Our home seems to be
inhabited by water sprites. It’s a ranch style house with a carpeted walkout
basement that has been flooded more times than I can count. We are on our third
water heater, for instance, which have dumped their contents with every fail. And
those are just the biggest incidents.
One thing I’ve learned as a
result is that cellars are best left uncarpeted. Also, on another note, do not
let a shower faucet sit unused for too long. Both ongoing little lessons have
been expensive, let me tell you.
I should have known that
unused plumbing would freeze up from watching those shows on hoarding, in which
so many troubled individuals have an unusable bathroom. I guess it never occurred
to me why that happened.
So now, every time I change
the cat litter (new bags of which are stored in the bathtub we never use), I turn
on the faucet for a moment. Hopefully that will prevent it freezing up again.
Also, did you know that unsealed
brick will leak? Yeah, that was another new one. We ended up with black mold
downstairs from seeping walls beneath the fireplace, of all things.
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| A Work in Progress |
What kind of structure is
your home?
Funny you should ask that question...I have told folks for yrs that my home was put together with toothpicks cause finding a stud in this house is a joke!! And you know me, with my building and tools I have had reasons to look for that stud! Which on another note I am still looking for my male stud too!! :) .. Anyway, my home is a two story, wood siding home. When I say wood I say that with my teeth gritting together. It is a pressed fiberboard home. In other words, left over pieces of small wood pressed together and a waxy like subtance (glue I guess) holding it all together. Over time that waxy crap bleeds out leaving spots on the wood. About 10 yrs ago I had the house washed with bleached, primed and painted. That stopped the bleeding but with this fiberboard crap and me living on a creek the moisture does a number on the wood. Still trying to have someone come out that is willing to replace some of this wood. With luck, my house sits on a brick foundation with a ground crawl space under it. When Nashville flooded that brick foundation is the only thing that saved me from flooding. HAHA....guessing this is really more info then you wanted! Oh...and its a zero lot line home. Now...sorry for your problems. Water can cause a lot of damage. Hoping you had that black mold issue taking care of! you have right????
ReplyDeleteI always enjoy when you share details. ~hugs~ Sorry for your problems. We seem to have ours under control. Best wishes, my dear.
DeleteAh....you are so sweet. You know if you own a home it is always something going on. I have been here 26 yrs. Paid off in 24 so its MINE! I have replaced the hot water heater twice, the air unit twice once right after moving in and put in a used unit that lasted 17 yrs. Replaced both toliets, replaced counter tops in both BRs also. ...painted...haha know telling how many times. Replaced floors, redone stairs twice, built the built in shelving unit on the stairs. Had outside painted twice, replacement windows, and had the deck screened. Course when you own you can make changes like some of this wheneverr you want to! Ok...there I go again....mouth, mouth, mouth, always running!
DeleteI live in California so we don't have cellars. I'm happy about that. It would be storage if I had one. Oh wait, I haven't a clue what it would be since I've never had one in my 66 years. Stucco is what our house is on the outside. No brick. We don't have the weather that many places have and I'm happy about that.
ReplyDeleteHave a fabulous day. ♥
Don't some parts of CA allow for basements? I never thought about it. ~grin~ Glad you're happy with your home. Be well, my dear!
DeleteMy son lives outside of San Diego and they have a basement (I guess that is what it would be called) under the house. The house is a 1928 home and back then they probably did not have a washer so this is where the washer and dryer is now. You have to go out the kitchen, onto the deck, down the stairs, around to the other end of the house and through the opening. It is not finished off, just dirt (except the washer and dryer sat on a concrete slab)....No door. You know it was a space used when folks started getting washers. I would never get laundry done like that.
DeleteFascinating! I'm with you. ~grin~ Our stupid cellar stairs are wicked steep, though, which will become a problem before long I'm sorry to predict. Be well!
DeleteYikes, what a mess. Have you thought about trying a tankless water heater? At least then it won't dump water everywhere when it fails. (Well, hopefully.)
ReplyDeleteThanks for the tip. I think our hard water deposits decided us against it years ago. But you're very kind. And knowing this house, it would somehow dump anyway. Ha! Be well, my dear.
DeleteThe joys of home ownership. We have a small house, not sure what style it is, but it was built in 1947.
ReplyDeleteOoh. Interesting! I hope it treats you well. ~grin~ thank you for making me smile on a regular basis.
DeleteI am not sure what my house is! It isn't a ranch, I lived in those in CA. It is small, very small, 960 sq. feet with 3 bedrooms, but doesn't feel that way since the living/eating/kitchen is all open area. It's wood, with carpet over hardwood floors. It was built in 1962, which I like if only for the fact they built with real wood! The kitchen cabinets are real wood! I have no basement. I have no garage. The water heater is in the carport shed. It did go bad once, so that's a good place for it! On the other hand, the washer and drier are in the bathroom. It's actually very convenient. In CA our house was stucco, that cracks and breaks off in earthquakes! I moved to OR in 2011, CA too expensive. I'm getting it fixed up just the way I like it, it's my first ever house I've owned. Always rented before, and I'm 60!
ReplyDeleteWow! Your home sounds awesome, really. Be well, my dear, and Happy Gardening!
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