Bathroom vanity

The bathroom vanity was a builder's grade, $130 tri-fold from Home Depot.  The shelves were pressed fiber board stretching across 34 inches with no center support, so they were warping from weight of the items on them and the moisture in the bathroom air. 

I found a design from Kohler that I liked while browsing Lowes, but I wanted a three mirror front at 36 inches wide.  It turns out Kohler doesn't make one like that, so the search continued. 

I went to a few bathroom renovation shops in San Francisco, and one person tried to sell me on a single mirror, slide up front medicine cabinet that was nowhere near 36 inches (I wondered if she even listened when I told her what I was looking for) with a tv built into the mirror for the low price of $4,800!  Yes, I walked out. 


I found one that I liked on Home Depot's website made by Pegasus.  It was 36 inches wide, had three mirrored doors, aluminum frame, mirrored interior, and glass shelves.  Awesome!  I ordered it on-line for in store pick up.  At this point, you would think I measured the space from the top of the tiles to the vanity light.  I did not.  All vanities are the same height, right?  It would take about a week to arrive, so I started looking through pictures from the demo and rebuild to see where studs were and what my options may be for surface mounting versus recessed mounting.  My cousin insulated the walls, and reframed the space where the old medicine cabinet was recessed.  Translation: no recessed mounting unless I wanted to redo the whole wall.  Part of me thought about tearing out the wall from the back side, since I could just dry wall the hole, but it would be way more of a mess.  Anyhow, surface mounting was the only option, I decided.  Good thing all medicine cabinets have a standard height, right? 

I measured the current one - 28 inches tall - as I flash backed to the day we installed it.  Chuy asked if I did the measurements for the tile and light height to make sure it would fit.  Nope.  We dry-fitted it, and luckily it fit.  It had these little double sided stickers for the back of the cabinet to attach it to the wall.  I thought it was flimsy as hell.  Gil asked, "You wanna make sure it stays on?  We can glue it. We have hella glue left."  "Hell, why not?  I don't want it to possibly fall.  Plus, whey would I ever swap this out?!"  Liquid nails was applied to the backing when we installed.  We put it right at the top of the tile, and there were still about 2 inches of room to the bottom of the light.

I'm sure you can see where this is going.  The Amazon link above actually shows the height in the title.  Home Depot's does not.  I figured they're all about the same height because why not, right?  Well, this one is in fact 31 inches when surface mounted.  Since it's got a mirrored interior, there are no places to drill inside.  It has all external mounts including a bottom bracket and four top brackets.  Nowhere on the instructions does it list the total height needed to surface mount.  In case you're wondering, it's 31 and 5/16 inches.  How much space did I have from the top of the tile to the bottom of the light?  1/8 inches above 30 inches.  Great.  No problem.  I'll just chisel out some tile.

I looked at my safety goggles and gloves when I grabbed the chisel and hammer from the tool box.  "You won't need these, it's just 6 tiles," I told myself.  I chiseled the grout first, then went to work separating the tile from the wall.  The first one came out without issue.  The second one cracked in half, and my ninja quick reflexes kicked in, and I caught it before it shattered on the counter top.  Ouch, that was sharp.  Back to chiseling.  Four tiles down, I noticed my hammer was getting sticky.  The black handle still looked black, keep chiseling.  As pieces of grout and tile started flying, I decided to put an old towel over the counter.  Shoot, while I'm being safe, I might as well grab my gloves and goggles, too.  I put on my goggles and notices there's blood on them.  Fresh blood.  WTF, there was nothing on the hammer...  But, the tiniest cut on my finger was getting blood all over.  UGH.  Wash, bandaid, gloves and goggles on, I returned to chiseling.  I got all the pieces of tile off and looked at the wall.  

I measured from the new top of the tile to the bottom of the light - 32 and 7/16 inches.  "oooh, I can mount the bottom bracket 5/8 inches above the top of the tile, and I can cover the screws and bracket with a 1/2  inch of tile! 

