Dentist plus plumber (plummer looks better) equals expensive day.
I have a chair in my shower. That’s what gimpy people such as myself do until they get better. It’s actually pretty nice to sit down and wash my hair. I have to stand up to wash my bum, however. The chair cost $5.99 and is one of those resin chairs that people have on their patios. It’s green, if anyone cares. The official shower chairs cost at least $40 or more. Am I smart or what? I be smart.
That’s all I got.
Tupug, I am one of those plumber guys that does the thingys. Well, except I’m not a guy and I’m not a plumber. But I do the thingys. PVC is bad. It breaks. And you can take the valve handles off to keep people from messing with your water.
pokes head in
(Bless me father for I have sinned, it has been 1 year since my last lurk in the MMP.)
We did some plum-bing over the weekend too. When I say ‘we’ I really mean Mr. Mouse. We bought a used dryer for $100. So of course the husband had to just hook it up, because you know, that’s what husbands do. That and pickle jars. and spiders too. I don’t do spiders. But it was nice to be able to do laundry without having to lug it up out into the backyard. We’ve been without a dryer for two years and I can’t wait to do laundry on a weekday. Well not really, but it will make my saturdays nicer.
cj, Mr. Anachi would like a word with you. :dubious: (Just kidding!) 
Yeah, he’s already planning to take the handles off but why have them in the first place? I would think just a nut that could be wrenched would make more sense. And as for the PVC being bad, we’re just waiting for a branch or something to put us in a really bad mood. :mad:
I have often imagined that very scene. Only in my head, Roger is using that pointy ax looking thing that he uses to rip up the first inch or two of grass when he’s out resodding someone’s yard.
I miss not being able to do projects like that. I once replaced an electric water heater (waterheater?) at 3 AM. That’s when I learned how to solder copper pipes. It worked fine, so I guess I did a good job. My dad taught me how to do all that kind of home repair stuff when I was a kid. He said, “There are plenty of things out there to spend your money on. No need to spend it on stuff you can do yourself.” Or at least, he would have said it that way if he was trying to be a wise teacher. Instead, he said things like, “It’s not that heavy, move it over here!” and “S**t washes off.” That last was his favorite when we were replacing/cleaning out terlets.
But, we found out last week that we’re moving into a house - no more renting! It’s the house my GF got in her divorce, and I’ve agreed to buy it. Of course, I haven’t seen the place yet, and I won’t see it until after I move in (her ex is still living there.) So you can imagine how happy I am to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on a piece of property and house that I haven’t even seen yet. I think there is a word for people like me. My guesses are foolish, sucker, bankrupt, and none-too-bright.
I will put propane gas grills and outdoor cookers together, but won’t touch pipes or electricity. I will deal with propane tanks that will blow me up but I won’t fool with wires cause I might get electrocuted. The way I see it going out in a great big
FWOOSH
is better than gettin’ fried. Also pipes tend to have icky stuff in 'em and who wants to look at ick? I make enough money to pay somebody to look at the ick. Did I mention I have a new attic fan? Well, new as of three weeks ago when electrician guy put it in. I went up in the attic yesterday for the first time to watch it run. I’m inquisitive that way. It’s hot in the attic so I didn’t stay long.
The Plumber’s Motto: Your shit is our bread & butter…
The Three Laws of Plumbing:
Shit and water both flow downhill.
Collect for the work as soon as it’s finished.
Never bite your fingernails.
I’m not a plumber, but I play one on TV (or just when I have to, never for code issues, tho). I have no qualms about breaking thru a wall or ceiling if the need arises, because I can repair and match any finish and paint I’ve ever come across. And any time I have to lay a new floor in a bathroom, the toilet has to come out. Any other idea is just madness. Doesn’t mean it ain’t still a pain in the @$$ at times. I feel your pain, brother.
Using the bathroom in the shower is a real timesaver. I use my heel to force the chunks down the drain.
We have a leak in the drain pipes in the upstairs bathroom. But to get at the leaking pipe(s) I hafta cut a hole in the ceiling in the living room. See, the problem is, that sometime in our house’s 110 year history, some genius looked at the 10-foot ceilings in the downstairs and decided *“Hmmmm…I think we should drop the ceiling a couple of feet.” * And then they said “I know, we should spray our new ceilings with that popcorn looking stuff, that’ll look real Jake” And then they said “We should get that popcorn-looking stuff that’s chock full of asbestos. I hear it’s the latest thing!”
