Bathroom Disappointment
At the beginning of June the bathroom shower faucet started leaking around the handle. I debated just fixing it myself, but considering how broke I am I couldn't really afford parts. So I decided to let the landlord handle it.
Unfortunately, it hasn't been smooth sailing.
She sent a plumber over, who I'll call "D". Now D is very personable, but my first red flag happened when we were first walking over to my apartment. Sight unseen, he was already talking about replacing the entire fixture. After a moment's thought, I put it off to him just pitching the worst case scenario.
I find out a little about him. He works full time as some kind of plumber, and does odd jobs after work in his spare time. I'm a little annoyed that she's going to pay this guy big $ without even having a business standing behind his work - as I had already offered to do the work for the landlord and would not have charged very much. I put it off as paying for peace of mind, but I'm still a little wary about what a big bill might do to my rent.
A few minutes later he tightens the packing nut, fixing the leak. Unfortunately he breaks off the handle. At first I secretly blame D for this, but later find that corrosion had doomed it to break no matter who pulled it off. So D pronounces that he has to come back to replace the entire thing. I realize this is likely BS (and that he only really needs to replace the stem assembly*), but in between everything else discussed I don't know what kind of conversation he's going to have with the landlord. I also realize that he's not working for me, and it's not really my place to get involved. I'm also reluctant to put myself between the landlord and this apparently trusted person, who's been working for her for years.
So a week later he cuts a hole in the wall and replaces the entire shower faucet.
Before he leaves, I notice a bunch of issues. First, he used these quick couplers to install the faucet instead of the time-honored soldering the pipes together. I am surprised but don't say anything, partly because this might now be considered acceptable** for permanent repairs. I wonder how much time it really saved him because he still had to solder in pipe stubs for the couplings to fit onto. Second, the shower head is still the old one. The faucet (at least when you buy it as a kit from Home Depot) comes with the shower head, but I don't say anything because while a new head would be nice there are bigger things to talk about. Which brings us nicely to the last, and biggest problem - its hard to turn off.
The old faucet turned off easily and reliably. In contrast, the new one feels like you have to crank on it - on the order of 10 times harder (maybe more) than the old one - for it to turn off completely. I first noticed him playing with it. Then when I tried it and noticed, I asked him about it. He said it was normal for these to have to 'break in' and that it would get easier. He said to give it a week and if it didn't get better he would be back.
So he leaves and a week goes by and it's no easier, so I call him back. He returns to finish up, which amounts to covering the hole he made with some sheetrock. He puts in a few pieces of wood for bracing the edges of the hole, but doesn't bother tying them into the existing studs. It looks sloppy to me, but I don't really care. He looks at how hard the faucet is to turn off again. He says maybe I'm not turning it off hard enough and asks for another week.
When another week goes by he comes out again. He looks at it and says it's working normally. I try it and it's still hard to turn off. By this time I've already noticed his big, meaty gorilla hands - the kind that can crush beer cans between a few fingers without really trying. He probably breaks stuff all the time, I think to myself.*** So he pulls it apart and flips the washer over - he amusingly calls it a plumber's trick. To myself I call it a shortcut. He's amused, I'm not. He talks a bit about how you can make the mistake of heating things up so hot you melt the rubber - which was precisely my guess as to what caused the problem in the first place. But he claims he didn't use any heat so that 'couldn't be it'. I cringe when I remember how he must have installed those stub pipes with the propane torch he brought over, and how he announced that he was going to solder outside so as to not stink up the place. Will this guy say anything?
So it does get a little easier to turn off - at least it seems that way. This time he says I was probably trying too hard to turn it off. My BS meter is used to it by now. When I ask if it could be a manufacturing defect, he talks about how he got the high-quality one from a plumbing supply place - not Home Depot. He mentions how these cost way more but are worth it. In my mind I translate this to mean he was able to get it a wholesale prices and yet charge the landlord retail. Again I worry how big the bill he's going to send the landlord will be.
He expresses concern about getting this resolved so he can get paid, then leaves. I clean the bathroom floor yet again - each and every time he's here the bathroom floor has wet, black bootprints all over it from his dirty boots going into the wet shower floor.
I start realizing I'm probably the only one who thinks this whole turning off thing is a problem. I tell the landlord it's 'improved' but leave out any details. I need her on my side if this is going to get fixed.
With the big hole left behind by the plumber, the landlord and her son came up to fix it. They also used the opportunity to repaint the bathroom - which I was looking forward to. After some initial chit-chat after they arrive, I mention the shower is still harder to turn off and invite them to make sure the shower is acceptable to them. They both try it without batting an eye. My hopes sink slightly, but I realize that having never experienced the old fixture that they don't know any better.
The bathroom has a chair rail - at least that's what it would be called if it were in a kitchen or dining room. This is a horizontal moulding that goes around the walls at mid-height. I've never been a fan of it. It doesn't match the decor of the apartment. And it's ugly in a few ways, including the roughly notched cutouts for the switch/outlet. It also looks a bit dated. Thinking about it, I realized it would take about as much time to pull the chair rail out (and patch the nail holes) as it would be to paint it. So I made my case for it to be removed before they painted and got shot down - that's when I learned what "I'll think about it" means.
