The Money Pit

I love my house, I really do. I love that it gives us all our own space, but we don't get lost in it. I love the street it is on, and some of the neighbors. I love that I have a basement again. I love the rose garden that came with the house even if I had no idea how to take care of roses the day we closed. I love that I could live here for the rest of my life. Well, once I get a Lush worthy tub and the kitchen is redone.

But, for goodness sake, I hate this house! No, really I love it.

We moved here in September of 06. We bought the house for the location and layout, not for the lovely blue carpeting all over including the kitchen. Oh yes, they had carpeting in the kitchen. With stains and spot and I'm sure little crawly things making their homes in the depths of it. It took about 6 weeks after we closed before we could move in here. We were removing the carpeting, the cigarette tar stained wall paper (30 years of chain smoking in this place and the walls were crying for a cleaning), and the ancient appliances. And then we sanded the existing hardwood in rooms that had it, put it down in rooms that didn't, put ceiling fans (yes, ceiling fans- Trading Spaces will NEVER come here) and light fixtures upstairs then we gave the house a head to toe paint job. It sounds like we're really handy, doesn't it? Well, we're not. We had it all done. And it still took professionals six weeks to get this place in order.

Let's look at some before pictures:

Do they scream old people who have lived here for 30 years?


Our first major problem was using the inspector that our realtor suggested. The wall paper removers/painters used the shower stall in the master bath to dump some of the dirty water down the drain. All of a sudden, we had a huge wet spot on the kitchen ceiling. One of the workers that were here realized that the shower stall was full of cracks. It probably hadn't been used in years. Why didn't the inspector find this?

Let's look at the lovely shower:

Mmm, love that grime.

And the problem it caused:

It was fixed. Those pictures come at a later date. We moved in. We were happy. We had a list of things we'd still like to do like my dream kitchen and Lush worthy tub, but nothing pressing.

Until our first flood.

TheOldest and TheMiddleChild were playing in the basement. They came up stairs soaking wet. Immediately I thought they got into something, but no, we had standing water in their playroom. Ignore the toys.

See my foot prints in the last picture? I have some pretty feet, don't I?

This was at the beginning of the flood. By the end of it, there was wall to wall calf length water. The sump pump failed.

A month later, the new sump pump failed again. Thanks to LushMan though, we didn't have the flooding like before. He actually was able to replace it himself- at 3am. I was very impressed, though I'd never tell him. (Here’s hoping he doesn't read this post. He does read occasionally from work when he really should be making us some more money to pay for all these issues.)

Our next water issue was the hot water heater. It was leaking. In the same basement of the Big Floor of 2006. We had a new one put in.

See a trend here? This house does not like water. Or it likes it too much that it wants it all the time. The next problem was the water tap outside would not shut off. We had to have a plumber come fix it.

Our most recent water issue, and not the most recent issue was that the cold water tap in the half bath froze. Yes, it was cold here, very cold, but it started running again at three in the morning when it was coldest. Explain that one.

That's it for the water issues- right now at least.

Last winter, during a very cold month, we got hit with a gas bill of over a thousand dollars. Apparently we had no insulation in the attic. So, we had to have some blown in.

Then this past summer, being big, hot and pregnant, I called the window company because one of the windows in our bedroom would fall out as soon as you open it. The windows, purchased by the previous owners, were under a lifetime guarantee. The company came out and the previous owners had replaced all of the windows in the house aside from three of them. And yes, the one we had problems with was one of the three.

I'm finally at our latest issue. All of the previous problems happened within a year and a half of living here.

Yesterday, all three girls were in the van ready to go to TheOldest's therapy. I open the garage door. At least I think I do. The opener goes and goes and goes. But doesn't open. Out of the van we all go again. LushMan says we need a new opener if not a new track for the door. All I have to say about that one is thank god I didn't have this problem between dropping the girls off at school and picking them up.

So, what will be our next unexpected drain on the finances? Whatever it is does not make me happy. With each one, my dream kitchen and Lush bathroom get further and further away.