while I ran and did a single mystery shop and picked up more supplies for the project.
When I got back home I discovered the two of them had used every single towel in the house trying to soak up water so the floor would dry quicker. EVERY single one, including my cream colored ones!!! I was not amused, but hollering would not have solved anything. They were trying to fix the problem. They had drug the dripping towels across the carpet that was still down in the bathroom and placed them in the shower stall. Gary promised he’d put them on the line the next day while I was gone so they’d at least dry and not sour.
They had made some progress, there was no longer standing water from the hot water tank, and the mildewed sheet rock no longer existed. A large hole in the wall, with a small one a now nearly 10 week old kitten could have easily gone down under the house through had taken its place. Thankfully Gypsy was locked securely in my bedroom.
I pointed out that Lizzie B was only slightly bigger and she might just take a trip (or an opossum come in) through that gaping wound so they blocked it temporarily at night with heavy plywood to prevent this. During the day there was always someone in there working so the board was removed to aid in the drying out of the lower wall studs and insulation. Yep all my interior walls are insulated, luckily the mildew had been limited to the outside of the sheet rock, there was none on the interior of the walls. .
I suggested fans and a small heater to speed up the drying process as Sunday passed into Monday, still no hot water.
Gary had already winterized the camper since we knew we’d be home for a month or two and now he had to un-winterize it because for some strange reason Sean and I thought we might need showers before going to work on Monday. Luckily they had forgot the towels in the camper when they were mopping water up. So we were all blessed with nice hot showers and the world was a safer place for it.
Dishes were starting to be more than the dishwasher would hold. Enter the boiling teapot into the daily scenario. I’ve done many a dish by heating water on a campfire at rendezvous (pre-1840 Fur Trade Era re-enactments), so this was no biggie.
Monday I mystery shopped, picked up more materials, did a few returns while Gary stayed home and took things down off the wall to prepare to paint the room. Sean went to work of course.
While I was out I picked up paint chips for both the utility room walls and the dining room wall that would need painted when we got back to it
Tuesday, still no hot water, but the wall studs were finally dry so Gary put up the new piece of sheet rock, and then had to take it back down because he forgot to put the mouse/rat poison down the conveniently open wall and under the house. Luckily I reminded him before he taped and mudded the wall or Murphy would have gotten a giggle I’m certain.
When you live in the country you take all the precautions you can to head off rodents. I cannot tell you how much money we’ve spent due to rodents over the years everything from fifth wheel and vehicle repairs to a whole new re-wiring of the landlines in our home, so we are very cautious about them. We have mousers inside and out of the house. We put Just One Bite (a vet recommended mouse and rat poison) any where we can that we know for CERTAIN our animals can’t get to it and if we notice a mouse dropping we set traps. Again where the pets can’t get to them.
That evening the guys thankfully slid the new hot water tank into its place. Only the connectors and plumbing didn’t match! Murphy snickered.
While I was out the next day doing mystery I picked up the right parts. That night we all did a jig, and then the water line started leaking!! Dang it Murphy I needed to do dishes!
While I was doing the mystery shops I checked the discounted returns and mis-mixed paints at all the stores. At the very last one I found the exact colors I wanted at half price!!! That’s one for the good guys, finally.
Jan who will post this and move on to part three of the saga in OK
BEING TRICKED AND THEN TREATED BY MURPHY
BEING TRICKED AND THEN TREATED BY MURPHY
October 31, 2009
I’m a follower of the Dave Ramsey plan for financial security. We started the baby steps of his program in January this year and were making great progress right up to the day the guys lost their jobs. Through the following months we put the “snowball” in the freezer for a while until we got things worked out on how to meet our monthly obligations. I’m proud to say we have actually paid off four small bills and are back to snowballing a small amount despite the unemployment.
Two weeks ago the wiring harness and the U joints went out on our truck. I had an emergency fund put back and we covered it. I was very proud.
