It happened yesterday, and it happens every time I call a plumber, electrician, tile guy, or even the stupid utility companies. I never know enough about the topic. I haven't examined, measured, or researched enough. I am uncomfortable with a lot of the terminology. I start to rationalize potential decisions out loud, to myself, while the guy on the other end is just waiting for me to say 'yes' or 'no'.
These situations identify one of my biggest insecurities: I hate feeling dumb. By the end of the call (tile guy), my body temperature was up, my pulse was up, and my confidence was in underground parking. Immediately, I was browsing homedepot.com and other supply sites, reading installation guides with titles like, "How To Frame for a Bathtub" and "Installing a Drain" - I don't want to know any of those things! And which handy service person is going to do each of them?
Our master bathroom shower has been out of commission (3 months now? 4?) since we got the plumbing fixed because I can't get around to figuring out exactly what we should do with the walls, nor who should do it. And this is something I really want to get done. I'm tired of trudging into my bathroom to get a towel, then trudging to the kids' bathroom to shower. My closet is already in the hallway - add on this injustice and it's like I'm living in a dorm. If this was just a "someday" project, like, "I'd someday like to install a sauna with a heat resistant flat screen TV", imagine how long that would take! (Not in this house, honey, don't worry).
So I've had a day to think about it, and I still don't know what to do. I just want it fixed, and I want someone else to make the decision, and I want it to cost very little...a perfectly rational and realistic stance on home improvement, right?
If watching house-flipping home improvement shows has taught me anything, it's hire someone to do the work rather than try it yourself, and just shell out the money, whatever it costs. Otherwise you end up taking too long, spending too much money anyway, and giving yourself ulcers. A friend took on a bathroom tiling project because she wanted to do it herself; a year and a half later it still wasn't done, after she had screwed up some measurements, put down tile, ripped it back up, re-rented the wet saw, etc. She finally hired someone and they got it done in a week.
ReplyDeleteNo shower for 3, maybe 4 months....Wow, for the first time I am glad you live in Utah.
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