After delays and discussions, our builder stopped by today to take a sniff at our bathroom. What an enviable job, eh? Well, the good news for him is that we haven’t been using that bathroom for months so what he’s smelling is just the problem I’ve been complaining about and that’s the smell of mold and mildew even after the bathroom ceiling replacement project of ‘06. He admitted there was mildew smell and maintained a good attitude even though it means they’ve got work to do once again. He even admitted my thought that the water seepage into the 4” fake wall they put between the original house and the addition to run pipes and wiring is the likely culprit so he’s looking into two different strategies. One is to saw through the grout to check to see if he can see mold in there, the other is to go through the wall in the living room. Oh holy hell! I know that if we mess with the integrity of the shower tile we may be screwed in the long term but oh man, the living room wall is plaster and lathe and it’ll make a spectacular mess with all that dust and dirt. It also means they’d be going through the old outside wall of the house and we believe that wall is filled with all sorts of good stuff like plumbing and wires.
So as I’m writing that stuff above, it occurred to me that we had a window taken out of the stairwell to put in the addition and that spot is already patched with drywall so they wouldn’t have to mess with the plaster unless the problem is extensive. So of course I called the builder. Wow, blogging as a problem-solving technique!
At some point next week they’ll be making yet another hole in our house. I have to admit that with all the hassles we’ve had with the addition, and I know they’re nothing compared to many people, I often wish we hadn’t put it on the house. I miss our trouble-free asbestos-laden old house. Although the space in the addition is nice, it’s not as though we were really desperate for space and I certainly don’t love the larger mortgage payment. But the hassle factor is the worst part of it. I ignorantly thought that when the work was done, it was done.
I should have known better.
The good news about doing the work though the main house instead of the bathroom is that if we can stand the mildew smell, we can use the bathroom once again. It’s at least convenient…
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3 comments:
Well, that sucks! But, it's a good thing that the builder didn't deny that there was a mildew smell. Good for you for thinking of a better solution to going through the wall...and while blogging, at that!
Oh, and, at least the hole they have to make won't expose the house to the elements, just in time for cold weather!
Definitely don't mess with the shower tile! Even if you have to cut through some plaster, it's no big deal. After the giant mess is contained, you just repair it with drywall.
I can't believe he admits that there's a mildew smell. Wow - who's your builder? I'm putting him at the top of my list. (Then again, he CAUSED the problem in the first place, so maybe he still isn't my first choice if I need a builder...)
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