As the old saying goes, pride goes before a fall. On the Dave Ramsey group they call little extra expenses that pop up as Murphy, as in Murphy’s Law. Today is Halloween and Murphy started early for the holiday he crept through our back door into the utility room and snickered as he knocked the bottom out of our 22 year old hot water tank. We didn’t find until the utility room carpet was well soaked. It had apparently been leaking slightly for a while because mildew was already starting to form on a nearby wall.
I am not a fan of carpeting in any room that you cook or use a lot of water in. We had been planning on replacing the dark blue indoor/outdoor carpeting that was in there from the day we moved in 12 years ago. We’d already pulled up a piece of it in the kitchen and replaced it with floating vinyl flooring two years ago. It had been one continuous piece from the narrow kitchen through the utility and into the little 4’ X 3’ bathroom just off the utility. This is our heaviest traffic area in the house, we come in and out that door from tending to the ranch critters several times a day.
As I sniffed the air and smelled mildew, and looked at the mess I made an executive decision. The carpet was going NOW! Drying it out would take days and the idea of a moldy carpet just did not please me at all. Only there was the cost and how to cover it. We had very little emergency fund left to do it with and the hot water tank would not be cheap.
Then I picked up the mail and an unexpected small royalty check was there, would it be enough? I checked the price of the flooring we’d put in the kitchen online we had a small amount of it left—nope not even half enough.
Then I thought “How about linoleum?” The more I thought about it the more I thought linoleum made the most sense. It would be a continuous sheet and this is the room where the litter boxes are, Miss Amy is missing the boxes more in and more as she ages. I love her too much to get rid of her, but I won’t tolerate the smell either. Linoleum would definitely be better for that problem.
So I went back online and found for less than $100 (far less than the check) We could in fact do the utility room AND that tiny bathroom in matching linoleum, plus have enough money left over to take care of the mildew on the wall and paint it. So off to the local Lowe’s we went. They had a great paving stone look linoleum that I really liked so we are spending Halloween fixing Murphy’s Trick.
The “treat?” Hey, after 12 years I’m getting rid of that dark nasty carpet and making my utility room and bathroom will look great and be a LOT easier to keep clean in all circumstances. Plus I finally get to paint the wall some color than the basic white that’s on it.
Sounds simple right? Anyone that has ever read my stories knows there is NOTHING simple about life here on the Rock ‘n Tree Ranch. This two small room project ideally should be able to be done in a week end right? Again, have you read my posts?
We started “preparing” last night. Gary made a list of all the “parts” we’d need. When we went to check on the fittings on the hot water tank the lights wouldn’t work in the utility room—Thanks Murphy. We added fluorescent bulbs to the list—no biggie other than we would now have two long tubes to get rid of safely. We headed for Lowe’s so we could get an early start on the project first thing in the morning.
At Lowe’s I found the linoleum I liked immediately, the hot water tank was a no brainer. It had to be a 50 gallon electric one (we are total electric) and it had to fit through the 24 inch door opening of the hot water tank closet. There was only one choice. Of course we didn’t know all the measurements and such right off so we had to call Sean at home numerous times to get various measurements—including the length of the bulbs before we finished our shopping trip.
Lowe’s was closing as we left, they locked the door as we went out. A few minutes later Gary remembered he needed a hacksaw blade. We stopped at Wal-Mart where I picked up a couple of things we needed for the weekend and out of the sale ad.
Once home Murphy snickered again. We had purchased hoses with the male ends on them because that is what the box said. Turns out we needed female ones. The new bulbs didn’t fix the light. It needed something called a starter to do the repair. Then he had only got one compression fitting and we needed two.
Sean needed to go pay his car tag so they left had to go back to town this morning after all. While they were gone I did morning chores, laundered three loads of clothes, ran the dishwasher, and started emptying the utility room. How can such a little room hold so much. I also removed items from the bathroom and started clearing an area in the sunroom for the appliances.
After several “paper or plastic” calls from the guys they called to say they were on their way home so I started lunch, tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches. Finally at 2:30 pm our early start happened.