I’d really, really like to tear out the ceilings, but iffen I did I would be descended upon by 14 Gummit Agencies with forms in hand and probably be fined into poverty. (Heh, little do they know, I’m already there.) I’m debating ripping up the floor in the upstairs bath instead. Stoopid popcorn-ceiling-putter-inners!
i shot an elephant in my jammies once…Oh never mind.
Rue, ahem, first you fix the leak, then you patch the hole. I’m just sayin’
Lissla, it sounds to me like Madeleine L’Engle needs a better, or at least smarter, class of house-guest.
That’s all I got, unless you wanna hear my views on plumbing codes. Trust me, you don’t.
Are you sure about the asbestos?
Because if not, removing popcorn is surprisingly easy. Unless it’s been painted. Just get a hudsen sprayer and wet the popcorn down with plain water. Let it soak in a while. Then spray again, one small area at a time and scrape it off with a 6" 8" or whatever" drywall knife. Very little dust, but make sure you have plastic down on the floor for easy clean up. When dry (overnight), retexture to taste or smooth out with a skim coat of mud, paint after that’s dry.
If the popcorn is painted, you’re pretty much screwed out of this method. Becomes an issue of brute strength and shear bloody mindedness then.
If it is asbestos, you beter do it the right way, thru the proper channels. Not only is it safer for your health and the environment, but you can really find yourself in a load of trouble. Not a DIY situation.
Mia! How you been? We’ve missed you! (At least I have. There’s a bunch of Newbies running around and they don’t know no better.) Now you have to keep coming back regular or else!
The hygienist said I have a “very strong tongue”. Too bad I had my mouth full of cavity-filling stuff, or I could have told her “that’s why the chicks dig me”.
When the dentist shot my mouth full up of Novocaine it was like he touched an electrical cord to my tender flesh, one that was plugged in and he was holding the other end to my face. He said that meant the Novocaine-y goodness was working extra hard. It wasn’t as pleasant as I’d have hoped, but it numbed my face up good, so I can’t complain. (Even though I just did.)
And I forgot to tell you about the Little Woman’s hair conditioners. There are two different kinds in the shower. And two more different kinds in the medicine cabinet. And I’m pretty sure I could round another bottle or two up if pressed.
Me? I just wash my hair. And it’s thick and luxuriant.
Rue, only two kinds of conditioners? You’ve been neglecting your woman. Lessee, there’s the:
A.) I’m going to use the nucular powered dryer on my locks.
B.) I’m going swimming and don’t want to waste the good conditioner when it will just warsh out. (Did I just say ‘warsh’? sorry I was with with a bunch of cousins in another state this weekend, I pick up things like that real easy).
3.) Hi Op… wait they don’t do that anymore do they? There’s the regular conditioner too, and
aa.) And the leave in stuff
xx.) and those little packets that they give you to condition with after you dye your hair. (not that I would know, because I’m a natural wink wink blond.)
Oh, and while I was picking up things like ‘warsh’ in another state, I got lost on the way to a bridal shower, which is not quite the same as losing your bathroom shower, but close enough for a Rue thread.
Yeah, I had it tested. 
And yes, I know the right way to do it. What I was complaining about is the expense. I can’t afford to do it the right way, so basically I have the following options:
a.) Get a bunny suit and a bunch of plastic and duct tape and do it myself, but without permission. (I know how to do it, but I’m paranoid.)
b.) Pay someone else to do it (As soon as I win the lottery) (And besides, I don’t know that I’d trust somebody who wasn’t going to be living in the house afterwards to be as careful as I would be. We know someone who used to be in the asbestos abatement business, and he says some of those guys aren’t as careful as they could be about what gets left in the building after.)
c.) Figure out some other way to get at those pipes. If the leak is where I think it is, I could get at it by tearing out the ceiling over the downstairs shower, but then we wouldn’t have a shower at all until I got it fixed, and what if it isn’t where I think it is?
d.) Ignore it. We don’t use that shower anyway, but what happens when we want to sell the house? Being as we’re both licensed real estate brokers, we can get in ** big** trouble if we fail to disclose a known defect.
e.) Get amnesia.
Hey Rue, Wifey just uses my soap to wash, or warsh, her hair, says it’s as good as shampoo.
In this case, paranoia is a good thing. You can get fined out the whazoo if caught doing asbestos DIY, as I’m sure you’re well aware. My condolences to you for the situation.
Now, I have to go poopy. Will be back eventually.
Well, I really only have two plumbing stories to relate, and they’re not huge by any means.
