the floor that wasn't there

I had some time to kill this morning while waiting for the fourth and final foundation estimate, so I did some more work on tearing up the flooring in the bedrooms. It's become apparent that this is no easy task, as the 2-3 layers of linoleum (depending on which room you're in) have a subflooring beneath them that appears to be really thick, dense cardboard. This left me frustrated with the master bedroom, so I moved into the smaller second bedroom.

As I worked on the corner I'd started previously, I was surprised to find that what I'd assumed was deteriorated linoleum was actually honest-to-god plaster. There's a spot in the master bedroom where the linoleum had been covered in a thin layer of putty, or possibly concrete, so I didn't think too much about it, just got the crowbar down under the linoleum and pulled it up.

You probably recall from Physics class that the crowbar functions by harnessing the power of the fulcrum to multiply the pressure you apply to the lever it transforms into when correctly employed. When I applied pressure in this particular instance, I noticed that my fulcrum felt decidedly.. squishy. But I am no shrinking violet, so I pressed down anyway, tearing the linoleum loose along with a large chunk of plaster.



Turns out the plaster wasn't just a spill that got smeared around or protection against drafts. It was there to even out the floor, since that corner of the room is about 4" lower than what it should be. Looks (and smells) like the oak there is rotted.

I guess it's lucky that the wall over the bad spot will probably have to be replaced. It looks like I'll need to try and insert some new boards in that spot, if such a thing is even possible.

contractors

I'm coming to understand the true beauty of Do It Yourself renovations, I think. It's not the romance, or the assurance that everything will be done exactly as you want it (or as near as your skills allow you to approximate). It's that Yourself, unlike a contractor, will not come to your house, spend two hours giving you an "estimate" that involves a lot of time spent telling horror stories about other contractors and explaining why is costs $40,000 to do the job "to code," only to immediately drop off the face of the earth. You always know where Yourself is and do not have to call Yourself every single day to stand a chance of ever getting a final bid. Yourself is extremely capable of holding up work in myriad ways, but refusing to return your phone calls is not one of them.

I've had three companies come out to estimate foundation repairs. I have a bid from one. One sent a bid that involved putting new piers in the middle of the yard and I'm waiting for that to be corrected. One has become simply unreachable. Apparently these guys don't need my business, which works out well because I'd probably never hire them now, but I'd still like to see the estimates to better evaluate the one bid I do have. There's another company coming out on Friday. Having learned my lesson, I am not letting the guy leave until he puts the bid in my hand.

Plumbers, if possible, seem to be even worse. I'd heard that about plumbers. Even the guy who was recommended to me won't set up an appointment. I had an appointment to see another company "sometime today," and had asked for about two hours' notice. When he called today, he asked when I'd like to do it. "This afternoon?" I asked, confused. "Or tomorrow morning would work, I guess.." I added after a brief silence.

"Let's do tomorrow morning," he responds.

"Ok. About what time? Around eigh-"

"I'll give you a call around lunchtime, ok?"

I don't equate lunchtime with morning. Nor, I suspect, does this guy. Within the space of a single 30 second phone call I got rescheduled twice. I'm very curious as to whether I will meet this plumber tomorrow. My money right now is on No.

The one group who seem to be reliable are the electricians. No no-shows, no rescheduling, they've been there exactly when they said they would both times so far. Maybe this is a sign that I should start with the electric and wait for the foundation guys to figure out how to operate their telephones. Unfortunately, foundation really needs to come first. I hope that on Friday, I'll be in a position to schedule something.