Ever have one of those projects that should be super simple but turns out to be a can of worms? This is a frequent occurrence in my world, one that has revolved more at home these last few months.
Take replacing the dishwasher for example. It looked simple enough to do. Pull out the old dishwasher. Disconnect said dishwasher. Connect new dishwasher. Push in new dishwasher. Sounds simple except in my case.
I pulled out the old dishwasher from the cabinet and disconnected it. In doing so I discovered that said dishwasher was not only making more noise than a coffee-grinder, it was leaking water. Lucky for me, it was not a lot of water and the damage was minimal.
I started to connect the new dishwasher and discovered that the item didn’t include two required fittings. Of course this discovery was made five minutes after the stores in town closed for the day. So I raided the old dishwasher to reuse the old fittings on the new dishwasher. That’s called recycling right? Of course one fitting was stuck. In the ensuing melee between man and broken dishwasher gasping its last breath before being tossed into the landfill, it won. I cut my hand on some sharp metal piece near the fitting.
Fittings removed and expletives summarily hurled in the general direction of the old dishwasher, I proceeded to hook up and move the new dishwasher into its new home. Success! Until I opened the door.
Thud! That was the sound of the tall-tub door hitting the baseboard heater in the kitchen. Not enough clearance. More expletives and another project.
Hours later, the heater was moved over four inches, the wall repaired and paint applied.
The new dishwasher works great and that project is over. But this happens all the time to me.
Paint the window frames, discover that trim needs replacing and some fool (not me) covered the drain holes on the window frame.
Drop a tool and break something, more expletives and repairs are required. I thought removing a non-loadbearing wall in the basement for more space for my model trains would be a simple feat, not so much.
I learned early though not to try to repair things on anything with four wheels and a gas engine. Growing up, my auto mechanic uncle used to tell me I needed to learn how to change a tire, change my oil, and change a radiator.
Finally I told him that if everyone learned how to do those things, he wouldn’t have a career. But I haven’t learned that lesson yet with home repair.
Buying a home nowadays in this area is expensive so my thoughts have wandered to possibly trying to build a new house.
Mentioning these thoughts to my better half does not earn me popularity points. I am reminded of my incomplete to-do list, which I have written about in this space before.
I sense a lot of expletives being hurled my way if I attempt to build a house myself. Darn!