esrosedotblog

We are waiting for the garage door guy to come back with a new closer.

It refused to work earlier today. So we called what looked like a good place in the internet lisings. Random.

We are lousy at this part of any project.

Waiting and wanting and looking and thinking. A song idea?

He said that the innards had stripped out and we could have a chain or a rubber belt so we chose the noisier but stronger chain. That sent him back to the shop.

I am waiting dinner but not really. It is 1715 hours and we don't usually eat for another 20 minutes.

The key is not to get on each other about it. Should we? Shouldn't we? What is our obligation? And so on.

One thing is sure, we can't fix it.

The garage door is openable by hand. It is not too bad to do this so the car will have a "bedroom" tonight, one way or another.

He got done. What a charming guy. An Israeli married to an American, has a green card.

He has to keep his nose clean for three years and then he can start the process. I will vote for him!

Labels: repairs

The Volvo is still acting up.

So I stayed home from a regular Meeting and called in to the service. I will take it in tomorrow morning. I have reserved a ride home from the dealer.

It burbles during the start process. There were some signs of this all the way back to my trip to San Diego. We figured it was something I was doing wrong with the switch or the brake or something. It did go away. But not forever. It is back.

It is not too troubling. I will take it one step at a time. I do know that it will work out. Just not according to my schedule but then that is most of life, isn't it?

Gotta learn to ride the waves.

Labels: repairs, Volvo

HAIR CONDITIONING

Busy day today.

No movie.

The AC guy came for his semi annual cleaning and maintenance.

We found that the inside unit is 1999, 14 years old. But the condenser is fine at 7 years old, 2006.

I never looked or asked before.

It is a painless operation. He comes in with his gauges and shit and tests and runs around and takes an hour. Changes the filters. In this house only one filter.

In the former place we had an AC standard and a heat pump for the other half of the house. It was a formidable maintenance run. Not so here.

Everything is easy in a condo.

The afternoon was devoted to getting ready for, having and coming down from a haircut.

More maintenance of a different kind.

In the old days I buzzed myself short. Then a friend, who is the premier hair salon in town, wheedled me into his chair and the decision to get long hair.

This time is/was the longest I have had the hair since I had a ponytail.

He trimmed it out some so that it is more manageable in back.

I had a good time but it is a trial for me to let someone else do the work and sit back.

I pretty much trust him now and even let him do my eyebrows.

A letting-go exercise from the get go.

Those two things shoot the day. Back to normal tomorrow.

I slick back my hair with no part. Pretty simple.

But this video makes it a big project. Like this guy really wants it with no part but the chick keeps messing with it.

I have no reason to show this other than that I do about the same, no chick, and the guy is triple hot. Look at that smile.

HE wants to get out of that chair and go let his boyfriend smooth it back for him. But he had promised her he would be the model for her video and here he is. Looking like this is something he needs help to do.

Labels: hair, repairs

HEAT

The AC went out last night. It felt warm, I went and looked. It was 83F.

Oh oh.

I called in right away. Of course they are not open but there is an emergency line. There is a guy works Sunday and we were first on his list.

Some kind of circuit gizmo had burnt out.

Done and done in an hour.

It wasn't bad sleeping without the air. It went off at the end of a cooled day but today, no buffer.

We had gone through the options if it did not get fixed. Rent a motel room. That kind of thing. Motel 6 takes dogs.

But it is fixed now and life is good.

Well, it was good before the AC was fixed but now it is better.

Labels: condo, repairs

THE BEST SEAT IN THE HOUSE

Toilet seats again. These didn't last two years. From Tru-Value.

The little bumpers were hollow and shattered slowly. When we got them there were also some blemishes in the finish.

So onto Lowe's on line. Filter the best, the wood, the elongated and we came up with Kohler or Church.

We chose Church. "The best seat in the house".

And they are. The bumpers are solid. The attaching hardware is totally minimal. Easy to clean. And the seat. Well, "the best".

Two things out of this. Value is not value very often.

