# Home Improvements Mini Rants **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 16, 2011, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/home-improvements-mini-rants/574862 "2011-03-16T01:19:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Hakuna\_Matata](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a88e4f/32.png) [@Hakuna\_Matata](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hakuna_Matata)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2011, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/home-improvements-mini-rants/574862/61 "2011-03-21T16:39:45Z")
> [@amarinth](#): > > Actually, I could have gotten away with nothing, but listening to it run and flush itself all the damn time had finally gotten to me. Just an FYI, if you do indeed live in Seattle (I assume the Emerald City implies that) then by fixing this toilet your water and more importantly your sewer bill should go way down. Seattle charges sewer based on the amount of water you use (assuming you have 10 gallons coming in you have 10 gallons going out). A running toilet can run up a huge bill quickly, very quickly. So it might be worth it to get it fixed by a plumber. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Woo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7c8e57/32.png) [@Dr.Woo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Woo)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2011, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/home-improvements-mini-rants/574862/62 "2011-03-21T22:08:55Z")
> [@Curious3d](#): > > I tape first, then caulk, smear it with a finger, then take the tape off while the caulk is still wet. Perfect straight caulk lines. > > Of course this is of no help to you now. This is EXACTLY what I learned the hard way. Should have checked with the Dope first. For my touchups I’m now pretty (kinda, almost) professional. At least I impressed the hubby when he watched me fix a bad place in the kitchen. My latest lesson is to check - and double check - the paint can for such words as “semi-gloss” and “flat”. These are important words. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2011, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/home-improvements-mini-rants/574862/63 "2011-03-22T04:48:33Z")
> [@Dr.Woo](#): > > \ > > My latest lesson is to check - and double check - the paint can for such words as “semi-gloss” and “flat”. These are important words. Oh yeah. Also, “Kitchen and Bath” come into play. You definitely want the right paint for the right job - having a former professional painter in the house, I never have to worry about that - I just go get what Jim tells me to. 🙂 (He often does the colours, too - he has a fantastic eye.) ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2011, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/home-improvements-mini-rants/574862/64 "2011-03-22T05:32:36Z")
> [@Hakuna\_Matata](#): > > Just an FYI, if you do indeed live in Seattle (I assume the Emerald City implies that) then by fixing this toilet your water and more importantly your sewer bill should go way down. Seattle charges sewer based on the amount of water you use (assuming you have 10 gallons coming in you have 10 gallons going out). A running toilet can run up a huge bill quickly, very quickly. So it might be worth it to get it fixed by a plumber. Hopefully you’re right. I had to call my dad. There’s still a part of me that’s 4 years old and thinks that he can fix anything. Luckily, in the case of the toilet, 4-year-old me was right and it’s fixed now! ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2011, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/home-improvements-mini-rants/574862/65 "2011-03-22T13:14:32Z")
Heh, I call my dad too sometimes. But sometimes I get an answer that is TOTALLY not what I want - “Hey, dad? So the package on these toggle bolts says they can hold 240 pounds. I need to fasten that high cabinet to the wall and there aren’t any studs. Does that mean that two bolts hold 480 or not?” And what I got was a long discussion of how overengineered bolts are and the equation to figure out when the metal would begin to deform and I couldn’t get a word in edgewise to say I’m not worried about the _bolts_, dad, I’m worried about the drywall! ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2011, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/home-improvements-mini-rants/574862/66 "2011-03-23T19:04:08Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > …and I couldn’t get a word in edgewise to say I’m not worried about the _bolts_, dad, I’m worried about the drywall! I wonder how Americans manage with their funny drywall house construction. The walls of my house are solid brick (or breezeblock for the internal walls). If I want to put something up on the wall, I can just drill into it wherever I want (after checking for cables etc). Granted, it can take a while to drill a hole in the solid brick external walls (and you don’t want to see the size of the hole that resulted when I took down an old curtain rail…) ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2011, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/home-improvements-mini-rants/574862/67 "2011-03-28T23:54:29Z")
I have a very small bathroom that I am remodeling, along with the kitchen. Every inch counts, so the designer drew in space for a standard 60"x30" tub/shower. Then she recommended a specific bathtub for me to buy. Code in this city is that there is a minimum of 30" for the toilet (which in this case sits between the tub and the vanity). The vanity is already ordered, and there is 30-1/2" of space for the toilet. Remember when I said above that every inch counts? The tub she recommended that I buy is 32" wide. I only discover this after the tub has been ordered and delivered, and the night before the contractor wants to install it. :smack::smack::smack::smack::smack: and :smack: to me for not checking every detail three times. I guess I just thought she knew her job. Oh, and the contractor thinks that brand of bathtub is crappy and that I should get cast iron instead. So I told him to go buy a tub that he likes and I’ll reimburse him for it. Roddy [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/home-improvements-mini-rants/574862.md?page=3)