i dryed up the wood and I guess I shouldn't of becuase he wont do anything now. Which brings me to my next question Isn't that a Risk of mold? It's a risk of mold IF it stays damp for a while. If the leak isn't happening, and the area stays dry, there's no risk of mold. If the leak happens again, call him back (and leave the puddle on the floor). **you might post over at the Plumbing forum (see "Other Forums" link at the top of the main page) and see if anyone can suggest any sort of tape or something you could wrap around the outside that would stop the leak. the BIGGEST issue w/ the leak is that it will damage the cabinet--and has already. You don't want them to be on your case bcs you didn't get it fixed before damage occurred (seems to me thats a tenant's responsibility, to alert management when repairs are needed so management can maintain the value of their property). I might call again, and say, "look, I found damp spots again, and obviously there is a leak ,because of damage. I don't want YOUR STUFF to get further ruined; don't you want to fix it? If you wont' come and just tighten or redo all the connections under the sink, then I want you to sign a waiver that says I'm not responsible for any water damage under the sink." Rusty radiators won't hurt you; I've never read anything about dangers of inhaling iron--I don't think it creates fumes anyway--feel free to use them. If they look bad, ask management to come and scrape and paint them. As for the carpet, sure you can ask. But if your rent is lower than in the other units, they may tell you that new carpet will cost you a higher rent. I would just ask them--point out that you're paying the market rate, and your carpets are disgusting; their agent acknowledged this at the beginning (though you accepted those carpets as is, and they may say, that's the contract) But I don't think any of those things are particular health hazards. Maybe your best bet is to start looking at other apartments. See what you can get elsewhere for the same money you are spending now. If it's better (even if it's just in better condition), that gives you a bargaining tool. You can either just move when your lease is up, or threaten to do so as a tool to get them to make your place look nice. They'd have to change that carpet for a new tenant anyway, plus they might have some down-time between tenants.

Ice1, onedogedie and EAM44, I like the idea of cloth on the walls. How does one keep it clean, though, especially in or adjacent to a kitchen? And I have no connection to Iceland other than a fascination with the land and the culture. Someday I hope to visit there. Is that what "Ice" represents in your name, Ice1? I love the idea of girls taking a name from their mothers and since Mary was my mom's name, "Marysdottir" allowed me to combine two loves in one name. I've been kind of shy about the idea of sharing my kitchen. I've been a lurker for so long, basing so much of my planning for this kitchen reno and an earlier bathroom reno from all the amazing people here on GW, that it feels odd to share my amateur efforts with people who have created such beautiful spaces! But I guess that is how we all learn from the decisions of others. I am very pleased with how the kitchen turned out so on my next day off I will try and capture some decent pictures in good light and share them. Funny you should mention the wallpaper. We have had it for more than twenty years and are only just now thinking about replacing it with something more subtle. I still love it and given that it is vinyl, it may be impossible to remove, so it just may be on those walls until the kids inherit and have to sell the house! I think it drives our cabinet designer crazy though. Every time she sees it she looks ill and mutters about all the colour we have in here. She is a bit of a minimalist but she coped with all of my demands on the cabinets, even the things that seemed too "old fashioned" so I have to give her credit for being open minded. Thank you all for your kind words. You've given me the courage to post a reveal!

I think I am back but I can't go to my email without Googling the company & my printer seems to have disappeared.My top Tool bar is gone so I must have hit a wrong key or something. DD is busy as GD is in play for 10 days so hope nothing else goes haywire! Oh,today I was walking back to car parked outside rehab parking (lot was full) & spotted 4 pieces of rebar, nice & rusty,(about 12 in. long each) & on wall above where we all park our cars. Well, don't want anyone to have problems & if they got knocked off that 4 in. wall would cost lot to repair their (or mom's) cars, so I took care of the problem, sure I will find a use for them! Jan

Hi all! Had a lovely cool shower! My neighbors just gave me one of those detachable shower heads with the hose on it. They're moving and didn't need it. Last night Frank came over and put it on. It's been years since I've had one of those so it's a real treat! Then I had my lunch--Greek yogurt with a little granola, and my noon cup of coffee. :-). Finally went outside to get those pics for Caroline! So this is the house number we hung up on the side of the house. Underneath it are the stickers that are so tacky. We put a rope hanger on it and stuck a hook on the house with adhesive and then hung the sign on it: It's visible from the street, which was our main objective. Secondarily, we're going for a cottage look, so this was the first small step. Here's the "Cozy Cottage" sign we made and put up on a tree next to the street. It's also very visible and we think it's cute, lol! The second pic here was taken from the street. I know this wouldn't fit everyone's style or taste, but it works for us. I also wanted to mention that I was at the hardware store the other day and they had quite a variety of numbers, mostly metal and/or plastic, in black and kind of brass, that looked like you screw them into the post or wall. Have a great afternoon! :-)