Second, you can shop on line before going to the store to select what you want. This instead of being at the influence of a store employee of dubious objectivity.

Another thing. This is funny. I went to a site which told "how to pick a toilet seat". They said the most important part was to test sitting on it. Huh? Hard to do on line or in the store. But it makes sense.

Anyway we did the test after John installed them. Very good for long reading sessions. Or short.

Labels: condo, rehab, repairs

BURN OUT

The air conditioning stopped working late yesterday.

Fortunately the contractor with whom we have a service agreement still had technicians out on the road and a guy was here by 630PM.

I left him to it and took Booker for his short hot weather night walk. When I came back it was running.

The service guy went through the routine and found that the compressor had kicked out either from overheating or an electrical surge.

He poured some water on the compressor to cool it off and reset it. So far so good.

I found out today that there have been a lot of power surges in the desert and that could be the reason. One of my workout friends is an AC guy.

There is no definitive answer. If it goes out again they will have to delve more deeply.

In the meantime, it has been working very well today.

Labels: condo, home, repairs

NO SHOW

The expected frost didn't show last night. It was easily over five degrees warmer than expected. Maybe more. Clouds came in to reduce radiational cooling and the front bringing the colder air got in early so that it's warmer side started in before dawn.

I was ready though.

Our water pipes are across the roof. They got there when former owners had to abandon the in-slab piping that leaked. A second rate solution but the only economically feasible one.

I have had frozen pipes two or three times. Once with major replacement. Slush a few more. The thing is to keep the water flowing.

I would just have stayed home from the gym so I could go run some water in the back bathroom, the only vulnerable place, every 15 minutes or so.

Labels: repairs, weather

SETTING SUN

We had the annual fix of the solar pool heater the other day.

Lots of leaks and there is still one more. He will have to come back.

They used the opportunity to tell me that the system needs an upgrade. They have a better panel.

What upgrade means is replacement. 4500 dollars with a generous discount.

This one has been up there for 8 years or more. The summers kill the plastic and now the nylon. UV and heat. Sooner or later the calcium in the water will get to the system's interior.

It is inevitable that the panel will dim out and eventually not really do the job.

For now, we are staying with patching the holes and if the system goes down, so be it.

I suppose at some point the patches will cost too much or they will not do the job.

That is OK too.

We don't much use the pool when the air is cool and the heater is heating. Guests often don't know the difference. They are used to eastern temperatures.

I still have the pool cover. That gets us ten degrees and more if we leave it on during the days for a while.

Bottom line. Everything wears out including me and, sooner or later, you can't replace or fix it all. Some stuff will have to go. You can include me in that too. But not yet. I will outlast the solar system.

Labels: repairs

PRICE DOES NOT MATTER

Today, we proved, once again, that the cost of a kitchen faucet, single handle, is no indicator of quality or utility.

The hyper expensive "life-time" one we bought last year snapped at the neck.

Call Roto-rooter. Go get a new faucet. They are hardly available. No one is carrying inventory of anything.

Now the guy comes back to fix it.

An easy 400 bucks shot to hell.

We just got the basic fixture this time. The Moen Model87316W.

If it is going to break in a year anyhow, why bother with the most expensive? Not that 180.00 is cheap by any means.

Labels: repairs

WATERWORKS

You wouldn't think that water bearing devices would be a big problem in the desert but you would be wrong.

We have sprinklers to save and disperse water. No rain. We have pools to jump into. Heat. We have solar heating for the pools. Saving electricity we pour into the pool pumps.

These devices, valves and pipes and sprinkler heads, all get worn out, uv-rayed out or clogged with the high calcium water they convey.

This week's valve was on the rose garden system which is right next to the foundation next to our walkin closet.

On Monday we got water in the closet. The valve to the sprinkler system broke in the open position and watered the roses for a few hours. Good we got to it in time. Good it didn't happen while we were away in Las Vegas.

The valves can be operated manually even if the diaphragm has bust, so I have been able to water the roses but it is a pain in the ass.

The gardener is on the way to fixing it but it takes awhile. It is not an emergency and he and I both know it.