The first relates to the many toilets we replaced at our old house. The kids were constantly shoving toys and what not down the toilet. It was most annoying. What made things even worse is that we only had ONE bathroom at that house. So, when the toilet needed fixing, we did it right away. Well, the very last time we replaced yet another broken toilet, Mr. Taters lost his temper. Upon losing his temper, he hoisted the toilet up in the air and hurled it down on the floor, where when it shattered in a million pieces, Mr. Taters announced the toilet was fixed. Yeeeeeeaaaah, right…lessee, the home improvement stores are closing, we have ONE EFFING bathroom, and I gotta pee. Great, just great. Well, the toilet replaced that night, but sheesh…
The next involves replacing our hot water heater. We had sold our house and were moving and I was tidying the garage up when I noticed that the hot water tank was leaking. Great! Just after we had signed forms stating that nothing was broken and everything was hunkey dorey at the house. So, being the honest folk we are, we went out and bought a new hot water tank and installed it. Those were the the first showers we ever took in that house where we didn’t run out of hot water. I couldn’t believe. it.
I have many good smelling soaps (liquid, bar and foam), two differnet kinds of conditioner, down to one shampoo, walnut shell stuff for my tootsies, face scrubbing stuff for my face, and…I think that’s about it it, in my shower. What? I like to smell pretty. I have more stuff on my vanity and in my bathroom cupboards. The hubby uses the Zest or whatever brand soap I buy and Pantene shampoo. That’s it.
I need to go get cleaned up and buy my car tabs today. I realized yesterday that my tabs expired last month. :smack: So, now I feel all stupid like and need to get this taken care of.
My toilet is in the bedrooms (yes plural, because the tank is in the master bedroom and the bottom part is in the spare room). This is a spare toilet, though, which is going to replace the one in the downstairs bathroom whenever Mrs B decides to finish renovating it. (Most of our major renovations take place in installments). This one has the old wallpaper (mostly) removed and the towel bars, etc. removed from the walls, but work has come to a halt while she’s debating about whether to pull up the old floor tile and replace it before we go any further. (I vote NO NO NO, based on the trouble we had doing this in the upstairs bathroom, but she doesn’t like the colour, so…).
I don’t mind doing plumbing, and installing toilets is a snap, but drywall hates me. It waits until I’ve finished smoothing and sanding and then it just humps itself up and smirks at me.
Well, I flew up to Hot-lanta to meet with my sisters who were flying down from Boston, to drive west to Carrollton to intern Grandmother’s ashes or “cremains”. The Parents drove up from FL 'cause they were continuing on to NC.
We all met at the square with Aunt Edith and had a nice lunch.
Then we drove to the cemetary and there was a nice pair of gentlemen from the furneral home under a nice tent w/o sides, two rows of folding chairs w/ silpcovers, a small mound of earth under a green tarp and a rectanglalur box with a label next to a larger black plastic dome.
[Ed was expected to be there but got the time wrong and arrived after everyone had left.]
Mom, B, and I read passages from the Bible and wept. Dad lead the Lord’s Prayer and we all wept.
Then they sealed Granma’s ashes in the dome and buried the combination.
Now comes the oddball story. It appears that back in 1944 my great-grandmother, Bessie, when she buried her husband thought to herself, “Hmmm, we should buy mine and [daughter & s-i-l, my grandparent’s] burial plots now and get everyone’s tombstone engraved at the same time.” Because we had three gravemarkers that matched the big **SURNAME MARKER ** in design-magnolia blossom and leafy flourish. But granma’s was not there. *But it had been there in March & April of 2000. * Mom & Dad had seen it and made mental note to self to get it updated for the new century. The marker had Granma’s name, birthdate and “19XX” for the death date.
We think it is the strangest thing to steal a gravemarker that hasn’t been used yet. I mean, really what can you do with a marble gravemarker that is pre-engraved with someone else’s information? I haven’t seeing any signs saying, “Gravestones re-carved, cheap, no questions asked” in front of stonemasonry places. Have any of you?
The furneral home gentlemen suggest that the man who did most of the tombstones prior to 2000 had a stroke in mid-2000. But he may have collected all his “works” that would need updating prior to the stroke and no-one had followed thru on the task. They would look into it for us. And be in touch.
Hey, bumba, you forgot “f.) oopsie! The house is on fire!” Not that I advocate that but it’s at least as reasonable as “get amnesia.” 
And my plot to lure you to my house was foiled by the second shower in your home.
:::: pouts ::::
Just as soon as I move all the train stuff into ‘storage’.