2023, home, Uncategorized

Great Expectations

40 Comments

Yesterday marked exactly eight weeks since our bathroom project started. It started as what I thought would be a quick (and inexpensive) fix of my weird shower system and very quickly went straight downhill. The hot water assembly was so old that when an interior piece of the handle broke, those words “not up to code” were uttered (for two different parts of the bathroom) and started that proverbial domino effect.

When the contractor was finalizing his proposal, I asked him for a guesstimate on how long it would take.  He said four weeks.  I assumed he was padding that and then padded it again myself so I wouldn’t be upset if the bathroom wasn’t up and running again in a month.  Good thing.

The first issue was that the plumber put in the wrong tub for the project.  It took several days to get this resolved;  I ended up having the contractor replace the tub and I stopped payment on the plumbers until they refunded a chunk of change.

Second issue was the tile.  We chose a tile that showed in stock at our local Home Depot.  The day we went in to order it, the person who helped us said “Oh yeah, we took a pallet of this down yesterday – there’s plenty.”  When contractor went to pick it up the next day, Home Depot said they didn’t have enough. This is when having a good contractor comes in handy – he beat them up enough that they ended up getting it at another store and delivering it right to the house.

Third issue was the vanity.  Home Depot SAID that it would be delivered in 2-4 days.  They must have meant hours on Mercury, because it certainly didn’t arrive within 4 days.  Then when it did arrive, they informed me that they couldn’t deliver it up the steps onto the front porch because I hadn’t paid the additional “in house” delivery fee.  Grrr….  Luckily my next-door neighbor was our in his yard and between him and me and YA, we got it onto the porch fairly easily.  Of course, when the contractor arrived the next morning and opened it up, it was broken:

Since the return process didn’t go smoothly, I ordered the second one sent to the store.  After another set of Mercury-long days, I got multiple messages via text and email saying different things about where the vanity actually was.  Called Home Depot and got told the vanity was at the store.  I called the store and talked somebody into checking that it was actually there.  Called contractor (I spent a lot of time on the phone for this project) and told him he could pick up vanity in the morning.  Then lo and behold, overnight I got an email saying vanity had arrived at the store broken.  Apparently when the guy at the store told me it was there, it hadn’t been taken off the pallet yet so they didn’t realize it was broken.  Sigh.  I made kind of a large stink at that point.  Not sure if it helped or not but the third vanity arrived undamaged.  And even though the store said they had checked it, my contractor made them open it up so HE could check. 

Did I mention that during the tear-down process, the toilet got cracked?  The brand new toilet that we had put in just seven months ago?  Contractor took full responsibility and ordered a new tank.  In the meantime, I’m here to tell you that FlexSeal really works.  Not sure you can really seal  up a boat and drive around the Everglades like in their commercial, but it held the toilet together really well until the next tank arrived yesterday.

Now I realize that this isn’t too bad compared to a lot of the horror stories out there, including some we’ve heard here, but it was enough that the contractor’s 4 weeks and my 6 weeks weren’t padded enough.  But overall I’m feeling relatively lucky; this is the second major project that hasn’t been nearly as bad as I expected.   Before and after pictures tomorrow!

How do you keep your expectations in check?

40 thoughts on “Great Expectations”

  1. i take a lot of the steps out by doing it myself and the difference between getting them to do it and just doing it is why

    ordering stuff vs picking out what’s really available is key

    sorry you had such trouble

    not up to code

    thems fighting words

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    1. Agree about self-doing, but only if you recognize your limitations. I’m not nearly as handy as you are and I don’t want to have to look at my “learning curve” every day.

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  2. i am renting rather than home owner today and i shake my head at response time and quality of work done when we call in an issue

    washing machine recently went down for 3rd time this year and we were told it would be a month before someone would be out to check it

    really … no washing for a month. they ordered a new washer and it was in in 3 days. i’ve taught deb to be a hard ass. she got it done.

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    1. I didn’t mention the laundry tub in the basement. When this project started, I had the plumber fix the toilet in the basement (some pipe that had corroded years ago). I thought we would be without a toilet for longer than it turned out. While plumber and I were in the basement, I thought “hey… time to deal with the dripping pipes to the laundry tub. Turned out to be cheaper to get a new tub w/ new handles! Suffice it to say it’s a good thing I’m home these days to let the plumber in… two additional trips until it wasn’t leaking any longer!