Mounting was easy.  Thanks to all the framing inside the wall, three of the fours screws are studded, and only one needed a hollow wall anchor.  Sandra helped me dry fit the medicine cabinet.  I marked the holes for the top, then removed it.  Again, thanks to all the excess framing inside the wall, three of the four screws were studded, and I only needed one wall anchor.  Sandra helped me mount the medicine cabinet again, and I secured the screws on top. 

I did not install the side mirrors.  The shelves went in easily.  I wish I could adjust the height of them.  They're secured by a top and bottom bracket.  I wish at least one side had some sort of silicone coating to prevent the shelf from sliding. 

A few things I didn't quite love about this cabinet: each door's mirror was beveled all the way around.  There are 1/2 inch gaps in between each door.  Each shelf has printing on it that show where it was made and that the glass is tempered. 

Candlestick Seats IV

I brought the glass shelf in to work today.  The guy over at Data Glass snapped it for me.  It literally took him about 2 minutes to do.  He said I just needed to press harder.  :-/ FAIL, Rob.  

I got home today and removed the seats from the brackets.  I laid them down and used a 2x4 scrap to hold up the bottoms.  All the bolts came out relatively easy... except the last one.  When the drill kinda got stuck, it torqued the whole piece and scratched the top of it.  Paint was removed - UGH.  I applied a coat of paint to the bottom of the seats then left for Home Depot. 

I picked up a worklight, an extension cord wrap, and another bracket for the Giants case.  I got home, paint was still tacky, but I wrapped the cord, then plugged in the light.  AWESOME!  I had direct light on the seats now... and hella yellow spots showing.  I put a light coating over the yellow areas then collected some things to put in the case upstairs.  I was pretty excited to finally do this! 

I opened the case, tried to put in a bracket and ... nope.  Denied.  The slots were too small for the brackets I got. WTF.  I thought these were standard??  The ones currently in there were a little under 1/4 inch tall.  Time to go return these.  Maybe the 10 inch shelves are different sizes.  These brackets were for 12 inch shelves.  Fail #2 today. 

 In the garage, I applied one more coat of paint.  I'm pretty sure that part is all done now.  I'm hoping I can assemble the seats tomorrow! 

Candlestick Seats III

I went to Home Depot this morning, and they had tons of ratchet bits all in stock.  Deep 1/4 inch 9/16's acquired!  I also got another bottle of Rustoleum and a box of LED lights (3 for $20 versus 1 for $9?)  I thought there was something else I needed, but I couldn't remember, so I left.

I put on a third coat to fully cover any remaining yellow areas.  It looks like it's finally painted.  Well, it's painted except for the bottom where it's bolted to the base.  At least I have a bit to remove them, though! 

Candlestick Seats

I hit up Lowes this morning.  I wanted to get the ratchet head to remove the seats from the base.  The Lowes out by Evolve in San Bruno didn't have a huge selection.  I asked the woman if 3/8 was standard, and she said yes (it's not.  1/4 inch is standard).  I got two bits - the 13 mm and the 9/16, a new hose, and a new hose rack.

Got home, installed the new hose rack, coiled up the new hose.  It looks nice.  I doubt this will pop this time.  Either way, I saved the warranty info this time.

I hosed off the seats, then sanded them a little more then hosed them off again.  I thought about putting some grease in the hinges, but decided to wait until after they were painted.  I left them standing to dry, then went to jiu jitsu. 

I returned the two ratchet bits since they were 3/8's, but the Lowes in SF didn't have any 1/4 in 9/16 in.  Doomed, I know.  Defeated by Lowes.  

They were pretty dry when I got back, so I wiped them down to make sure before painting.  I stood the brackets on a piece of cardboard, then sprayed each one individually.  After one coat (it's hard to see how well it coated with the lack of direct lights in the garage), I left them to dry while I showered and washed my gi and ate.

The paint was not tacky after about an hour, so I laid down another coat.  Some of the yellow primer that was originally on there was still showing.  Two coats pretty much killed the bottle of Rustoleam.  Looks like I'll be going to Home Depot tomorrow morning. 

