Brian’s fitness journal after a brain stroke
Today was one of those days that seemed determined to test both my patience and my problem-solving skills, especially when it comes to unexpected home renovation problems.
The adventure began before I had even put on my running shoes; I came back because a tile installer was visiting.
To his credit, he arrived right in the middle of the scheduled arrival window, a small victory that I appreciated after watching the weather ruin my running plans.
Unfortunately, that was where the easy part ended due to an unexpected home renovation problems.
After inspecting the materials, he discovered that two of our three boxes of tile had arrived broken. Even better, we were also missing a backer board that, interestingly enough, had never appeared on any of the supply lists we had received.
Fortunately, he quickly contacted the supplier and arranged for the missing materials to be delivered.
Then demolition began.
As anyone who has renovated an older house already knows, demolition is less about removing old materials and more about discovering what previous homeowners have been hiding from you.
Once the old tile was removed, we discovered that a leaking toilet had rotted part of the subfloor.
The tile installation immediately came to a halt.
The installer explained that the damaged flooring would need to be replaced before any new tile could be installed. Unfortunately, that repair fell outside his scope of work, and he couldn’t recommend anyone who handled it.
So the phone calls began.
I contacted Home Depot to find someone to perform the repair, but I am still waiting to hear back.
Meanwhile, my wife suggested an excellent temporary solution. Since we had already planned to install a new toilet downstairs after the flooring was complete, why not simply install it upstairs instead?
That solved one problem.
I called our plumber, and, remarkably, they were able to come out almost immediately.
While the plumber was here, I asked whether their company handled subfloor repairs, since the damaged area was directly related to the plumbing leak.
They didn’t.
However, they did have someone they trusted.
One referral later, another contractor arrived to inspect the damage and prepare an estimate. Hopefully, the quote will arrive this evening.
Hopefully.
The project has already become more expensive than expected, and I suspect our renovation budget quietly sighed when nobody was looking. At this point, I can only hope we have reached the final surprise.
Home renovation projects have an unfortunate habit of behaving like onions. Every layer you peel away reveals another one waiting underneath. With a little luck, today’s subfloor will be the last layer we uncover.
Of course, every homeowner knows that saying those words out loud is probably tempting fate.