topic Re: The Money Pit in Community Chat

The Money Pit

gidgetgh — Wed, 01 Aug 2018 18:40:18 GMT

Our house has suddenly become “needy”. I’d say LOL, but I haven’t been laughing.

We thought we had a roof leak. Roof guy comes today, crawls out on the roof in the pouring rain and says we don’t have a roof leak. We have a hole in the dryer vent, which is on the roof and that’s causing the leak. So I called a dryer vent company. They can’t come till the 13th to replace it. And. It. Just. Keeps. On. Raining.

Our master bedroom shower has a leak. Plumber was here at the same time as the roof guy (and also at the same time as the refrigerator deliverers). The entire shower has to be ripped out as the shower pan has been “compromised”. Part of the garage ceiling has to be ripped out and dried out and re-sheet rocked. The plumber called a contractor who handles all this for them. He arrived five minutes later so they were all here together. All of them. Scads of people. My nerves were shot. The phone was also ringing off the hook.

At this point, our across the street neighbor wandered over to see if we were ok because there were so many cars and trucks in our driveway.

We opened a claim with our insurance company, but we have a huge deductible so more than likely, we’ll pay for the repair ourselves, based on the rough estimate the contractor gave us.

There’s more that preceded all this, but that’s all been taken care of so I won’t bore you all with the details.

Re: The Money Pit

deb5555 — Wed, 01 Aug 2018 18:55:17 GMT

I would get 3 estimates/ opinions before I started any work! Sorry about your money pit.

Re: The Money Pit

fthunt — Wed, 01 Aug 2018 18:59:12 GMT

Timing of your post is interesting. Right now - at this very moment I have 8 roofers putting on a new roof and trucks all over the place. Husband and I put a new roof after we bought in 1985. Haven't had any leaks but I've been watching this roof every year like a hawk. Made the decision I wouldn't push my luck any further - - got a great reference about this company and am pleased so far. Rain all around us - but so far it's holding off until six.

Re: The Money Pit

AuntG — Wed, 01 Aug 2018 18:59:32 GMT

We thought it was time to update things on our eighteen year old house. I think it was worth every penny. An interior color choice that I now regret isn't a real big deal and can be changed down the road.

Re: The Money Pit

vermint — Wed, 01 Aug 2018 19:02:52 GMT

@gidgetgh I'm so sorry you're dealing with all this! My 32 year old house is becoming needy, too, so I know where you're coming from.

We do have an actual roof leak...it was patched and the roofer will be coming to do a better fix soon. The leak has caused the living and bedrooms to need painting even more than they did, but we'll wait till the roof has been fixed for sure.

I'm not looking forward to having all those people in/around my house either. It's very stressful!

Our office roof is leaking, too! It's a 100+ year old building so of course it has issues.

Re: The Money Pit

wishmoon — Wed, 01 Aug 2018 19:17:02 GMT

@gidgetgh So sorry this had to happen...especially all at once.

Buy a lottery ticket, it can't hurt.

Re: The Money Pit

luvdoodles — Wed, 01 Aug 2018 19:21:20 GMT

Wow, that's a lot to deal with all at once. And all that rain doesn't help matters at all. It seems like when it rains it pours, just one thing after another. Hope your home can get back to some sort assembly soon. I would need a nice glass of wine and chill out. Good luck, tomorrow is another day.

Re: The Money Pit

PINKdogWOOD — Wed, 01 Aug 2018 19:23:53 GMT

Here's our current money pit problems from Saturday.

We're out running errands, come home and the smoke detector is blaring. Poor dog Wallace meets us at the door although he's picking up his feet as if he doesn't want to walk on the floor. Why? It's covered with water that came through the typical place in the kitchen ceiling, on top of this the ceiling fan was on flinging water everywhere. We let the dog outside, I dropped the bags of groceries in the dining room which at the edge b/t kit & dining room wall to wall is beginning to become wet. Not knowing what happened upstairs thinking the tub is leaking again and finally broke lose again (this will be the 4th or 5th time repairing the kit ceiling) we dash upstairs to what's my bathroom (DH is dowstrs) we find that our 1/2" thick tank to the 1950's retro dresden blue toilet cracked right down the middle. Who knows how or why this happened!!! Bathrm floor is also wet.

