This Old House
/Our place isn't really a house; technically it's a duplex. It might have been a house at one point and then converted into a duplex. We're the only duplex around; the other places around are traditional houses. In fact, it's a pretty nice neighborhood. Going back to the "old house" title, our place has character to put it nicely. We've dealt with some interesting things over the past 7-1/2 months.
So far I've been very vague, so let me give you an example: the oven. The oven is in desperate need of replacement. It's slowly gotten worse over the months. Basically the hinges are rusted over. We've been told by two handymen that it's unfixable and needs to be replaced. It creaks loudly when you open & close it. Sometimes I've been seen small sparks (scary). It gets worse as the oven gets hotter too. I found there is a trick with the door. You have to pull up on the left a bit, while keeping the right steady. Also, quick movements works sometimes - i.e. close it fast.
Last week, the tricks failed. As I was baking some delicious oatmeal cookies and taking out the second batch, the entire oven door came off. I stood there perplexed in the middle of the kitchen holding an oven door. Crazy! What does one do with a hot oven door? Questions come to mind such as: Is that real tile on the floor or will it melt when I set it down? Do I set it outside or in the garage? If so, what do I lean it on? In the end, I turned the oven off, and then I managed to get the door back on the hinges and to it's pervious precarious state. Luckily, the cookies turned out still (as I said, they were delicious).
There are other things like the foundation is crooked (hence some cracks in the walls), the windows get wet inside during the winter, weird wiring (what does that switch control?), etc. Ok, enough venting; just had to share. On the bright side...we know what to look for in a home purchase or even our next rental!
So far I've been very vague, so let me give you an example: the oven. The oven is in desperate need of replacement. It's slowly gotten worse over the months. Basically the hinges are rusted over. We've been told by two handymen that it's unfixable and needs to be replaced. It creaks loudly when you open & close it. Sometimes I've been seen small sparks (scary). It gets worse as the oven gets hotter too. I found there is a trick with the door. You have to pull up on the left a bit, while keeping the right steady. Also, quick movements works sometimes - i.e. close it fast.
Last week, the tricks failed. As I was baking some delicious oatmeal cookies and taking out the second batch, the entire oven door came off. I stood there perplexed in the middle of the kitchen holding an oven door. Crazy! What does one do with a hot oven door? Questions come to mind such as: Is that real tile on the floor or will it melt when I set it down? Do I set it outside or in the garage? If so, what do I lean it on? In the end, I turned the oven off, and then I managed to get the door back on the hinges and to it's pervious precarious state. Luckily, the cookies turned out still (as I said, they were delicious).
There are other things like the foundation is crooked (hence some cracks in the walls), the windows get wet inside during the winter, weird wiring (what does that switch control?), etc. Ok, enough venting; just had to share. On the bright side...we know what to look for in a home purchase or even our next rental!