When I started talking about color ideas the landlord revealed that they had already chosen the color. She showed me a color strip and it was an off-white vague cream color. With nothing else to talk about they started work. About 4 hours later they finished. I noticed they didn't take down the chair rail. Even worse, they painted the chair rail the wall color, which makes quite a contrast where it butts up against the still-white door trim. Ug! Now they managed to make it even uglier.
The patch job they did on the hole was pretty bad - the plaster was so thick it would take days to dry (not to mention shrinkage and cracking - which has happened). The light cream paint on the walls was applied sloppily over a dark blue, but they only used one coat so blue shows through in patches. And there are the usual drips here and there - including on the switch and fixtures.
Ok, so they weren't pro's. At least the color looked better on the wall than on the color strip, though it was not my first (or second) choice and ended up looking out of date.
As they were leaving the landlord talked about coming back to finish up in 'a day or two', and that they would just be painting the hole repair after it was sanded. I offered to finish up for them to save them a lot of effort (they have to drive 6 hours round trip to get here). She called out the window to her son, who had already left for the car. She asked him if they could leave paint for me to finish up. He said that they would come back, then disappeared around the corner. By the time she turned to relay the answer, the light bulb had finally gone on: her son was the one I should have been trying to convince all along, the one making the decisions.
So in the end, I'm not getting anything out of this. The faucet works worse, the bathroom isn't a color which I helped choose, the ugly trim is still there and now even uglier that it's the wall color, and the bathroom still isn't completed, making this whole project get drawn out to over 2 months long.
And I'm already imagining how bad the patch job for the hole is going to turn out.
Part of me is tempted to take things into my own hands. I could repaint the bathroom a slightly nicer color - they probably wouldn't notice. I could strip off the paint and refix the hole, using tape and making it right - they probably wouldn't notice that either. I could also take down the chair rail, but they'd definitely notice that. All of that would be a lot of time for a place I don't even own and wouldn't get any tangible benefit from outside of the scant few minutes a day I spend in the bathroom.
Sigh.
* - Ok, I'll admit there is a really small chance that he's right and that there could be something about this particular model that makes replacement a better option. I just really doubt it. In hindsight I should have been direct and ask why he didn't just replace the stem.
** - I just read that it is against code to put these in concealed locations, like behind sheetrock (like I have). Dunno if that code applies to my state.
*** - Not a completely random thought. I noticed after he left the first time how the sink faucet hot water knob is looser than before, and when you turn it fast enough it now makes a 'honk' kind of sound. Grr.
Unfortunately, it hasn't been smooth sailing.
She sent a plumber over, who I'll call "D". Now D is very personable, but my first red flag happened when we were first walking over to my apartment. Sight unseen, he was already talking about replacing the entire fixture. After a moment's thought, I put it off to him just pitching the worst case scenario.
I find out a little about him. He works full time as some kind of plumber, and does odd jobs after work in his spare time. I'm a little annoyed that she's going to pay this guy big $ without even having a business standing behind his work - as I had already offered to do the work for the landlord and would not have charged very much. I put it off as paying for peace of mind, but I'm still a little wary about what a big bill might do to my rent.
A few minutes later he tightens the packing nut, fixing the leak. Unfortunately he breaks off the handle. At first I secretly blame D for this, but later find that corrosion had doomed it to break no matter who pulled it off. So D pronounces that he has to come back to replace the entire thing. I realize this is likely BS (and that he only really needs to replace the stem assembly*), but in between everything else discussed I don't know what kind of conversation he's going to have with the landlord. I also realize that he's not working for me, and it's not really my place to get involved. I'm also reluctant to put myself between the landlord and this apparently trusted person, who's been working for her for years.
So a week later he cuts a hole in the wall and replaces the entire shower faucet.
Before he leaves, I notice a bunch of issues. First, he used these quick couplers to install the faucet instead of the time-honored soldering the pipes together. I am surprised but don't say anything, partly because this might now be considered acceptable** for permanent repairs. I wonder how much time it really saved him because he still had to solder in pipe stubs for the couplings to fit onto. Second, the shower head is still the old one. The faucet (at least when you buy it as a kit from Home Depot) comes with the shower head, but I don't say anything because while a new head would be nice there are bigger things to talk about. Which brings us nicely to the last, and biggest problem - its hard to turn off.
The old faucet turned off easily and reliably. In contrast, the new one feels like you have to crank on it - on the order of 10 times harder (maybe more) than the old one - for it to turn off completely. I first noticed him playing with it. Then when I tried it and noticed, I asked him about it. He said it was normal for these to have to 'break in' and that it would get easier. He said to give it a week and if it didn't get better he would be back.
So he leaves and a week goes by and it's no easier, so I call him back. He returns to finish up, which amounts to covering the hole he made with some sheetrock. He puts in a few pieces of wood for bracing the edges of the hole, but doesn't bother tying them into the existing studs. It looks sloppy to me, but I don't really care. He looks at how hard the faucet is to turn off again. He says maybe I'm not turning it off hard enough and asks for another week.
