The Money Pit

Our home is beginning to feel a little bit like the money pit. We are building up quite a list of things around here that we can't use because we can't spend the money to have them fixed. Jay can fix just about anything, but when it comes to big issues, it's another story. It all started with a slab leak a couple of years ago when we noticed water continually pooling on our garage floor. That was one that we couldn't let go and it set us back several thousand dollars. Since that time, it has seemed to be one thing after another. We have had no air conditioning for the last couple of years and I think it was around the same time that our garage door broke. Jay started to work on fixing that until I read about all the deaths associated with fixing garage doors and decided that we would do without. We have certainly started to learn to differentiate between wants and needs. Yes, air conditioning is missed in the heat of the summer as we swelter in our 95 degree home (that being the inside temperature!), but we learn to live without it. Yes, it would be nice to be able to park a car in the garage or even just open and close it, but we have gotten quite accustomed to using the side garage door.

It now seems as though we might need to get accustomed to showering in the kids shower rather than our own. It began with an annoying dripping shower head that just got worse and worse. It then got to the point where it was keeping us up at night, like one of those Chinese torture chambers or something. And, then, it was as if the shower was just always left slightly on. It was no longer just a small drip. Jay had already replaced the shower head, but when that didn't solve the problem, we knew it was a deeper issue. So, Jay was going to go deeper. However, because the handle was so corroded to the pipe, when he was taking it off, the whole pipe broke and now requires some major work to get it in working condition. Apparently, the same thing has happened to several of the homes in the neighborhood. We had to have a plumber come out just to stop up the pipe so that we could even turn our water back on in the house, and that alone cost us over $300. And, here's the zinger...for them to come out and actually get the shower back in working condition, the amount is $1,050. It seriously makes me sick to even think about it.

And here's one more zinger...the day after we got the thousand dollar quote, we woke up to find our bathroom carpet totally flooded. No, it had nothing to do with the shower - OUR TOILET had now flooded our bathroom. So, Jay fixed the toilet and we are now addressing the problem of the flooded carpet by blowing a fan at our sopping wet floor. Unfortunately, it is still sopping wet and our room is already smelling like mildew. I hate to think what kind of mold is growing there now because heaven knows we won't be paying for new carpet or mold removal. We will probably be slowly killing ourselves as we live in our mold infested home.

So, back to the shower - just like we got used to no air conditioning, and no working garage door, we decided that we would get used to not having a working shower. However, Jay is in the process of teaching himself how to "sweat a valve," whatever that means, so that he can fix it himself. He fixes all of our toilet and sink and minor plumbing issues around here, but apparently, "sweating a valve" is on a whole new plumbing level. But, he got himself a blow torch today and, depending on how that goes, we may just end up back in our own shower sooner than expected!

I'm hoping that this new found plumbing knowledge will be of assistance when our 12 year old water heater goes, because I'm quite certain that's what's next!