Donning the shoulder dolly harnesses the guys moved the soggy footed washer and dryer into the sunroom. Jolie, the Aussie Collie mix gave an exasperated sigh as if to say “What MORE of YOUR junk in MY room.” We assured it would short lived. Yeah right!
A quick word about Shoulder Dollies. They are one of the best things I've ever purchased for the ranch.There are various brands and such out there. The truly do work as well as the commercials say they do. The guys use ours a lot to move heavy awkward appliances and other items all the time. I can even help with big things like upright freezers using them and I'm only 5'1". Back to my story.
When Gary went to drain the hot water tank so it could be moved the valve was plugged, Murphy grinned. When Gary started talking about just poking a screw driver up the faucet to remove the sludge that was blocking the opening I mentioned the water coming out would be 120 degrees and then made my fast exit to go try and fold laundry with a hyper-active kitten pinging around the room and the bed that I was folding the laundry on.
Gypsy Skeeter is a huge help in such chores. She lets me get a lot of practice in folding, by unfolding things for me and then racing off with loose socks and wash cloths. She's a mess and Lizzie Borden still gives her 18 whacks whenever she can.
At one point I heard Sean say “Warm up the truck, Dad’s got an idea, St. Francis here we come”. I just folded faster, St. Francis is the ER we use and I wanted no part of going there tonight, I hollered back “We can’t afford it, I’ve not paid off the tree limb idea yet, RE-THINK!”
They did and Gary realized if he released the pressure on the tank the thing might drain. He did and it did. Take that Murphy!
Next blog, the saga continues in “Like Falling Dominoes, Murphy keeps on keeping on.”
Jan who says “Nothing is ever simple on the Rock ‘n Tree Ranch” in OK
October 31, 2009
I’m a follower of the Dave Ramsey plan for financial security. We started the baby steps of his program in January this year and were making great progress right up to the day the guys lost their jobs. Through the following months we put the “snowball” in the freezer for a while until we got things worked out on how to meet our monthly obligations. I’m proud to say we have actually paid off four small bills and are back to snowballing a small amount despite the unemployment.
Two weeks ago the wiring harness and the U joints went out on our truck. I had an emergency fund put back and we covered it. I was very proud.
As the old saying goes, pride goes before a fall. On the Dave Ramsey group they call little extra expenses that pop up as Murphy, as in Murphy’s Law. Today is Halloween and Murphy started early for the holiday he crept through our back door into the utility room and snickered as he knocked the bottom out of our 22 year old hot water tank. We didn’t find until the utility room carpet was well soaked. It had apparently been leaking slightly for a while because mildew was already starting to form on a nearby wall.
I am not a fan of carpeting in any room that you cook or use a lot of water in. We had been planning on replacing the dark blue indoor/outdoor carpeting that was in there from the day we moved in 12 years ago. We’d already pulled up a piece of it in the kitchen and replaced it with floating vinyl flooring two years ago. It had been one continuous piece from the narrow kitchen through the utility and into the little 4’ X 3’ bathroom just off the utility. This is our heaviest traffic area in the house, we come in and out that door from tending to the ranch critters several times a day.
As I sniffed the air and smelled mildew, and looked at the mess I made an executive decision. The carpet was going NOW! Drying it out would take days and the idea of a moldy carpet just did not please me at all. Only there was the cost and how to cover it. We had very little emergency fund left to do it with and the hot water tank would not be cheap.
Then I picked up the mail and an unexpected small royalty check was there, would it be enough? I checked the price of the flooring we’d put in the kitchen online we had a small amount of it left—nope not even half enough.
Then I thought “How about linoleum?” The more I thought about it the more I thought linoleum made the most sense. It would be a continuous sheet and this is the room where the litter boxes are, Miss Amy is missing the boxes more in and more as she ages. I love her too much to get rid of her, but I won’t tolerate the smell either. Linoleum would definitely be better for that problem.