Hormigas Part IV

Yes, there's a part IV.  The cabinet has been empty for the last few days.  One or two scouts have been reconnoitering, but everything is really clean now.  I'm hoping they stay away.  We'll find out when it rains again!

Candlestick Seats

In lieu of insulation, I decided to do up the Candlestick seats!  I had already bought a wire brush and high gloss black Rustoleum spray paint, so I thought I was set.  I started with wiping down the seats with some diaper wipes (yep, we still have tons of those).  I took the seats apart to separate the plastic from the metal but left the vertical parts bolted on to the bases.  Go figure all the bolts came out relatively easily, but the battery on the drill kept dying.  UGH.  Then, the very last bolt was stripped.  Why is it that it's always the last one that's the most difficult?!  I used a hammer and chisel to break the bolt and set the seat free.  9 PM, loud hammering from the garage - I hope no one nearby is asleep.  I would've removed the bases, too, but the bolts were bigger than any of the ratchet heads I had.  My sets went up to 1/2 inch, so I was guessing they were 9/16 or 13mm.  I'll need to hit up Lowes or Home Depot. 

I'm also pretty thankful I changed the light bulb in the garage to an LED.  It really makes a difference.  I can't find my work light, and the last time I remember using it was when a contractor was working in the crawlspace without light. I ran an extension cord and put the light in there for him.  I hate when I notice shit's missing way too late. 

With the seats pretty much completely in pieces, I used the wire brush to scrap off any loose paint and rust.  I was going to rinse them off then sand them down a little more, but when I turned on the hose... PLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSH! It looks like hanging a rubber hose on a bike rack hook (existing) was a horrible idea.  There were so many kinks that the hose just exploded all over. I guess the project is on hold for now.

Insulating the Crawl Space

Sandra and Robert were heading out of town the an extended weekend, so I decided to insulate underneath the back room and bathroom while they were gone.  I got out of work today and headed home to take some measurements.  It had been raining for the last few days, but traffic wasn't bad getting home.  I climbed into the crawl space and saw water dripping off the floor joists - yes, dripping.  Four of the joists under the bathroom were completely soaked, and water was dripping off them.  So much for insulation! I can't insulate while there's water coming in, so there goes that project. 

My sister had a paint bubble in her wall above where the water was coming in.  I don't know if the two are related.  I'm going to have to put this project on hold and wait to figure out where the water is coming from.

Hormigas Part III

There's no food in the cabinet, but they're all over the dishes!  I threw everything in the dishwasher, peppermint soap sprayed everything, then dusted with ground cinnamon again.  WTF.

Hormigas Part II

This morning there were ants EVERYWHERE.  Ok, that was hyperbolic, but there were at least 1,000 ants in my lunch bag.  Was there food in there?  Nope.  There were crumbs on the bottom of the bag.  CRUMBS. 

They're also all over the glassware in the cabinet.  All the cups have ants crawling all over them.  Dishwasher time!  

We are supposed to get the tree today, too! I put the bag in the yard and attempted to contain the ants in the kitchen.  This time, there were soldiers, too.  Peppermint soap and ground cinnamon all over .  I found the hole they were coming in from.  I made a paste with the cinnamon and water, and packed it into the hole.  We'll see if this does it. 

Hormigas!

M-F'ing ants.  Ants in the kitchen.  Ants on nothing.  Ants. Ants. Ants.  EW.  There were a few scouts around all week, but tonight they came out in full force.  It was gross.  They're in the kitchen coming out of a cabinet with no food in it!  Peppermint soap and some ground cinnamon mixed with water to seal the holes fixed the problem today.

Flex (Doesn't) Seal

Welp, that didn't last long.  The kitchen wall is leaking again.  I got up at 3 AM last night to check on the buckets, and all three were almost full.  At 6 AM, they were full again.  Good news is the rain let up during the day, and they didn't overflow while I was at work.  The bad news is it was starting to rain hard again.  I looked in the storage room, and I had a tube of window and door caulking.  I loaded it up in the caulk gun and went upstairs to patch the gaps. 

