Sunday, October 05, 2008

Toilet-Shopping Misadventures and Other Hazards of Home Improvement

It turns out that shopping for a temporarily tax-exempt item on the last day of a sales tax holiday is a very bad idea. Who knew there would be such a run on high efficiency toilets? The timing seemed perfect. The State of Georgia was offering a sales tax holiday on energy- and water-efficient items for a few days, ending today. Our old toilet is in the dumpster and we needed to get a new one anyway, so off we went. Holy crap! There was a feeding frenzy going on in the toilet aisle. People were buying them two and three at a time. It was impossible to find anyone to answer questions or to look up stock. We went somewhere else and ended up coming back to the first place, where they had the bowl we wanted, but not the tank. We decided not to be so damn picky about it and got a similar model. It's just a toilet, right? As long as it does a decent job with #2 and isn't a pain to clean, we're happy.

One of the downsides to large home improvement projects is losing the use of the room you are renovating. This was really a problem when we had the kitchen done. Not such a big deal this time - we still have 1.5 baths that are usable, and only two of us live here. What's the problem, you ask? The problem is that the 1.5 baths are located adjacent to each other and neither has a fan or any other type of noisemaker. So if the urge strikes both of us simultaneously... lets just say that it gets awkward. We would both prefer to preserve a little mystery, and there are definitely some things you don't want to know and/or think about regarding your spouse. One of today's many purchases? An exhaust fan for the new bathroom.

Saturday was more enjoyable than Sunday, except for the early start and sitting in the sun for most of the game. (Yes, it is still really freaking hot here.) It was a defensive battle for much of the day, with Tech ahead 3-0 at the half. But by the middle of the third quarter when the shade of the upper deck finally reached us, Tech's offense started to heat up. It ended up not even close. I am happy that Duke's fortunes in general have changed this year and wish them luck with their new coach. And how about Vandy's excellent start? It has been a good season for academically challenging schools so far. Of course, some things never change -- even though Tech won and Georgia did not play this week, the Atlanta newspaper devoted half the cover of the sports page to Georgia, with Georgia Tech and the Atlanta Falcons splitting the remainder. We're still not getting any love from the polls either.

17 comments:

NYPinTA said...

"Holy crap." Heh. Hehehehe. Ha. ;)

Jenn said...

Last year we shopped for a tolit after our downstairs one encumbered a mystery clog. The only one we could find (that was water efficent) was a handicapped tolit. DO you know how hard it is to be 5'4 and sit on a three foot high potty?
That is the Atlanta Paper for you.

dr sardonicus said...

Hope you got that new toilet in by now - climbing in the dumpster to pee must be rough...

Like playing Gardner-Webb next week is gonna get GT any respect, either. Beating Clemson on the road would be an accomplishment, though.

How 'bout them 'Dores?

BC said...

I would give anything to have a new toilet here. Its not my house so its not my choice. But I hate the damn thing. It wont flush right half the time. I plan on moving soon though.

fermicat said...

nypinta - Holy crap, indeed!

jenny - we ended up with a 1.6 gallon flush (and paying sales tax). I just don't trust those 1.28 gallon flush toilets to get the job done. Their "flush ratings" were terrible. And no, we didn't get a "tall" model either. The AJC loves the Bulldogs. It might be different if Tech had a Journalism school. Oh well.

dr s - it is in the carport, disguised under a sheet. Don't want the new commode to get stolen! The game with Garner-Webb wasn't our fault -- we had an away game with Army scheduled and they backed out. G-W is all we could arrange on short notice. I agree that beating Clemson in Death Valley might get some people's attention. But we've already won more games than those idiots at Sports Illustrated said we would when they ranked us #80 in the preseason. Jerkwads.

bc - our toilets range from "old and just OK" to "old and don't really work worth a damn". My friend who replaced her toilets tells me that I will see a difference on my water bill.

Debo Blue said...

I am laughing out loud as I type this. In my house our two restrooms are adjacent and there's usually no problem until our plumbing job this summer that left a hole in the walls between each. Whenever both restrooms were being used, all sense of privacy was gone. I found that running water in the sink is a great source of noisy distraction.

Singing anything by the Carpenters works just as well.

fermicat said...

debo - sorry to hear that you've got the same problem! Your solution sounds good, although we probably shouldn't run water during the drought. Which leaves only the Carpenters. Uh oh.

Beth said...

Just got caught up on all I've missed. As a woman who has been a part of many renovations, I think bathroom is one of the worst. Lots of water and stuff, but exhaust fan is a must. My husband grew up without them in this big, fabulous historic home, but I impressed upon him the importance of noise during private toilet time. =)

Can't wait to see the after pics.

Jenn said...

Laughing at getting the job done, but they do, and they doodoo it well.
:ewink:

Dianne said...

I'm laughing at a 'run on toliets'

The economy really is in the crapper!

Glad you got one though.

tiff said...

Turn on the faucets, full blast, then being humming. At leat until the new exhaust fan is put in.

I live in a 1-bath house with three other people. Awkward soemtimes doesn't begin to describe it. :)

tiff said...

And I see I totally copied Debo Blue's comment.

Can I file that under 'great minds thinking alike' please?

BC said...

I have never lived in a place that had more than one toilet. The thing that freaked me out was living in a deluxe apartment complex where the bathrooms were a wall apart. Its one thing to be next to someone you know, but its another thing to be next to a stranger on the other side of the wall. You learn way too much information about them.

LL said...

It could be worse... I've still got a two seat outhouse out back, and my neighbor still has a three seater. Two for adults, and one for the chillins.

Or you and PDM coulda just bought the love toilet...

fermicat said...

beth - the exhaust fan is a must! After pics will take a while.

jennylu - ha ha.

dianne - heh. And we got one.

tiff - great minds, yes.

bc - that would be worse, I agree.

ll - an outhouse in Idaho? Brrrrrr! And no, we won't be getting that love toilet!

TheWriteGirl said...

My former spouse used to leave the bathroom door open when there was no one else at home, so I developed an immunity to, well, whatever. But that's what true love is, right? Being able to tolerate all of the little physical foibles of your other half.

But I can so identify with the problem of losing the room while it's under construction. When my sister-in-law was doing her kitchen, she had to take the dishes upstairs to wash them in the bathtub.

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