The Money Pit
by Scott Hardie on January 14, 2025
Nobody's falling off of staircases or dropping bathtubs through the floor, but this month, our house has had a lot of things go wrong at once. It feels like every day brings another visit from a contractor. Here's our list so far:
Mold remediation: A patch of black mold in the primary bathroom meant having the shower tiles stripped out and the infected drywall removed. Now we're waiting on some air-quality tests before the restoration can begin, and we're making do with one cramped bathroom in the front of the house. This project has also meant weeks of respiratory problems for both Kelly and me, but thankfully they seem to be behind us now.
Foundation repair: Cracks in our outer wall revealed that the extension on the back of the house is slowly sinking into the ground. A team is going to dig up the yard to install beams and inject stabilizer to prop it up. They're also going to extend our gutter downspouts away from the house, since we had to do...
Gutter installation: The cause of the sinking was determined to be years of Florida rain eroding the ground under the house, since most of the house lacks any gutters. It took two visits but they're finally installed all the way around now.
Chimney cap replacement: Hurricane Milton tore it off of our roof. It took time to find a reliable repair company but it looks like the overdue work is finally going to happen.
Door repair: A broken handle here. A broken pneumatic closer there. Frayed weatherstripping. If I were handier I'd fix them myself, but a single handyman visit has taken care of them.
Furniture replacement: Our dining chairs have been slowly coming apart for years, and now the legs are falling off. The patio furniture left behind by the original owners has not done well after eight years in the sun. We ordered replacements and are eager to receive them in a few days.
Air conditioning repair: Thank goodness it's January when we don't really need it and not July. Thank goodness, too, for our existing maintenance contract covering this.
And the month's not yet half over! I'm not thrilled about the cost of the above, even with insurance probably covering part of it, but mostly I'm just tired of spending so much time on this. Still, it's good to be able to breathe again on this side of the mold remediation, and I'm glad that the problems were caught before they could get any worse. Here's hoping that February is quieter.
Two Replies to The Money Pit
Scott Hardie | March 9, 2025
I wish I could say that much has happened in the meantime, but we're still waiting. The chimney cap repair is currently scheduled for tomorrow after being delayed twice, but morning showers are in the forecast and I won't be surprised if the company delays again. The foundation work begins later this week, and the downspout extensions are scheduled for next week. The bathroom renovation has yet to start -- in fact, we have yet even to sign a contract! The company has taken agonizingly long to answer simple questions, and Kelly and I are getting very, very tired of sharing one cramped bathroom, especially since we've had several overnight guests recently. We're currently waiting for them to deliver us a final contract to sign after months of slow back-and-forth. We chose this company because they're a national brand who we thought would be less risky than a local mom-and-pop, but apparently we placed the wrong bet.
Logical Operator
The creator of Funeratic, Scott Hardie, blogs about running this site, losing weight, and other passions including his wife Kelly, his friends, movies, gaming, and Florida. Read more »
Going Green
This thing might turn out to be as short-lived as my other two attempts at a personal blog, but damn it if I haven't craved having such an outlet for the better part of a year now. It seems like a week doesn't go by that I don't have some little adventure to turn into an anecdote or a frustration to rant about. My idle thoughts are as pointless as anybody else's, I realize, but that's what the Internet is for (besides porn). Go »The Honeymoon
After our wedding, it was time for Kelly and I to enjoy our honeymoon: Ten days in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and the coastline between them. We (really I, with Kelly's signoff) spent weeks researching and scheduling to pull it off, and the effort was definitely worth it, as we had ten days of bliss. We rode new rides at Disneyland, toured a movie studio and historic ship, saw whales and dolphins up close, ate lunch atop a mountain, hiked among the redwoods, explored Chinatown and Alcatraz, and along the way ate some amazing food. Go »Fantastic
The 20th Century Fox sequel "Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer" debuted as the No. 1 weekend flick with $57.4 million in sales, slightly surpassing the $56.1 Go »Illinois-a Will Destroy Ya
Today, I was asked to jot down some memories of living in Illinois. I thought about a topic and wrote: Some of what I miss most about Illinois is the delicious, filling food. Loose meat sandwiches at the Maid-Rite in Peru, chocolate shakes at the Steak ‘n Shake in Normal, deep-dish pizza at Pequod’s in Lincoln Park, monte cristo sandwiches at the Sunrise in Macomb, horseshoes at the Field House in Springfield, pecan waffles at the Waffle Company in Mt. Go »Intruder Alert
At 5:30am I was awakened by the doorbell and the sound of someone fumbling with my door. Through the peephole, I watched a young man desperately trying to pick the deadbolt. After a couple of minutes, he gave up and stumbled off towards the other apartments. Go »
Erik Bates | March 9, 2025
[hidden by author request]