Go figure as soon as I walk outside, it starts to pour.  To do a quick and comprehensive job, I start putting the caulking on heavy, then POP.  The tube explodes.  Did I stop? Nope!  I started applying the caulking that was squirming from the opening by hand, smearing it into the gap and all over the wall.  I wonder if this will dry... ever. 

The good news is the dripping in the kitchen has significantly slowed down.  We'll see how well this holds up!

It's Raining!

And that's a good thing!  California's had a drought for several years now.  This will also let me test how well the Flex Seal is holding up on the exterior wall above my kitchen. 

NEST is coming!

So last Winter, my utilities bills were a little bit of a pain.  Given that we now had a functioning furnace, we were definitely living in a warm(er) house.  It was literally a difference of night and day!  Because the thermostat was programmable, though, when we were home off schedule, we would switch it to "On."  Inevitably, we'd forget to turn it off when we left. 

I've been thinking of getting the NEST thermostat for a while now, and Amazon just published this deal today: Get a $40 Amazon.com Gift Card with Purchase of a Nest Learning Thermostat.  BOOM!  How could I not have one of these beauties?!  

It probably won't be sitting at 72 degrees, but it is my hope that it pays for itself in its energy savings thanks to my own forgetfulness. 

I checked the NEST website, and it says that my wiring should be compatible with this.  I'll update once I get it, and post the installation. 

Heat, Heat, Heat...

So the cold season is upon us once again, and I am still grateful for Rudy on the installation of the furnaces.  It's amazing how much of a difference a warm house can make.  One thing I may upgrade soon is the thermostat.  We currently have a programmable thermostat from Honeywell, but I often put it on, "Hold," to turn it on and forget to turn it off when we leave the house.  Depending on what this next PG&E bill looks like, I may be replacing it with a smart thermostat, like the NEST,  VERY soon. 

Windows... Anderson... UGH

The crew from Renewal by Anderson came to fix everything.  I missed the appointment back in March due to illness, so we rescheduled.  This is was first Saturday they had available.  Well, actually, I had it in my notes as October 12, but they arrived today.  :-/  Anthony and "Earnest" (not his real name) replaced the picture window's glass with privacy glass.  It was relatively painless.  A bulk of the work was just cutting the seal between the frame and the glass.  I just hope the silicon seal doesn't leak now that it's been re done. 

Anthony looked at the dual hung windows and said that he doesn't have any felt strips that can be placed anywhere to seal it better.  He looked at the lower sash and said that he thinks it was made incorrectly, and that's why it's not sealing properly!  I don't know why Rich didn't mention this.  Anthony said that the way the window was now, when it closed, because a piece was upside down, the window wasn't sealing.  He looked at the others in the room and one in the living room, and they were all like this.  He said he'd recommend that the lower sashes be replaced. 

They also redid the caulking in the bathroom around the window. 

Anthony said I should get a call in a week or two to schedule another visit to fix the front windows. 

I'm frustrated by the fact that these windows cost about 3 times what another contractor quoted me.  The reason I went with Renewal by Anderson was because my sister used them, and they seemed to have done good work at her place.  I can't believe it's been three service calls, and almost a year, and the issues I called about have still not been corrected.  I spoke to another contractor about the back wall, too, and he said that if they (Anderson) used an electric saw to cut out the old door (they did), it could have rattle the wall enough to break the seal, allowing water to get into the wall!  Whatever.  It's hard enough to get them to fix the mistakes that are completely clear they made.  Looks like this is another contractor mess that I'll have to clean up. 

Leaky Wall?

Who knows where the water's coming in from.  According to another contractor, when Michelle's old door was cut out with an electric saw, the vibrating in the wall could have broke the seal of the caulk inside the wall, and that's why water is coming in now.  He recommended that I just buy a can of water sealer and seal all the seams along the exterior of the wall.  I went to Bed Bath and Beyond and bought two cans of spray on water seal (Flex Seal).  I sprayed three coats along the bottom and top of the wall where there were cracks along the course of the day.  There's still some more left in the can, so I'll probably use up the rest of it later today by applying another coat.  What sucks is the only way to see if this works is to either hose it down myself (in which case if it fails, I'm going to have a ton of water in my kitchen), or wait for it to rain (and if it fails, same thing).  Either way, there's no sense in opening up the wall in my kitchen to fix anything until I know this is water tight.   

