And a dark, dreary, wet day makes everything seem all the worse.

Well I originally titled the post, "Old house whine" but changed it. : )

Everything goes wrong at the same time because everything went in the house at the same time and there is that dratted "life expectancy" to deal with. I hope the sun comes out tomorrow. You'll feel so much better :-))))

To top it off, yesterday I went to change a blown light bulb in the overhead fan light in the computer room. When I took the globe off I managed to lose one nut, but found it. Then when I began unscrewing the bulb, it exploded with a bang and a spark, and glass went all over! Yeah, I had the switch on. :( Now the metal end of the broken light bulb is up inside the socket and I'm afraid to try and get it out.

Be sure to turn off the power to the light then take a potato cut it in half and shove the cut side into the broken socket in the light use the potato to slowly turn the bulb socket out of the light fixture. A needle nose pliers will sometimes work but you must be sure no power is in the fixture before you stick those in there.

Then go take a nap lol!

https://youtu.be/Y0QjfD0LVH8

There's a video how to

Schoolhouse, flip your breakers for that room, use needle nose pliers. I've done that. Any more, those awkward ceiling fixtures or exterior lights, I put the tiniest bit of Vaseline on the bulb threads when I put them in and they always come out easily when changing them.

I really hate waiting for a plumber (or any service person). The man I've had for plumbing the last several years is just great, and while still not always on time, he has a believable reason and will call. And will come on weekends when needed. He puts up with me hanging over his shoulder trying to learn what he is doing too, but I'm hopeless with plumbing, I remember the technique all of 15 minutes and never long enough to make the correction myself when something else comes up. Water or electricity, I'm hopeless.

My house is 1955, but I'm blessed that it was well maintained and well built to begin with.

Schoolhouse, I totally agree. By the time all the stuff from an old house is fixed, we could've bought a brand new home. But old houses have personality, and are unique. And beautiful.

A dark dreary day means calories are discounted, doesn't it? And that sink, you don't want to cook. Order pizza and a chocolate bar and watch a good movie!

I feel for you. Dreary days make waiting so much worse. Actually, they make every thing worse. I like the idea of Pizza and a Chocolate Bar!!! I may do that today too. I am just sore from the work I did on this old house.. from 1952

Moni

The potato technique would work if there was any shards of glass left. ugh. Earlier today I started to use tweezers (ha) but couldn't get a good enough grip to turn the metal base of the bulb. I was skittish about getting zapped even with the power to the light off. I need pliers, will get a pair from the barn tomorrow. It's dark outside now.

Pizza and chocolate? I'm thinking McDonalds - and making it a double with cheese. I already have the choc. peanut clusters with maple filling and have been eating them all day. It's 5:41pm. I'm leaving right now. If the plumber comes, too bad.

I usually take care of problem myself like a clogged kitchen sink. Most plumbers probably do not view that problem as 'critical' and are giving priority to emergencies such as "My pipe's broken and my house is flooding. Quick, please help."

The other problem may be that he's the only plumber in town making house calls, and does not have to be in a rush, or make schedule. Another problem is that he may have been working a job before yours that took more time than he anticipated in which case, he should have called, but if he does not have a helper to make that call, he may skip it. And then there are tradesmen who are very independent and lackadaisical.

Ace Hardware mailed me a coupon for 20% off 1/27 and 1/28. I started making a list of all kinds of stuff, then got depressed about the labor (me) that will be involved. But I do (mainly) love my old house.

schoolhouse, I mentioned 'slow flow', meaning low pressure, kitchen, to my plumber when I met him at my sister in law's last month to change out a beginning-to-leak hot water tank, they are in Kona. He opened up the lines under the sink and the kohler faucet and found bits and debris (from the old tank?) clogging things up, fixed those too.

Talk about older houses. Theirs had been an 80 gal tank in a downstairs closet, and at some point someone had built custom wooden storage inside that - prohibiting getting the tank out. I had to call their handyman to remove the shelving without tearing it up, put it back when my plumber was done.

I agree contractors get busy on other prior scheduled jobs, but still a phone call wouldn't hurt. I'm going to just relax and go "with the flow". No pun intended.

Found the breaker for the computer room, it was on the same one as the kitchen. Used needle-nosed pliers to turn what was left of the blown bulb. Replaced bulb, turned breaker back on, all is well in that dept.......for now.

One more sob story. This morning one of the outdoor cats who has been having house privileges this winter wanted in the house so bad he jumped from the porch railing and onto the screen door with all four feet. Big rips in screen door. I actually shed some tears. That's one job I refuse to try anymore, esp since a local hardware offers that service and I'm happy with their work.

At least there is sun today.

morz8, that reminds me of my Mom's house. It is part of a small retirement village with homes built in the 80s. The water heater is in the washer and dryer nook. The heater is basically off to the side but totally blocked by the washer and dryer. In order to access the water heater for any repair or replacement, a person would have to disconnect and move the washer and dryer out.

A while back, we had a really slow kitchen sink on a Friday night and didn't want to have to deal with it all weekend. So I dumped a bunch of vinegar and baking soda down the drain and let it sit for half an hour or so. Then heated up a big stock pot of water to boiling and poured that down the sink. It took about 4 or 5 pots and everything drained perfectly again. I did 3 more pots of boiling water, just to make sure. If lifting is an issue you could use smaller pots and just heat up several at the same time. This was last autumn and everything is still draining fine, plus we saved well over $100 by not having to call the plumber. :)

I try to resist home remedies on a weekend, although that IS when houses conspire against their loving owners. I've had a home remedy result in an expanded problem -- and an urgent need for a tradesman (or two) at overtime rates.

It's schadenfreude for me to read this thread. We built a new house 16 years ago and have been largely free of ANY major house woes. We've replaced a water heater and two appliances; fridge will probably be next.