So, I will water by hand for another day.

The other big water system with pipes and pumps and saline lines and automatic controls is the pool system. Just a big sprinkler actually.

Sometime early in the week, the impeller in the pool pump quit and when we got back from Las Vegas, we noticed a bit of scum on the top of the pool. The pool man did, actually. We sort of sensed it but I didn't run it down.

Today the repair guy is fixing it.

A few hundred dollars. I hope.

It will be fixed this afternoon.

I am not complaining. I never had a pool before so some of this is ignorance. I had no fucking idea of how much it would cost to have one. Naive me.

But at the end of a walk or the end of the day or just whenever I want to get wet, there it is. And it is great to look at.

Early this morning it proved to be a wild life attraction. We had raccoons!

Just as I got up.

Booker loved it!

I think that he is now very happy. Wild life to chase.

So far there had only been lizards, but now, raccoons.

We will keep him far away from these little monsters. Especially a mom and her cubs. Vicious. And nasty too. Also mean. Lethal. Have I made my point?

Labels: repairs

TILED OUT

The tile guy is here. A friend who is a pro.

He has done the worst part already. Sawing/grinding the grout out and recovering the existing tiles.

Dust. But not as much as I expected.

This afternoon he will put the tile back down.

He thinks the reason we are getting this rising up of tiles is that they were not put down very well. Not a lot of cement or whatever on the bottom.

We know that everything shifts in the house's structure. There are constant itty-bitty earthquakes and such. The tiles are squeezed and rise up. So now we are paying the price for the original negligence.

We will sleep in the guest room tonight so that 'someone' doesn't walk on the newly glued tiles.

'Someone' isn't too happy with the arrangements.

We have gone to the room several times to inspect. We put his bed in the guest room and he took his regular nap with me. Now, I have brought it out to the kitchen so that he can be with me.

Things will be back to normal tomorrow night.

Between the rain and the dislocation it is an unsettling day for the dog and his companions.

We would treat it as a vacation trip! But it is raining.

Labels: repairs

IGNITER

Got the baking function back on the stove today.

It was the igniter.

They are pretty simple, stoves.

There is a pipe with the gas, there is an electrical line. The two meet at the igniter. The igniter glows and hums. When it gets hot enough, the gas ignites in a long pipe with holes in it.

There is a fan shaped piece that goes over the burning gas to diffuse the heat.

Voila!

Pumpkin pie!

Well, it would have been pumpkin pie if the igniter hadn't gone out the day before Thanksgiving.

This is one of those things you (not me) could fix yourself if you knew how to do it. Like a lot of things. You take out two screws and remove the igniter and put in a new one.

Of course, the old one sticks in place because it is rusted. You have to know that soap liquid will ease it out.

Then you have to know to turn off the electric before you unplug and replug it. Shit like that.

I like the repair guys. There are four of them. Same company. They all do everything. They apprentice to get their grade.

He says there is seldom anything he can't fix.

We finally got this company when we had all the drier trouble. They had to work from the manual on line but they got it right.

They are also amusing. Lots of anecdotes.

I can't remember a one though.

I guess they are only amusing if you are standing there watching them work. It keeps you out of the way.

This whole thing took about 15 minutes. Amazing. Efficient.

Labels: appliances, repairman humor, repairs

REPAIR CYCLE

We have four bikes and they all need service.

Some more than others.

They stay out in the weather and the weather here is very bad for tires.

I have to get them all ready for guests in October. I know it is a little early but that is my thing. Get it done now even if it doesn't have to be done 'now'.

So, I am on a one-bike-at-a-time plan. The first one went in today.

A hundred bucks for the full deal including 'slime' in the tires. It slows leaks.

When I bought these bikes they promised lifetime tuneups. The lifetime is still in effect but the tune up now costs 20 bucks. There was a change in ownership and the records 'got lost'. Uh huh.

They are all old fashioned Schwinns incidentally. The kind with a coaster brake. No gears. Great bikes. Great ride.