The Washer...

Friday night, Sandra put a small load of laundry into the washer.  I was in the kitchen cooking when I heard what sounded like the motor going into overdrive.  "Nuts," I thought, "the pulley fell off again."  I unplugged the washer, opened the bottom panel, and took a look.  The pulley was nowhere to be found. Strange, when it falls off, it's usually sitting right underneath... Then I noticed something else: a whole lot of little, black, plastic shards, and all the way toward the back of the washer was what was left of the pulley!  Or at least what I thought was the entire pulley.  I looked at the belt, and it took was a bit ragged and cracked.  I figured both would need to be replaced, and I also figured I could do it myself.  Yes, I know, dangerous last words. 

Saturday morning, I looked up the washer information.  It was an Amana NAV3330EWW.  The website was good enough to list local parts suppliers, so I started calling them.  Everyone was closed on the weekends, and for some reason they all transferred to their cell phones ... so they could tell me they were closed till Monday.  One woman, though, was at home with access to the store's inventory!  I gave her the make and model of the washer, she gave me the part numbers for the pulley and the belt, and was able to verify that it was in stock!  Monday, during lunch, I walked the 3 blocks to pick up the two parts.  At roughly $50, the parts were non-returnable once opened.  :-/  They better work.

We went to the Giants game after work, so I didn't get started on the washer till a little after 10 PM.  I looked at the motor, the pulley lever, and the belt, and thought how nice it'd be if it could all just come out.  It turned out that's what I needed to do to replace either the pulley or the belt!  Four bolts held the motor in.  They were easy to remove (bad sign), then the motor took a little finesse to take out.  I left the electrical cords connected, since I had unplugged the washer from the wall.  I also had to disconnect the two hoses (get a towel because water will come out even if the water is shut off).  I had to remove the top part of the motor - three screws - to replace the belt.  If you're doing this, make sure you make a mental note of how the belt is run.  I didn't, so I did it twice. 

The new pulley, I noticed, had a brass interior.  The one that kept falling out of my washer didn't.  I thought it was an improvement - false.  It was that the plastic disconnected from the brass, and that's why it kept falling off!  Removing the brass fitting form the pulley lever was a pain.  It has a clip very similar to the clip that holds the chain to the speed bag in the garage, but much smaller and harder to remove.  I used a set of needle nosed pliers to slowly and forcefully open the clip then slide it over the pulley lever.  It took me about 9 attempts to get this right.  In the process, I once pushed a little too hard, resulting in the pliers pinching my finger.  What's a little DIY without blood, right?  Once it was off, I noticed how stiff it all was.  I put lithium grease inside the new pulley, and greased the washers.  This assembly was really easy to put back together. 

The plastic cover went back on smoothly.  Getting everything back into the washer was a little harder.  I ended up lifting the bucket from inside the machine to make more room on the bottom.  This allowed me to put the motor back easily.  Getting the holes to line back up to bolt it back - not so easy.  I think this literally took me about 45 minutes, all the while I thought this was due to the time I moved it from upstairs, and it hare-goshi'ed me.  I was so frustrated that I thought about calling a repairman, just to rebolt the motor.  What I ended up doing was putting a 45 pound Olympic weight on the bucket to hold it down, then lifting the motor and manually screwing in the top two bolts as much as I could.  The bottom still didn't align!  I could forcibly lift the motor and get the right side in, but the left side was about 1/2 an inch off!  I kept thinking I bent it when I removed it.  I needed a lever or jack of some sort to hold this dang thing up just to get a good angle!  What I ended up using was a hammer head!  It was pretty much perfect to bracing the bracket and leveraging the motor up.  With all the bolts in, I grabbed a wrench and tightened them even more - as much as I could.  I reconnected the hoses, closed it all up, plugged it in, then made a note of the time: 12:18 AM.  Great, roughly two hours had gone by.  This better work.  To test it, I put the bloodied towel and laundry room rug in.  IT WORKED!  Not only did it work, but the spin cycle worked so well that both items were damn near dry!  Not bad for my first time!  I should moonlight as a repairman!

