I don't have ANY jokes about my house being a building site? Really?

[spindizzy]

Did August happen? Really? Because people keep telling me it did, but I don't remember any such nonsense, so...

In fun news: so you remember that I mentioned builders would be in to F I N A L L Y fix our bathroom, two years after we reported the shower leaking through the kitchen ceiling and sithe put his foot through the floor? Yeah, that's been happening this week and Lex and I have spent most of this week in a hotel, but here's what's been happening with that!

• The walls in our house are not actually made of anything that the builders recognised as walls. Our bathroom walls were apparently two sheets of what looked like it might have been "low-density MDF" if low-density MDF was plaster with hamster bedding in it. Which, y'know, explains the complete lack of sound-proofing and it being IMPOSSIBLE to waterproof! But also, as it was two slabs of that instead of actual walls with joists and things... They had to literally tear down the walls and rebuild them. So sithe's bedroom temporarily became part of the bathroom, and I guess me and LexGarrett got an en suite? If you want to see a picture, I put one on twitter – that's the back of our shower, so what came off when they tried to strip the tiles!


• Also they took off the bathroom door, and threw all of the fixtures into our front yard like we don't live in an area where people will nick that shit. Come on my dudes. ... Actually, wait, IS there an area where people wouldn't nick that shit? (NGL I was annoyed that they put the toilet back at the end of the day but not the seat. :/ ) And apparently, due to the wall nonsense, there was nothing for them to attach the cistern to, which means that our current method of flushing is pouring a bucket of water down there.


• Weird fact: I have bad dreams about bathroom fuckery. Have done for years. The combo of no door + no flush + no sink/running water in the room? LITERAL NIGHTMARE THAT I HAVE HAD. I could maybe have dealt with any two of those factors, but all three AND my mild germophobia kinda sent me anxiety spiralling. Which is really selfish of me! Because sithe is the one who's actually been dealing with it! But also internal screaming to the highest degree! So... I feel guilty that Lex booked us a hotel, but also like this has saved both of them from dealing with so much of my nonsense, so I don't know if that cancels out or not.


• (I'm trying not to go EVERYTHING IS UNCLEAN too much, but it's taking active effort. If I can keep this up until they're done working, I am going to attack everything with antibacterial wipes just for my own brain.)


• sithe has been sleeping in the living room this week, because his bed is currently a toolbox. A toolbox that the builders forgot technically wasn't secure because the windows on that side of the house haven't locked in like a year.


• You know what's really validating though? I went "I'm pretty sure this chunk of floor at the top of the stairs is broken," and lo and behold! It had a hole in and needed shoring up. LOVE being right.


• The plasterer was supposed to come round yesterday, but his partner went into labour and we were all universally like "... Nah mate, seems fair!" (He has a daughter, congrats to that dude and his partner!) He also took one look at our kitchen ceiling, which has been leaked through for TWO YEARS, and went "... Yeah, that's fucked," so that's fun! (Apparently the ceiling has separated from the joists completely and screwing it back in would snap it in half? I understand about half of that, just that it's bad and now whenever they work on things upstairs something falls out of the ceiling down here.)


• I've been sharing these adventures with people, and the reactions have generally been "... So your landlady's paying for a hotel for all three of you, right?" and "... So your renter's insurance will pay for a hotel for all three of you, right?" Which is a lovely idea, but also *laughs hysterically*


• (Our landlady is SO SALTY about having to pay for these repairs, and I have absolutely zero sympathy. If you don't want landlord responsibilities, don't become a landlord! Especially when we all know you're doing it as a way of letting you force contact with your adult son! But seriously every time she's like "These repairs are costing me more than you're paying in rent" I have to bite my tongue on "Well if you'd dealt with this WHEN WE TOLD YOU ABOUT IT it probably wouldn't be so expensive!" To her credit, our rent is £150 per person for a two-bed house! But also it's a moderately rough area and the house is moderately fucked, so no! She doesn't get to whine about there being things that need paying for!)

On the unironic plus side, they've put some weird electronic air vents in our ceilings, so hopefully that's going to solve the mould problem! Fingers crossed on that, because I am really hopeful about it working.

But yeah, that's the current state of the house! In theory they're putting the floor down right now, and they're going to be plumbing everything back in tomorrow? Or at least that's the hope anyway, as far as I know none of the builders have been offered tea, which means that they're not bound by the rules of hospitality so ANYTHING could happen.

Comments

[lokifan]

Our landlady is SO SALTY about having to pay for these repairs, and I have absolutely zero sympathy. If you don't want landlord responsibilities, don't become a landlord!

SERIOUSLY. Especially not TO YOUR TENANTS.