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They began work on the bathroom today and we had our first cost overrun in less than two hours. See, it turns out that the water heater was once in the kitchen. It was moved into the crawl space under the bathroom at some point. But instead of replacing all the pipe as they should have done, they just ran new pipe from the new water heater to the place in the kitchen where it used to be. So when we take a shower, the hot water has to go from the heater, out to the kitchen, and back to the bathroom. All through rusty, leaky galvanized pipe. No wonder the hot water is funky.

So they replaced all the pipe in the house today, not just under the bathroom as they had been intending to do. It cost $450 extra, which is not bad for doing the whole house. But then again, it's a small house.

Also the plumber mentioned that the hot water heater is looking rusty. It's only 4 years old, but it's, as he put it, "sitting in a hole." The entrance to the crawl space is tight, so if we wanted even 30 gallons (barely enough for 2 people) we had to get a heater that was too tall for the space. So they had to dig a hole for the heater to sit in. It's on blocks but I'm not surprised that it's in bad shape. However, we're talking about replacing it with an instant water heater anyway, and I think it will last until we get there.

While we were talking, the plumber mentioned that the contractor wanted him back Thursday at noon to work on the new tub. I told him I had arranged a pickup truck and I was going to pick up the tub tonight. He asked if I was going to get that Americast tub and I said I was going to get a whirlpool tub instead. Well he pretty much freaked out.

I didn't realize there were so many additional issues at play with a whirlpool, but apparently there are. The plumber was really not happy & he kind of went off on me. I think he's a bit high-strung. He really sounded very upset. I promised to print out the spec sheets from the American Standard website and drive them right over. Which meant leaving work in the middle of the day, which I really can't be doing right now, but I had to, so I did.

On the way over I thought it over and realized that I was going to drive all the way over there (half hour each way), and all that would happen is they would chew me out for not properly informing them of the job specs and I wouldn't get my damned whirlpool anyway. So I pulled off the road and called the plumber. He wasn't at his cell phone, I guess he was under the house working on the pipes. So I called the contractor. He was much more calm & much easier to talk to. I'm really glad we have him on this job.

The contractor said that if we really wanted the whirlpool tub, he could do it, but he explained several reasons why he wouldn't recommend it. First of all, apparently those removable aprons are really cruddy. They're cheap plastic and they tend to buckle and pop out whenever the tub flexes (like every time you fill it). He said that if we got one like that, we would have problems with it forever. And that's the only kind we can have because in such a small space, there's no other way to get access to the pump.

Also, we would need to bring in an electrician to run a new circuit to the pump. I can't believe I didn't think of that. But because of the water it has to be a dedicated circuit, so there would have to be an electrician. Which would slow down the job and raise costs.

The contractor, Rick, was really nice about it & he said that if we had our hearts set on a whirlpool, he could do it. But that he wouldn't advise it, wouldn't put one of those in his own house. And whatever we do, he needed to know immediately so he could plan for it. So I told him that we would go back to the original plan & I would get a plain old tub tonight. I'm disappointed about not getting my whirlpool tub, but it's better not to spend money I can't afford on something that wouldn't work right anyway.

I told the contractor that I thought I had freaked out the plumber & he just laughed and said "Don't worry, I do that all the time." I tell you, I am going to try and deal with the contractor as much as possible from now on. He's seems accustomed to talking to stressed out homeowners, who don't know what they're doing, in emotionally charged situations. The plumber and I were kind of yelling at each other, "you can't change something like this after we've started!" "I really want this tub!" But the contractor completely defused the situation.

[Later] The contractor called me around 4 just to let me know they were finishing up for the day, what they had accomplished and what they're going to do tomorrow. Have I mentioned that I love this guy?

Apparently the deterioration under the bathroom was worse than they had expected, but since they were already planning to replace the entire floor it's OK as long as the rotten wood is limited to the bathroom. Which it seems to be.

Right now I'm waiting for Georg to get to my office. We'll head to Home Depot and pick up the bathtub, which they need tomorrow so they can measure the wall. And the heater/fan, which they will need on Thursday when the electrical work gets done. And the toilet, which they won't need until the end but if we get it now we won't have to deal with it later. I was hoping we'd have time to go to the mail center and see if our faucets are in, but since they close in a half hour I don't think that's going to happen.

After dropping off the tub, the toilet and the heater at our house, we'll turn right around and drive out to Pittsboro, where we are staying in my boss' guest house. It's really really nice of them to let us stay there. Wish they lived a little closer :) It's only about 1/2 hour from the office, but in the opposite direction from my house.

It's hard to believe that on top of all this, we're going to the NY conference in three days. Just think, last week I was planning on getting my hair done for the trip! Now I'll be lucky if I have time to pack.