DH stays there and cleans up there, I dash to the basement to get my spin mop because it's not only mopping the floor but now spin mopping/cleaning my kitchen walls that have streaks of water running down! Our salvation was that it was only tank water that's clean so...The ceiling fan still works but we're needing a new light bulb fixture for it. DH taking care of that after all my searching and phone calls as to where to find one.

Back to my '50s retro toilet - it just so happens Peerless still makes these retro colors, pink, yellow, green & blue so I ordered a brand new entirely new dresen blue toilet to be installed this weekend. Hole in ceiling will be worked on as well.

What's weird is that I just finished making 4 or 5 work folders for re-dos & upgrades in the pantry kit area, DH downstairs bathrm ie new tile floor, complete toilet & sink & countertop replacements, new cabinet & light in my bathroom, plumbing work needing done in the basement, the north wall being scraped, water proofed & painted in the basement, and new gutters/dowspouts all around.

This new stuff was not on my list of to-dos!!!!! Welcome to our money pit! Best to all of you who also have money pits that eat us out of house & home - literally!!!!

Adding a PS - I forgot to note we also have some roofing concerns we need taken care of as well.

Re: The Money Pit

SeaMaiden — Wed, 01 Aug 2018 19:23:39 GMT

Yes....the blessings🤑🤑🤑🤑🤑 of homeownership

Re: The Money Pit

shaggygirl — Wed, 01 Aug 2018 20:25:01 GMT

OMG, I haven't slept one good night's sleep in a couple of months fretting about all the c*&p that's been going wrong at my house. I sleep but then get up around midnight to use the bathroom and then my wheels start spinning about "stuff" and I toss & turn which is why sometimes I'm posting on here at all hours of the night. I too was plagued with water/roof/chimney problems since a bad storm last November. Finally got that resolved just a couple of weeks ago thank heavens because it is pouring right now and I dont feel compelled to have to pull down the attic stairs to see how wet the chimney is from water running down it nor how wet the wood beams in the attic are geting.. It's just been one costly thing after another.

Next up on the agenda as soon as the pool is closed for the season is the removal of 2 VERY VERY tall & full oak trees. They have to come down for a couple of reasons. We've had some wicked storms here in the Northeast, one of which caused major damage to many homes, and they just scare me the way they are leaning. Nothing is cheap to have done.

I'm not going into the plumbing issues. Just want to say, sometimes I feel so sorry for myself thinking someone "up there" is out to get me. So I sympathize with and have empathy for all of you having house problems. My Dad used to say, "If it isn't one thing it's two things!"

Re: The Money Pit

homedecor1 — Wed, 01 Aug 2018 20:55:25 GMT

Thank goodness my house is thoroughly done everything updated & remodeled over the past 3 years from new roof, replacement windows, plumbing upgraded, kitchen remodeled to new flooring...I don't think there's anything left...

my money pit now is my mouth (teeth)😳🙄. Had most my caps & bridges done over 30+ years ago & now it seems they are all starting to have issues🙀. Between root canals, extractions, implants ...I'm going broke! Of course, I got my $$$s worth out of my initial investment...yet, it seems every time I think I'm done -- I get pain or the dentist finds something else.

I'm shocked actually over the price of having nice teeth since I haven't had any dental issues in years! I shopped around & did lots of interviewing dentists before selecting my dentist...it was harder than choosing my contractors!!!

@gidgetgh once it's all done you'll be a happy camper! (and hopefully no more "surprises").

Re: The Money Pit

Lilysmom — Wed, 01 Aug 2018 21:16:16 GMT

@gidgetgh @PINKdogWOOD, et al, sure seems like a lot going on. I feel bad that many of you are having a tsunami of issues. Good luck on the repairs!!! LM

Re: The Money Pit

bootsanne — Wed, 01 Aug 2018 22:04:38 GMT

@gidgetgh and @homedecor1 Ironically or sadly if you wish, we're going through the same things. We live in the country and even with water treatment, our water takes it 's toll on our pipes and faucets. So this year so far, all faucets in the house have had to be replaced including shower heads. 2 pipe leaks, one an easy but expensive fix, the other a major mess involving plumbers, carpenter, carpet cleaning and sanitizing. Insurance company denied claim. Also the dishwasher is on it's last gasp. Also needed new landscaping, which is to make our life easier than replacing and planting flowers every year. 2 days ago tree trimmers were here for 3 hours---$750. As for the teeth, in the past 2 years I''ve paid close to $7000 to have my crumbling teeth covered in caps. What makes me kinda sick, if you add up the actual amount of work hours for everything, compared to the cost, well I'll just say combined my husband and I did not make even 1/10th of these people doing the repairs. Oh, I also revised my will--20 minutes--$350. I guess the prices at the Q aren't that bad.