Labels: repairs

SHADY

As the wedding approaches, we are giving some hard looks at how we look out back. Neat and orderly or messy and in need of fixing?

We decided a couple of weeks ago to replace the eleven year old sun shades across the back sliders. They were all soft with use and beginning to have horizontal rents that would soon be tears. They wouldn't last another year.

Those are now in.

Same color. Same size. These are more anchored. Down at the little corners.

You have to unbuckle them to get out. Or in.

I wonder who will be the first one to go through the shade. They won't rip down. He will bounce off.

My money is on Franklin. But maybe not. He didn't like going under them when they were loose at the corner.As in all 'improvements', this one has led to another new one. We are also getting suncloth shades for the skylights. They will be like a big bag. Drawstring.

I wonder who is going to put them up and take them down.

But they are needed. The heat load of the skylight is pretty high. It is too late to save the faded rug. But it was old anyway.

Labels: repairs, wedding

ROTO ROOTER

The last time I wrote about my positive plumbing experience with the Rooters, I got a 'comment' from someone who had had a horrible experience.

Not to put any more spin to it but I had them come today to replace a ball cock in the guest toilet.

The old one had a split tube.

The guy came and diagnosed and fixed all in about 3/4 of an hour.

I tried to make him wrong but he was so sweet and thoughtful I couldn't do it.

I am a RR fan. No doubt.

Labels: repairs

WALLED IN

I haven't written about the wall.

The project finally got started on Monday.

We had to tear down and rebuild about 30 feet of outside block wall. A tree was pushing it over.

So the new wall has a V-shaped opening for the tree.

Can't fight mother nature.

This is one of those projects that will end up looking like we did nothing. Except for the V of course.

The crew is good.

They are well managed and they were ahead of schedule the first day.

This is the second day and they have the full wall built and mudded.

The actual stucco will be applied tomorrow.

Then it gets painted, the tiles that border the top of the wall get applied, and--well I don't know what else.

We are getting some other wall sections stabilized with epoxy in cracks that have formed over the years. Some repainting. Not much.

It is still a mess.

I don't like having people in the yard.

It is OK.

It will be done by Friday.

These guys even work on the holiday!

It has been very hot. They start at 6AM and end about 2PM.

For a good part of the work day they are in some shade. You would be surprised what a huge difference that makes in the desert.

The air is so dry that while it is hot (and very hot in the sun) the lack of humidity is a huge relief from discomfort.

Still, they are working. They are doing quite well. We are supportive.

We got a good contractor. More bucks but extraordinarily attentive.

Labels: repairs

HANDYMEN

We seem to have emerged from ice-maker hell.

The guy came for his third visit and did the whole deal (still bitching all along about how the water line wasn't right—not his territory).

I think that, fundamentally, he is an asshole and we will not have him back again.

Alex.

I am loathe to complain at this point beyond that.

I vote with my feet.

He apparently did a good job though. He retubed the whole thing, put in a new valve. Like that.

It is making ice.

It was disappointing because I had so liked this appliance service company.

If I have this problem again, my dentist told me about another outfit here in the valley.

Handymen are another problem.

We have various small chores around here which we are not up to either physically or from expertise.

You cannot get anyone to come and take care of them. Not big enough or they attract the ne'er do-well to this type of job.

My father-in-law called them 'hatchet carpenters'.

I have been aware of franchised handyman businesses that have all the bells and whistles; licenses, liability insurance, guarantees, reasonable rates. That kind of thing.

So, we got to one through an on-line clearing house. Yet another level of insurance and assurance.

It is a branch of an outfit called Handyman Matters.

We needed someone to seal the skylights over the living room.

So I put in a call.

The guy called right back and we had a man here the next morning; prompt at 8AM.

Prompt is a big thing with us. Remember the mason we fired the day he didn't show at the appointed time?

And, as far as we can tell, he did the job very nicely. It was a bit complicated and he was not cowed by it.

So we will call them for other small stuff.