So I went back online and found for less than $100 (far less than the check) We could in fact do the utility room AND that tiny bathroom in matching linoleum, plus have enough money left over to take care of the mildew on the wall and paint it. So off to the local Lowe’s we went. They had a great paving stone look linoleum that I really liked so we are spending Halloween fixing Murphy’s Trick.
The “treat?” Hey, after 12 years I’m getting rid of that dark nasty carpet and making my utility room and bathroom will look great and be a LOT easier to keep clean in all circumstances. Plus I finally get to paint the wall some color than the basic white that’s on it.
Sounds simple right? Anyone that has ever read my stories knows there is NOTHING simple about life here on the Rock ‘n Tree Ranch. This two small room project ideally should be able to be done in a week end right? Again, have you read my posts?
We started “preparing” last night. Gary made a list of all the “parts” we’d need. When we went to check on the fittings on the hot water tank the lights wouldn’t work in the utility room—Thanks Murphy. We added fluorescent bulbs to the list—no biggie other than we would now have two long tubes to get rid of safely. We headed for Lowe’s so we could get an early start on the project first thing in the morning.
At Lowe’s I found the linoleum I liked immediately, the hot water tank was a no brainer. It had to be a 50 gallon electric one (we are total electric) and it had to fit through the 24 inch door opening of the hot water tank closet. There was only one choice. Of course we didn’t know all the measurements and such right off so we had to call Sean at home numerous times to get various measurements—including the length of the bulbs before we finished our shopping trip.
Lowe’s was closing as we left, they locked the door as we went out. A few minutes later Gary remembered he needed a hacksaw blade. We stopped at Wal-Mart where I picked up a couple of things we needed for the weekend and out of the sale ad.
Once home Murphy snickered again. We had purchased hoses with the male ends on them because that is what the box said. Turns out we needed female ones. The new bulbs didn’t fix the light. It needed something called a starter to do the repair. Then he had only got one compression fitting and we needed two.
Sean needed to go pay his car tag so they left had to go back to town this morning after all. While they were gone I did morning chores, laundered three loads of clothes, ran the dishwasher, and started emptying the utility room. How can such a little room hold so much. I also removed items from the bathroom and started clearing an area in the sunroom for the appliances.
After several “paper or plastic” calls from the guys they called to say they were on their way home so I started lunch, tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches. Finally at 2:30 pm our early start happened.
Donning the shoulder dolly harnesses the guys moved the soggy footed washer and dryer into the sunroom. Jolie, the Aussie Collie mix gave an exasperated sigh as if to say “What MORE of YOUR junk in MY room.” We assured it would short lived. Yeah right!
A quick word about Shoulder Dollies. They are one of the best things I've ever purchased for the ranch.There are various brands and such out there. The truly do work as well as the commercials say they do. The guys use ours a lot to move heavy awkward appliances and other items all the time. I can even help with big things like upright freezers using them and I'm only 5'1". Back to my story.
When Gary went to drain the hot water tank so it could be moved the valve was plugged, Murphy grinned. When Gary started talking about just poking a screw driver up the faucet to remove the sludge that was blocking the opening I mentioned the water coming out would be 120 degrees and then made my fast exit to go try and fold laundry with a hyper-active kitten pinging around the room and the bed that I was folding the laundry on.
Gypsy Skeeter is a huge help in such chores. She lets me get a lot of practice in folding, by unfolding things for me and then racing off with loose socks and wash cloths. She's a mess and Lizzie Borden still gives her 18 whacks whenever she can.
At one point I heard Sean say “Warm up the truck, Dad’s got an idea, St. Francis here we come”. I just folded faster, St. Francis is the ER we use and I wanted no part of going there tonight, I hollered back “We can’t afford it, I’ve not paid off the tree limb idea yet, RE-THINK!”
They did and Gary realized if he released the pressure on the tank the thing might drain. He did and it did. Take that Murphy!
Next blog, the saga continues in “Like Falling Dominoes, Murphy keeps on keeping on.”
Jan who says “Nothing is ever simple on the Rock ‘n Tree Ranch” in OK
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