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  4. I am going to put up Sandra’s tree today. We will see I do not have a single Christmas item left in this apartment. The very last original appliance was replaced in this apartment. They are good about that but are getting worse all the time about everything else.

    Amazon is not meeting my expectations.

    Clyde, deaf and blind this morning.

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  5. We are currently waiting for the water damage mitigater guys to come to replace the 5 crappy doors in the basement with new ones and put in new base boards. Then the new carpet will go in. At some point in the next 3 years we will have the basement painted. Last year our 3 week bathrooms remodel took 3 months.

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  6. Humility and modesty keep me from making my expectations too high. Perfection is not attainable. “Pretty good” is enough for me. What my body let me do at 20 isn’t the same at 70 no matter what my brain might say. I avoid comparing myself to others. Jealousy and envy are soul-sucking feelings.

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  7. Rise and Shine, Baboons,

    I am getting all kinds of editing options from WP this morning, things I have not seen before. Not expecting that.

    We, and our poor puppy, Phoebe, just went through a reinstallation of a fenceless pet containment system. I expected it to work well because the one for the last dog worked very well. We could not get this one to boot up. We hired a pro to reinstall the wire at the outside of the yard area where we want her to have room to roam. The pro was prompt and efficient, doing an effective job with that installation before the snow fell. But the next step was not working. We could not get the collar to connect, even after purchasing a new collar. We read FAQs and Troubleshooting tips. Nothing. Meanwhile, snowless training days were passing.

    So then, yesterday we put the collar on her thinking we finally have it working. I left the house for an appointment, but I quickly had to return for a mask that I forgot. I hit the garage door opener and came inside to a howling, yipping puppy because for some reason opening the garage door finally activated the collar. I did not expect that one. But then why would I? Then when I took her outside to train her, the shock was too strong after not working at all for days. More yelping. That poor dog. I still feel like a sadist. I awoke in the night feeling such remorse. I squirm when I even think about it.

    The settings are correct now and I will test it on my hand before I put it back on the dog. I don’t think I have a future in torturing anything.

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    1. Oh, poor little Phoebe! You didn’t mean to cause her pain. You’re just trying to keep her safe. All of our human stuff can be such a bother, stressful and frustrating for us, then it results in a shock to our beloved pets. You were doing the best for her to keep her safe. Hopefully all the bugs are worked out now and training will be safe and effective. She sounds a little rascally.

      I have been having the editing options show up now since I had to be invited back in by Renee then accepted back by WP. The screen for typing a comment has been changing a lot for me and looks a little different every day. WP is weird.

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  8. I feel your pain, VS. One of the downsides of our fast-paced, short attention span culture is lack of attention to detail, which leads to sacrificing quality for quantity–ex: doing a lot of something MUST be better than doing only a little (but doing it well).

    My experiences here in town is that the contractors generally do a quality job and don’t take twice as long as originally promised. That said, we’ve had more problems lately with appliance repairs than remodeling projects.


    Chris in Owatonna

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    1. and even though the project took twice, as long as my contractor originally stated, the reasons for that were not his fault. Three extra weeks messing around with the vanity issues and almost an entire week to deal with the tub issues. So I’m satisfied with his performance anyway. Not Home Depot, however.

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  9. My new kitchen countertops were finally completed last night. My expectations are really very low these days. Expect nothing and let yourself be pleasantly surprised!

    I started this project, and working with Mr. Jensen, in August. It was hot when I first invited him over to look at my kitchen and make his proposal. It was hot the day we met at Menards and I chose the color and style. It was hot when I went to Menards and bought the sink and faucet, expecting the hear from him soon. It’s really cold now. I don’t know exactly how many weeks have gone by. I’m glad it’s done. I’m happy with it. The new faucet doesn’t work like I expected it to, so I have adjusted my expectations and decided to get used to it. Remember our discussion about changing our habits? Well, I have to change a few habits that have become very automatic, like which cupboard door the garbage can is behind. I had to put it on the other side. If I’m not careful, a basket full of used coffee grounds and the filter could go on the bottom of the cabinet on the wrong side. I might try to block the other door closed somehow until I learn the correct side.