Labels: appliances, repairs

THE MIDDLE CIRCLE OF HELL

So the ice maker was acting up again—frozen line—and we had the guy come out (a new one) and he gave a bogus diagnosis as the line froze up again 24 hours after he was here.

I told him that the first guy had said it was possibly the water valve but that he would try his fix and see what happened.

Well, what happened, happened after the warranty period for the first job.

I suppose this is hard to follow. I am having trouble with it myself.

The second guy came back again, 6 days later, and pulled the refrigerator out and freaked at the plastic line that was running to the existing valve. This would not do.

He played the 'doesn't meet code' card.

I am getting tired of this guy.

He wants a new 'proper' mesh line and he can't do it; he is not a plumber.

Neither am I.

So I called our new plumber, Roto Rooter, who comes in and hour which they did.

The plumber said that the line going to the valve was fine. Not a problem with code and the plastic lasts forever.

Battle of the fixit men.

Anyway, we had the mesh line put in (using a piece of the old plastic line) and we will have the new fresh connection ready when the service guy returns tomorrow to install the new ice maker water valve.

My tendency is to argue these points. That would have us stuck.

This is why rehab projects take so long. One thing depends on the other and one repairman's view differs from the other and they never, ever, talk to each other.

We had this big time when the air conditioning guys messed with the roof surface while the roofing guys were installing our new roof.

They were up there almost grappling with one another until I negotiated.

I think that my chain is getting pulled by the appliance service guy and I don't like his arbitrary style.

We will get the job done and then when and if I have to call them again, I will ask that I not get this particular guy.

Unless he is the only one available.

Then I will grin and bear it.

Labels: appliances, repairs

WALLED OUT

We had planned to replace a section of our perimeter wall today. It is being levered up by the roots of a palm tree just on the other side.

We chose a guy who was reccomended by a friend and he seemed competent enough. But a series of 'administrative' lapses got us bothered.

We were 'in line to be done' and were waiting for a number of weeks when he called last Wednesday and wanted to come the next day.

We said that we were going away for the weekend and didn't want the wall open while we were gone.

He wasn't too happy about that but agreed to start between 8-9 this morning.

After a no show by 10, we pulled the plug.

He wasn't happy about that either. But, we didn't spend too much time in debriefing or getting and giving feedback as managers are supposed to do.

Mostly we said 'goodbye and thanks'.

Click.

I think that he will come to realize that he is as well off rid of us as we are rid of him. We would be nagging and whining creatures all worried about progress and dates and things like showing up.

Now, we have to find another contractor.

Oh well.

Labels: repairs

BLOCK OF ICE

We had to call in the refrigerator people to fix the ice maker.

Suddenly, last Thursday, there were no cubes tumbling out of the machine.

I considered pulling the refrigerator out to look at the little tube running from the cold water line but just couldn't do it.

Actually, when the service guy came, the first thing he did was try the water spigot right next to the ice spout.

Shit. Why didn't I think of that?

So. No water supply problem.

We never did pull the refrigerator out.

This guy was like a surgeon taking the machine apart. He even had a large version of the dentists mirror (a dental surgeon of course) to peer into the interior.

He diagnosed a faulty water valve or a frozen delivery line.

He checked the line first. Voila! Ice.

Did we have any water shutoffs recently?

Yes, over three weeks ago.

Did we shut the ice cube machine off first?

No we did not.

Aha!

We should have!

I never knew that.

So he just let the machine go with an un-iced line and if that doesn't work we will get the valve.

We already have about 3 dozen ice cubes.

I guess it was just blocked.

I swear, if I live long enough, I will know everything I need to know like when to shut the ice machine off.

And just at the moment I know it all, poof! I will have my ticket punched.

I told the guy that.

He said 'think of me'. I spend my whole life learning how to be a perfect repairman; practice makes perfect. I learn more every week. Just when I have it all together, it will be time to retire.

And so on.

Badinage with the repairman to keep things moving along happily.

This 'experience' and 'wisdom' cost me 65.00. He didn't charge any more than the basic 'come to you' fee.

Nice.

Labels: ice, repairman humor, repairs, wisdom