Hot Water Heater

Saturday night, I noticed that the hot water was lukewarm.  I figured the pilot went out on the hot water heater, so I went downstairs and re-lit it.  Since we had no hot water, I figured Robert's bath will have to wait till Sunday morning. 

Sunday morning comes, and after breakfast I notice there water isn't even warm.  I went to the garage to relight to pilot then ran back upstairs.  I thought we'd have hot water in a couple hours.  I heard a noise that sounded like a door slamming and wondered - was that the water heater?  I went back downstairs and the pilot was out.  I re-lit it, then waited to see what happens.  In less than 3 minutes, pfffffllllloooOOOOM!  A flame about 12 inches long, 4 or 5 inches wide shoots out from the bottom of the water heater!  And of course, the pilot went out.  Not thinking clearly, I press the ignition button, and ppppffflllloom! Another flame shoots out.  "OK," I thought, "I'm done with this."  I shut the gas and water off to the tank and went back upstairs.  No hot water till this is fixed!

Monday morning comes, and I start calling around to either get this repaired or replaced.  Over the phone, most people ask for the make, model, and build date.  Of course, I had none of this.  Isn't a hot water heater just a hot water heater?!  Apparently, it's not.  Baron from Excalibur Water Heaters was one of the guys who told me he couldn't really advise me of any course of action without that information, so I did my research, and in the home inspection report, where the inspector is supposed to list the hot water heaters' brand, age, and condition, he included a picture.  A picture... that didn't show the age of the hot water heaters or the condition, but it did show the brand.  Great report.  It seems like every time I have an issue with something that this inspector was paid to inspect, the report falls short. 

Anywho, I did get the brand of the heater, so I continued in my quest.  One guy told me he couldn't really do anything for me until I figured this out.  I realized that was a good thing after many, many more calls.  Things I was told ranged from, "It'll cost you [me] a base fee of $200 to get me [the plumber] out there, then $200 an hour if I can fix it.  But, if I need to go get parts, the return visit is another $200 base fee."  Uh, no.  I'm not paying you anything just to come look at something that you don't know you can fix!  Another said something similar: $125 to come out and look at the problem, then give an estimate as to how much it will cost to do the job, if it can be done.  Again, pass. 

In all, I called about 9 different plumbers.  Of those 9, 6 came out to look at it free of charge.  Of those 6, 4 said I should get a new water heater.  Of the other two, one said he could probably fix this, with the parts being covered under warranty since it was installed in 2010, but he doesn't know for sure that he can fix it.  I asked if he'd ever seen something like this before, and evasively, he basically said no.  He responded that he'd been doing repairs on hot water heaters for over 20 years, and over 20 years, he's seen a lot of things.  He never specifically said yes, he's seen a hot water heater shoot flames like a dragon before, so I asked again, "In 20 years, have you seen a hot water heater shoot flames?"  Again, he dodged the question and replied, "It could be caused by any number of things.  I'd suggest replacing different parts one by one, until it stops."  Yeah, if you can't give me a yes or no answer about your experience, I'm not paying you a cent. 

Next, I called A.O. Smith, since I found out the parts were covered under warranty.  The operator gave me 3 companies who service their warranty repairs.  I called all three.  One said he was really busy, and not in San Francisco, so he couldn't make it out till the end of the week.  Pass.  The next one said they couldn't make it until tomorrow, so I scheduled an appointment.  The third one said it sounded like the hot water heater was improperly installed, and it may not be covered by the warranty - F'ING GREAT.  He said he could come by to take a look at it later in the day. 

I left work early, and was surprised to find my 1 pm appointment already there.  The guy looked at the water heater, then said he recommended replacing it.  Literally, he looked at the water heater wrapped in insulation, bent down and looked at the bottom where I said flames shot from, then said I should replace it.  He didn't even touch it!  He said he could replace it right away.  Yeah, sure, of course he'd want me to replace it!  He'd get paid for the sale of the new heater, and the labor to replace it, but I felt like he didn't even look at the old heater! 

