Replacing Toilets And Other Upkeep

So much to do now and so little energy.

Jake is now replacing toilets in both bathrooms. He also need to replace a section in the kitchen floor from water damage. His jobs are never finished.
Meantime I'll be outside saving trees from vines,cooking, cleaning washing, Etc,Etc,Etc.

 

We were on the way to town and here sits these two toilets at edge of yard for trash man. Since it was an upscale n-hood I insisted on Jake letting me pick them up, for last 3 years he has wanted to install them. Yesterday he did our bathroom, today is guest bath. Jake ordered the seats, part to install them last week they came Monday.

 

Funny, but my SIL (wife's sister) was just talking to me on iPhone this morning about her thoughts now of possibly selling her condo. She is 79 and has had the condo since 2000. She has already put some money into the ceiling in one bathroom and is starting to see other repairs/replacements that will need to be done. She just doesn't want to spend out any more money on it. However, she loves her freedom, so moving in with her one daughter, isn't considered "freedom" to her. Dont know what she is going to do, but she has gotten to that age, and being by herself now (husband deceased some years ago), cleaning is just too much for her.

We also have a close friend, who is a "Snowbird", who just sold his one house. He still has his Florida house and a cottage on a lake in Michigan. His deceased wife was totally against selling the house in Michigan, but after she died, he got rid of a lot of her things, cleaned up the house, done some needed repairs and sold it a few weeks ago.

 

Have them both installed and they're working fine. They seem to have smaller tanks than the ones we had been using, so they're using less water than the others.




Guess bath has been the old dog, Molly, bedroom for the last couple of years, she's 16 yo.

 

My plumber said he could replace our toilets for $400ea!!!!! I declined after I got my tongue out of my throat. In the 70's, they tried to conserve water by having smaller tanks (or people put bricks in their tanks) The new toilets are more forceful, jetting water.
Thanks but no thanks, I might have to flush twice but...
He later told me you could get the mineral build up out of toilets from the 70's with an acid wash.
He could not tell me that first?
Good find, Jake and Marie.

 

Thank you, Mary. He says he is blessed he can still work and do it himself at 66.

"One mans trash is another mans treasure, or in Jakes case,labor.

 

Everything is going up in price now. I remember folks putting bricks in their tank.

 

My brother tells a story about when he first started DIY. He had to replace a downstairs toilet and got an estimate form a plumber. He decided it was too much and decided to do it himself. As he was installing the new toilet, he over-tightened the floor bolts and cracked the porcelain. He got another and repeated the error. His third attempt was successful, and 3 toilets later, he was still below the estimate he got from the plumber. He went on from there to be a very successful DIYer, and completely remodeled his house three times, dug out his basement and finished it all by hand, and built a huge garage and man-cave. His wife just passed, but I think he is still working on stuff they planned together before she died.

 

This made me think about a tv show I saw where they hid the cameras and hired heat and air companies to come in and repair heat and a/c vents, it was pretty funny seeing their face, after they presented the bill and were exposed to the hidden cameras, most just walked out.
That was really something about your brother, being under the estimate, three toilets later.

 

those look brand new!...
somebody will pick them up....setting out there...ha!

 

Into each life, some broken toilets must fall.

 

Third day and the toilets are working great.