Thursday, November 21, 2013

The Tale of My Bathroom

So this is the Tale of My Bathroom.

 Let me first say that I am not the pickiest person, when it comes to housing. Is it in a decent neighborhood? Is the ceiling going to cave in? My apartment building was built in the 1920s, so we are going on 90+ years here. I don't expect perfect, and I like quirky most of the time. My floors squeak when my 12 lb dog walks on them. My kitchen cabinets don't close because of all the paint. My one drawer is painted a different color from the rest. Does it have significant space for my gnomes? :) I need a shower curtain on both sides of the shower...I actually repaired WHERE the shower curtain should be.

I will begin with last November. For months I had been telling my landlord that the bathroom was moldy on the ceiling and not functioning properly.

One day I came home and it was raining in my shower...so I called the landlord.

LL: Did the upstairs neighbor just take a shower? Did you ask him?
Me: Um, I don't know.
LL: Does he maybe have the window open in the bathroom?
Me: It's not raining...

He doesn't send anyone out to see to it. Just like every time I make a call to him, he ignores it. Like it is going to magically disappear. So by November I am tired of this BS that I write him a letter and include pictures of the mold and disgusting and ended it with a note about sending a copy to the city. This finally got his attention. Suddenly he was calling and saying "oh I was waiting on the plumber to come over there tomorrow." Right...

This began the "Two to three day" repairs...12 days later I was back in my apartment. Supposedly it would take two or three days, so I packed up and went to my parents. Well after 2 days, I called in to check up on the progress. "Oh tomorrow it'll be ready."  He didn't even know. I went back after work on the third day; yeah there was nothing done. My bathroom had been ripped to shreds, but nothing was ready.

By day ten, I was homicidal. Each day I checked in after work. Never seeing much progress. Finally we got to the point where we were waiting for the plaster guy, so I was home one evening...too old to be at my parents all the time...

I introduce to the plaster and paint guy. I am on the couch watching television, while he is supposed to be working in the bathroom. Truck has Gothic font and the world "alchemy" involved, if that tells you anything.

PG: Are you into Norse mythology?
Me: Um, not really.
PG: Ah, cuz if you were I'd show you my Thor's hammer tattoo.

I must have looked like a deer in headlights as he wandered back into my bathroom. WTF do you say to that?!

After all that, LL did not repair the floor or ceiling...and did not replace the faucet.  And he had the wall open, but did not just put the shower into the wall. Still the same diverter (or however you spell that), which always had shot water down into the tub.

Fast forward to this week. A couple of months ago, the kitchen sink stopped having water come out. "Something must have broke out in the pipe." Oh that is specialSo when the same thing happened on Sunday in the shower, I called the LL. On Monday morning, my landlord sent his brother over to take care of it. When I got home, the showerhead that I bought was gone. Got a new spout/diverter out of the deal. So I called the LL.

Me: So any reason you took my showerhead.
LL: It was too corroded.
Me: I bought it and put it on in August, since the old one was shooting into the ceiling and over the curtain.
LL: Oh it must of had something to stuck in it from the pipe. Do you want me to have him bring it back?
Me: (very obviously) Well, if you say it is no good. No!

I head off to Target after work the next day. New GOOD showerhead. Sweet! Time to clean the shower on yesterday. Better clean up the bathroom. Scrub tub and shower...what's that?! Faucet is broken and water won't shut off. Call in the reinforcements. Papa. "You've got a screwdriver and a pliers?" I turn off the water as best I can. Call LL at 4:05...no answer and leave message. Call LL at 5:25 no answer and leave message. All the time water is poured out. At 6:10 call LL's brother. Oh it is Poker night. He goes over there at 5:30. A-hole didn't bother to call me back

Brother comes over while I am on my BIRTHDAY dinner to turn off water. (Yes, I am that old that I would clean my bathroom on my birthday.) He cannot call me back?! Take care of his property! Brother can only turn off hot water to our half of the building.

So this morning I get a bucket of hot water out of the laundry tub and "showered" in this tub.

Today I come back to new faucet...but now the diverter shoot water out to the ceiling like a geyser! WTF! It worked yesterday.

I give up! Three calls for fixes in one week is too many for me. I duct taped the shit out of that diverter! What?! I cannot see without my glasses, so eff it!

Moral of the story. Do NOT rent from Dan Debe! I cannot wait for next August when lease is up.

On the wishlist for the new bathroom in new apt.

1. Fan in bathroom-no mold
2. A MAXIMUM of 1 curtain needed
3. Matching paint...everywhere
4. Cabinets that close
5. Electric outlets that the plugs don't fall out
6. Trustworthy lighting

But anyway I am out going to bide my time and get a perfect place either here in MPLS or someplace warm, since it is snowing tonight. :)


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