Re: The Money Pit

PINKdogWOOD — Thu, 02 Aug 2018 10:27:12 GMT

@homedecor1 We've/I've already done a lot of updates ie totally finally insulated this old house because back in the day 90-100 yrs ago they didn't do this nor did DH's G'parents who owned this house/sold it to us. I've also have the entire outside power washed & painted, fully carpeted inside, new windows. I'm updating by painting inside every 6-10 years too.

Re: The Money Pit

Nataliesgramma — Thu, 02 Aug 2018 10:53:57 GMT

Home repairs sure seem to come at the worst times!!

Re: The Money Pit

151949 — Thu, 02 Aug 2018 11:15:51 GMT

Our home is only 8 years old so we never expected to need to do any major money repairs yet but within the last year we've had to buy a washer, get a new AC, and a hot water heater. The AC & hot water heater were broke down within days of each other. They kept the AC limping along til the new one arrived by coming every day and putting in freon but it ran constantly and when the electric bill came - ouch!

Fortunately, we don't have to replace the roof. Our HOA does that every 15 years. We also needed dryer and dishwasher repairs that could have been expensive but my cousin is our appliance repair man and he was able to fix those.

For those with these major plumbing and roof issues, I can feel your pain.

Re: The Money Pit

gidgetgh — Thu, 02 Aug 2018 18:04:07 GMT

Our bathroom demo starts tomorrow morning. I’m so NOT a remodel kind of girl.

The entire shower has to be replaced, some of the baseboard, and all the tile in the entire bathroom so that it will all matched. And part of the ceiling in the garage has to be cut out and replaced.

Our insurance will pay for the water damage only. I confirmed that with the adjuster this morning. Since our deductible is high, we will be paying for this entire repair ourselves. Ouch.

Re: The Money Pit

Puppy Lips — Thu, 02 Aug 2018 18:20:35 GMT

Sorry you are going thru this but as you can see you are not alone. Our house needs a lot of repairs now too, and we just don't have the money to do them. Our business (and our income) is down, and we are putting our last child thru college and there is no way I am going to burden him with student loans. We put our older two thru college and we will do if for this last one too.

Our house is 11 years old. We have already replaced both AC units and that was quite expensive. There are other things that need to be done. The other houses on our street are all just a few years old. After we built, the market crashed and building came to a halt. So everyone else has a shiny new home and we are struggling to keep up. But, this too will pass....

Good luck on your repairs. I hope it goes well.

Re: The Money Pit

151949 — Thu, 02 Aug 2018 19:05:35 GMT

@Puppy Lips Our plan has a similar situation to yours. They started building here in 2005, the crash in 2008 brought building to a screeching halt.When we first came here to look they were selling the models that had been priced at $280,000 for half that - and saying just make an offer. Sadly , DH wasn't retired yet then and we couldn't move. They didn't start building here again until 2010, and with a large national company.The homes are nothing compared to the quality pf the original 14 homes they built before the crash, but the price was great so we jumped for joy.The location of our home is perfect, and the only better view is property on the beach, which goes in the millions. We get the advantage of gorgeous landscaping and public areas that were done when they planned to sell the homes here for much higher prices. So there are 14 homes plus the clubhouse & pool that are approx 5 years older than ours, and built by a different builder then the remaining 124 homes are all the same, and all built within 3 years.

Re: The Money Pit

RetRN — Thu, 02 Aug 2018 19:09:35 GMT

@151949 wrote:
Our home is only 8 years old so we never expected to need to do any major money repairs yet but within the last year we've had to buy a washer, get a new AC, and a hot water heater. The AC & hot water heater were broke down within days of each other. They kept the AC limping along til the new one arrived by coming every day and putting in freon but it ran constantly and when the electric bill came - ouch!
Fortunately, we don't have to replace the roof. Our HOA does that every 15 years. We also needed dryer and dishwasher repairs that could have been expensive but my cousin is our appliance repair man and he was able to fix those.
For those with these major plumbing and roof issues, I can feel your pain.

An 8 yr. old home with all of the problems you have had was obviously cheaply and poorly built.

In my area the homes were quality construction done 20-25 yrs. ago and have truly stood the text of time. With only routine maintenance they are such nice homes.