Not translations this time
My standard excuse for not posting is that I have been swamped by translation work. Not so, this time. I do have an on-going job due for the end of September so there's no hassle. This time it is more of an in-our-face problem...and in our hair, and nose and lungs, and all over everything in sight. We have had to tear out and rebuild our main bathroom.
For years the neighbor below us has mentioned water dripping into his kitchen, which is partially below our bathroom. For years we have tried repairing pipes (even replaced part of the plumbing, which required putting in a new tile floor a few years ago), caulking every possible joint, but in the end, there was still water leaking. A plumber came and gave the verdict: whatever the problem was, it was right under the bathtub.
Couldn't fix the problem without taking out the tub; couldn't take out the tub without tearing up the wall tile and destroying the floor tile. Solution: all new tile on floor and walls, and put in a modern shower stall. Simple. Messy!
Sure enough, after the tub was removed, the poor job done by the plumbers 20 years ago came to light. But removing the wall tile and preparing the wall for the new tile turned out to be more of a job than we were counting on. The old plaster fell off the walls in big chunks, and the walls had to be replastered to be ready for the new tile. And in his enthusiasm at getting the drains the way they should be, the worker cutting a groove in the wall with an electric hammer punched all the way through into the living room. Oops! We hadn't counted on extra bathroom ventilation that low and into the living room, so they'll have to patch the hole in the living room side, too.
In the meantime, we have been sleeping upstairs, where the working, extra bathroom is. And downstairs, where the kitchen and dining room are, we just make sure we dust everything off before we eat it. And I dust off my computer, or my books and papers, before I start working. And just before getting in the car to go anywhere, it's a good idea to knock all the dust off any part of our clothing that may have touched something before we got out of the house. Like the time we had the parquet floors sanded so we could revarnish them... but that's another story I won't dust off and tell here. All I can say is, we can't wait to have the ordeal over with.
For years the neighbor below us has mentioned water dripping into his kitchen, which is partially below our bathroom. For years we have tried repairing pipes (even replaced part of the plumbing, which required putting in a new tile floor a few years ago), caulking every possible joint, but in the end, there was still water leaking. A plumber came and gave the verdict: whatever the problem was, it was right under the bathtub.
Couldn't fix the problem without taking out the tub; couldn't take out the tub without tearing up the wall tile and destroying the floor tile. Solution: all new tile on floor and walls, and put in a modern shower stall. Simple. Messy!
Sure enough, after the tub was removed, the poor job done by the plumbers 20 years ago came to light. But removing the wall tile and preparing the wall for the new tile turned out to be more of a job than we were counting on. The old plaster fell off the walls in big chunks, and the walls had to be replastered to be ready for the new tile. And in his enthusiasm at getting the drains the way they should be, the worker cutting a groove in the wall with an electric hammer punched all the way through into the living room. Oops! We hadn't counted on extra bathroom ventilation that low and into the living room, so they'll have to patch the hole in the living room side, too.
In the meantime, we have been sleeping upstairs, where the working, extra bathroom is. And downstairs, where the kitchen and dining room are, we just make sure we dust everything off before we eat it. And I dust off my computer, or my books and papers, before I start working. And just before getting in the car to go anywhere, it's a good idea to knock all the dust off any part of our clothing that may have touched something before we got out of the house. Like the time we had the parquet floors sanded so we could revarnish them... but that's another story I won't dust off and tell here. All I can say is, we can't wait to have the ordeal over with.
posted by EP | 11:15 PM | Permalink
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