Thursday, December 13, 2007

Bathroom Issues

No, I'm not having intestinal problems, it's MUCH worse!!

When we bought the house, almost 2 years ago, the bathrooms upstairs had linoleum, but we were told the toilets were set for a thicker tile, so there was a gap between the toilet and the linoleum, no biggie, the listing realtor (NOT our realtor, who was AWESOME) told us her boyfriend is a handyman, he could put in ceramic tile, no problem. So that was done before we ever closed on the house. When we moved in we noticed it wasn't a great job, there were huge gaps in the grout and the tile, they weren't spaced correctly, and there was some sort of glue or something all over the tiles that progressively gets darker.

Cut to September of this year, I notice a spot on the ceiling above the TV in the living room, which coincidentally happens to be right under the toilet in our master bathroom. No problem, we have a Home Warranty, so I call them, they send a plumber out. He tells me that the person who put the floors in, did it wrong, and didn't set the toilet back right. There was a perfectly shaped wax ring sitting there, it hadn't been installed properly, so over the course of the year and a half, water had seeped out of the toilet, making it leak onto the wood around it and leak down to leave a spot on the ceiling. So he put a new wax ring on, and put a riser on it to make the toilet level, since the floor apparently isn't.

So the other day I notice there is a steady seeping of water coming from the light switch in the living room. Right under the spot. I call the warranty people again, they send a plumber again, who tells me that the wood floor under and around the toilet has rotten through and he can't put the toilet back on there, for fear of it falling through the floor. Because of the rotten floor, water is seeping down the wall to come out of the light switch. Also, it gets better...none of this is covered by the home warranty. So, I have no toilet, a rotten floor, quite possible mold in my walls and no way to pay for it to be fixed.

At this point I just laughed, what else can you do right?? David wants to find the guy who put the toilet and floor in originally and see if he has contractors insurance, and get him to pay to fix all this. Problem there is, I don't think he was a "contractor" I think he was someone's boyfriend/handyman who did his girlfriend/realtor a favor. So I am hoping our homeowner's insurance covers this mess, but I don't know since it's water damage and all that.

I am choosing to look on the bright side. I could see this as one more punch in the gut (I've had a few this year) or I can see this as an opportunity. I have wanted a new, low-flush toilet for a long time now. I've wanted to redo the tile in there from day one, and I've wanted our whole bathroom to be tile, not just the toilet room (whatever you call that). Heck, I should throw in a new jacuzzi tub and a bigger shower stall for good measure. And while I'm on it, maybe I can finagle some new cabinets out of the deal. I want it all!! So, I'm not going to worry about it, it's in God's hands, and we know he does exceedingly abundantly above all we could ask or think!!

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