When another week goes by he comes out again. He looks at it and says it's working normally. I try it and it's still hard to turn off. By this time I've already noticed his big, meaty gorilla hands - the kind that can crush beer cans between a few fingers without really trying. He probably breaks stuff all the time, I think to myself.*** So he pulls it apart and flips the washer over - he amusingly calls it a plumber's trick. To myself I call it a shortcut. He's amused, I'm not. He talks a bit about how you can make the mistake of heating things up so hot you melt the rubber - which was precisely my guess as to what caused the problem in the first place. But he claims he didn't use any heat so that 'couldn't be it'. I cringe when I remember how he must have installed those stub pipes with the propane torch he brought over, and how he announced that he was going to solder outside so as to not stink up the place. Will this guy say anything?
So it does get a little easier to turn off - at least it seems that way. This time he says I was probably trying too hard to turn it off. My BS meter is used to it by now. When I ask if it could be a manufacturing defect, he talks about how he got the high-quality one from a plumbing supply place - not Home Depot. He mentions how these cost way more but are worth it. In my mind I translate this to mean he was able to get it a wholesale prices and yet charge the landlord retail. Again I worry how big the bill he's going to send the landlord will be.
He expresses concern about getting this resolved so he can get paid, then leaves. I clean the bathroom floor yet again - each and every time he's here the bathroom floor has wet, black bootprints all over it from his dirty boots going into the wet shower floor.
I start realizing I'm probably the only one who thinks this whole turning off thing is a problem. I tell the landlord it's 'improved' but leave out any details. I need her on my side if this is going to get fixed.
With the big hole left behind by the plumber, the landlord and her son came up to fix it. They also used the opportunity to repaint the bathroom - which I was looking forward to. After some initial chit-chat after they arrive, I mention the shower is still harder to turn off and invite them to make sure the shower is acceptable to them. They both try it without batting an eye. My hopes sink slightly, but I realize that having never experienced the old fixture that they don't know any better.
The bathroom has a chair rail - at least that's what it would be called if it were in a kitchen or dining room. This is a horizontal moulding that goes around the walls at mid-height. I've never been a fan of it. It doesn't match the decor of the apartment. And it's ugly in a few ways, including the roughly notched cutouts for the switch/outlet. It also looks a bit dated. Thinking about it, I realized it would take about as much time to pull the chair rail out (and patch the nail holes) as it would be to paint it. So I made my case for it to be removed before they painted and got shot down - that's when I learned what "I'll think about it" means.
When I started talking about color ideas the landlord revealed that they had already chosen the color. She showed me a color strip and it was an off-white vague cream color. With nothing else to talk about they started work. About 4 hours later they finished. I noticed they didn't take down the chair rail. Even worse, they painted the chair rail the wall color, which makes quite a contrast where it butts up against the still-white door trim. Ug! Now they managed to make it even uglier.
The patch job they did on the hole was pretty bad - the plaster was so thick it would take days to dry (not to mention shrinkage and cracking - which has happened). The light cream paint on the walls was applied sloppily over a dark blue, but they only used one coat so blue shows through in patches. And there are the usual drips here and there - including on the switch and fixtures.
Ok, so they weren't pro's. At least the color looked better on the wall than on the color strip, though it was not my first (or second) choice and ended up looking out of date.
As they were leaving the landlord talked about coming back to finish up in 'a day or two', and that they would just be painting the hole repair after it was sanded. I offered to finish up for them to save them a lot of effort (they have to drive 6 hours round trip to get here). She called out the window to her son, who had already left for the car. She asked him if they could leave paint for me to finish up. He said that they would come back, then disappeared around the corner. By the time she turned to relay the answer, the light bulb had finally gone on: her son was the one I should have been trying to convince all along, the one making the decisions.
So in the end, I'm not getting anything out of this. The faucet works worse, the bathroom isn't a color which I helped choose, the ugly trim is still there and now even uglier that it's the wall color, and the bathroom still isn't completed, making this whole project get drawn out to over 2 months long.
And I'm already imagining how bad the patch job for the hole is going to turn out.
Part of me is tempted to take things into my own hands. I could repaint the bathroom a slightly nicer color - they probably wouldn't notice. I could strip off the paint and refix the hole, using tape and making it right - they probably wouldn't notice that either. I could also take down the chair rail, but they'd definitely notice that. All of that would be a lot of time for a place I don't even own and wouldn't get any tangible benefit from outside of the scant few minutes a day I spend in the bathroom.
Sigh.
* - Ok, I'll admit there is a really small chance that he's right and that there could be something about this particular model that makes replacement a better option. I just really doubt it. In hindsight I should have been direct and ask why he didn't just replace the stem.
** - I just read that it is against code to put these in concealed locations, like behind sheetrock (like I have). Dunno if that code applies to my state.
*** - Not a completely random thought. I noticed after he left the first time how the sink faucet hot water knob is looser than before, and when you turn it fast enough it now makes a 'honk' kind of sound. Grr.