Another plumber came, he turned on the gas, lit the pilot, then waited.  I advised him to step away, he obliged.  PPPFFFLLLLOOOOM!  "Holy shit! I've never seen that!"  Hhhhmmm, there goes your credibility.  "Honestly, I wouldn't know where to start.  Good luck!"  Well at least he didn't charge me, but I realized I should've charged him for the show. 

Another plumber came, this time it was one who serviced AO Smiths.  He lit the pilot, stepped back, PPFFLLLOOOM!  No grand exclamation, no cursing, just a real somber look.  I asked him, "What's the verdict?"  He tells me, "I've seen this before.  What probably happened when they installed it was they dropped the tank.  My guess is there's a dent in the bottom, and gas is building up.  When there's enough gas in there, it ignites.  To fix it, I'd have to completely drain the heater and push out the dent, then put it back together.  You're better off getting a new water heater.  It'll be cheaper, and you'll know it won't have any issues."  I asked if he sells them, and he said he just services them.  He did recommend a brand other than Rheem, but said Rheems are good, too. 

I scheduled an appointment with Baron from Excalibur Water Heaters for 11:30 - Noon the next day.  Around 11 AM, I got a call from his son saying they finished a job in my area and were heading to my house.  I told him to call me when they got there, if they got there before me.  About 5 minutes later, he called and said he was standing by the garage door.  I gave him the code and told him it was the 40 gallon heater on the left hand side.  He said there was plenty of working room, and they'd probably be done in about 20 minutes.  When I arrived 10 minutes later, the old water heater was draining in the middle of the garage, and the new water heater was connected.  It took them about 20 more minutes to clean up and double check everything.  Overall, it was a very fast, clean install.  I'm very happy with the timeliness and cleanliness of their work.  And, we finally had hot water again!

Anderson

So Michelle had some guys from Anderson doing repairs upstairs at her place.  One of her double hung windows was leaking and it stained the wall.  Her kitchen french doors were leaking, too, so they re-sealed it.  They came down to look at the damage to my kitchen wall, and they said they don't think it's due to the water leaking from her door.  What?!  I don't understand how if it was fine before her new door went in, and it started to leak after her new doors were installed, how is it NOT due to the work they did?  Rich decided that he wanted to come back with a long hose and test it out to see where it may be leaking from.  The contractor, Juan, said that I try to see if I can find where it's leaking from before they fix anything. 

They looked at the picture window - yes, it's not privacy glass.  Yes, the old one was privacy glass. yes, it should have been privacy glass.  Rich said he'll order a new one that's privacy glass to replace it. 

He looked at the double hung windows, slid his finger along the edge, opened and closed it a few times, then asked if the cloth diapers stopped the whistling.  Yes, they did.  He said there's a long piece of felt that he can have placed along the seam of the window that would effectively do the same thing, so that's what he'll have done. 

He looked at the caulking in the bathroom around the window.  Yes, it's cracking almost all the way around now.  He said they used the wrong type of caulking, and it'll have to be removed and re-done. 

He said someone from his office would contact me to schedule a time to have the work done. 

Let There be HEAT!

We're about to begin the process of replacing the heater.  As usual, nothing's ever easy.  Luckily, a friend's husband does HVAC (Airflow Pros in SF), so we have some assistance with making the right decisions.

We're going with a Trane machine, based on his recommendation over Bryant's.  He said he has more service calls for Bryant's and finds the Tranes to be more reliable.

To get things up to code (gotta love SF), we need to put the furnaces on their own breakers (so we need an electrician), we have to T off the gas line to the water heater and furnace (it currently daisy chains from the main to the water heater to the furnace), we have to vent out into an open area (roof top), and we need to find somewhere for the condensation to possibly drip.  The biggest thing is that we also have to abate the asbestos lined ducts that are currently in place.

Another decision that we had to make was whether or not we wanted acoustic lined air base.  Make it quieter?  For sure!  Hopefully it doesn't get too overcomplicated. 

By the end of next week, we could have a functioning heater!