    This part of the project has caused me to get into trouble with the Association again. Mr. Jensen parked his truck and utility on the “finger street” in front of my condo. I’ve seen almost everybody do this once in awhile, including the president, who lives across the green space from me. Mr. Jensen was parked there Sunday from 8 until 11, then from noon until 2 ( five hours). I received an email that went out to the entire Association informing everyone that there is to be NO parking by any vehicle on the so-called finger streets. I chose to ignore it since I knew it really came from the passive-aggressive president across from me. Also, Mr. Jensen had to come back last night to finish the project. He was here last night from 5 until 8. During that time, several photos of his truck and trailer were taken by the bored, passive-aggressive president, and this morning I received a real nastygram, ostensibly from the association, informing me that I have been in violation of the rules on multiple occasions and that the next time it occurs I will be penalized and fined. Mr. Jensen’s truck and trailer will be towed at my expense.

    I wonder if my expectations of our HOA could be any lower. I’ve tried to expect almost nothing. It’s the price I pay for living across from a truly small-minded man who has nothing to do but pick on his neighbors.

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      1. Oh that’s funny! We’re not allowed to have trash cans outside either, but if I did there would be nowhere to build an adorable fence like that! Mr. Jensen won’t be back for awhile but this is really infuriating. I’ve seen that president do almost exactly the same thing.

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        1. I was thinking, if the president’s place is across from your deck, maybe you could fashion a festive holiday decoration with five faux candles.

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  11. Oooo, yeah, all sorts of editing buttons! But will it know it’s me??


    My shop project; I’m afraid to ask certain people to help because I know they’re much more finicky than me, and while I want it right, there comes a point it just has to get done one way or another. And I’ll hate looking at it for years to come, but. It is what it is and it ain’t what it ain’t. (And I don’t mean safety, I mean everything lined up and looking ‘professional’ vs. ‘Farmer amateur’ / Lumber hack).

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  12. A few weeks ago, our downstairs toilet started leaking and needed to be replaced. We think it’s the original toilet from when the house was built in 1889, so it has held up pretty well. Of course, parts of it have been replaced over the years.

    Fearful that this project would turn into a long and protracted process if Hans tackled it, I wanted to hire a plumber. An estimate for replacing some of the pipes from a local plumber came to $940.00, not including fixing the rotted floor, so Hans nixed that idea.

    It took longer than I expected because the sub-flooring adjacent to the toilet had to be ripped up and replaced. Fortunately we had sufficient quarry tiles in the basement to replace the ones that had to be removed.

    The new, modern toilet is higher than the old one, and uses less water to flush. We had that and an impressive assortment of tools sitting in the kitchen for a few days before the floor in the bathroom was ready. All told, it took seven days to be able to use the downstairs toilet.

    Last night I tallied up the total cost of the repairs, including the new Kohler toilet; it came to $650.00. From VS bathroom remodel saga above, I guess I was lucky.

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  13. I guess this new comment box, with all the fancy options, means we no longer have to do the <i>, etc. for italics…

    Back to today’s question – my best h.s. friend observed once that I often expected things to go well and was disappointed, while she had low expectations and was often pleasantly surprised. There was some truth to that, but I am also often pleasantly surprised…

    Still trying to think of a specific example.

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  14. I was hoping for great expectations when seeing the orthopedic surgeon regarding my ankle fracture. What I got was my worst case scenario. I am having surgery on the 6th and will have no weight bearing for 6 weeks. Then I transition to a boot for 3 weeks or so. Because it’s my right ankle, I can’t drive for a while. Unfortunately this is my busiest time of the year for music stuff. There are some friends/family who are willing to help out with chauffeur duties. I now have a knee scooter which is a boon for mobility. After the 15th things calm down considerably and I can sit at home for the most part. I have an international trip coming up February 11th, about 11 weeks away and right at the time I can transition to just wearing a shoe. Guess I need to be on my best “patient” behavior, follow medical instructions, and try to be ready for the trip. UGH!!!

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    1. Oh man, that’s tough, K-Two. Best of luck.

      If memory serves, your upcoming trip is also in iffy for some other reason? Is that so?

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      1. The trip is to the United Arab Emirates and Oman. The conflict in Gaza might require the tour company to cancel if things get worse. But if the company doesn’t cancel, we plan to go. I might need to keep the walking boot on for the trip or perhaps take a walking stick/cane.

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      1. I have the rest of this week and next week covered but will certainly add you to the chauffeur list. There is still the week of the 10th to cover – that’s concert week! Thank you so much for offering your services – much appreciated!

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  16. WordPress is going through all kinds of contortions today – a while ago there was only a narrow strip under Leave A Reply, that wouldn’t let me reply. Now it’s back to my “new normal”, without all the editing options.

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