My electrician arrived yesterday and after getting caught up he got down to work. My electrician has finished every project that ex #2 (also an electrician) has ever started. He has been fixing my problems for the last five years so we had a little catching up to do. My daughter used to think he was way cool because he once had lunch with one of the Wiggles. She’s not so impressed by that fact anymore but was pleased that he hung around after he was finished and created a Mii that looked just like Michael Jackson. But I’m getting off track.
After installing the plug, he and my son lugged the broken dryer up the stairs to take outside. Measuring was done to make sure it would fit up the stairway but only at the bottom of the stairway. My stairway, from the basement to the first floor, evidently shrinks as you go up. So they hauled it back down and turned it and tried again. Since the dryer was broken I didn’t care if they had to force it through. Which is what they had to do. Once they got the broken dryer out they grabbed the dryer from the garage, that hopefully works, and reversed the process. Again measuring of the machine was completed but not the vent/exhaust connectors at the bottom that stuck out just enough so the damn thing wouldn’t fit. Since this one presumably did work I really didn’t want them to force it through the door opening.
After looking at the situation (with the door to the outside off and letting in all the cold air) it was clear that drastic measures had to be taken. My options were few. Get it in or buy a new one that would fit.
“Let’s just take a Sawz-All to the doorway” I suggested.
“You really aren’t afraid of anything are you?” My electrician asked.
I might not care about defacing my kitchen but my electrician was not willing to. He slowly and methodically pulled off the trim to the doorway leading to the basement. Because he would be putting it all back together he wanted to make sure that he didn’t split any of the pieces of wood. He did a fine job of taking my doorway apart and they managed to get the dryer down though it was still a tight squeeze.
After the dryer was installed and checked to make sure it worked (it did!) they loaded the washing machine onto the hand truck and were going to haul it out and bring the one in the garage in.
“Don’t you think it might be better to bring the one in the garage down and make sure it works before you haul out this one?” I asked.
“Nah, it’ll work.” My electrician assured me.
“I’m not so sure, it’s been sitting in my garage for a year and a half. My garage was flooded last winter and there was two inches of ice coating the floor of the garage. The machines were stuck in the ice.” I explained.
“Okay, maybe you have a point.” My electrician conceded.
So they brought the other down but did not uninstall the old once since the newer one had ice in the bottom of it. We decided to let it thaw out for a day and then see what happens.
Before the door dissembling took place my electrician and I had gone through the house to make a list of the other jobs that needed to be done. The lights in the bedrooms and the switches on the second floor. He also took a look at my dishwasher since the new one was coming today. When the door business happened, and it took at least an hour to take it all apart, everything else got forgotten. So he forgot to unhook my dishwasher. He said he would be back on Saturday, since neither of us had a life, and would finish the rest then. I thanked him profusely and let him leave.
The dishwasher was supposed to be delivered today but they hadn’t called the night before to let me know when so I assumed they were not coming today. This was actually a good thing since I hadn’t gotten the old one out and figured I could go a few more days washing dishes by hand. I put the dishwasher out of my thoughts and decided that I would see if the washing machine worked.
After putzing around with the connections, forgetting to turn the water off, spraying the whole laundry room, turning the water off and then unhooking the connection and then reversing the process with the newer machine I started it up. And it worked. Pretty well.
It doesn’t spin all that wonderfully but I think it is because the machine is not level. Really not level. I tried to adjust the little feet but they wouldn’t budge. My electrician likes to play with his level so I left it for him to mess with. I don’t have any laundry at this point so no biggie until Saturday.
The phone rings and it’s the dishwasher people calling to let me know the dishwasher will arrive between 10:30 and 12:30. I got this call at 10:00.
I had rented a hand truck yesterday for the dryer but had returned it. When I ordered the dishwasher I did not get the installation since I figured I could do it myself. Big mistake. So now I know my dishwasher is coming. I have no way to remove the old one, and I don’t know how to get the old one out. I did not want to have an extra dishwasher sitting in my teeny tiny kitchen until Saturday. So I did what any woman worth her weight would do.
I put on makeup and a slinky top.
Five minutes later, the delivery guys were at my front door with my new dishwasher. Two young guys with lots of muscle.
They easily brought it through the front door and set it down in my kitchen.
“So is your husband going to install it for you?” The one who talked asked.
“No, there isn’t one anymore, I thought I could probably figure it out on my own.” I said as I smiled and flipped my hair off my shoulder.
“Well we have a few more deliveries in this area and we are ahead of schedule so we could come back and help you if you can unhook the water and the electrical cord. We’ll even take the old one away for you if you like.” The one who spoke said.
“Really, that is so nice of you.” I said as I tried to bat my eyelashes.
“You okay, got something in your eye ma’am?” The one who spoke asked.
So he showed me how to unhook the water supply and even turned off the water for me. He said they would be back shortly. Apparently they cannot mess with my water or electricity unless they are hired to install it. Since I had not gotten the installation they were happy to do the lifting and showing me what to do but could not actually mess with the connections. I was cool with that and bopped down to the basement to turn off the electricity in the kitchen.
Two breakers are clearly marked “Kitchen” on my service panel. I flipped them both to the off position and bopped back upstairs daydreaming about the clean dishes I will soon have. When I got upstairs I notice the light in the kitchen is still on, the clocks on both the microwave and coffee maker are still on and everything else is still working.
That’s not good on so many levels.
To be continued…
So, you aren’t a fully fledged electrician yet, then. Can’t wait to gear what happened next!
Fluttered your eyes, indeed! You gals must think we chaps are stupid. Ok, I know we are, but … oh never mind. I think if anyone fluttered her eyes at me these days I’d run a mile.
yowza! I know so little about home maintenance I’d have to sleep with the delivery guys to get everything done that I needed!! 😉
I can not wait to hear the rest of the story! 🙂
you go girl.. it’s fun flirting to get your way isn’t it? Make sure when they come back, you have the heat cranked WAY up so that they have to take their shirts off.. get pics too!
Man must be nice to be a woman. Great story, really enjoyed reading it with the day that I had today.
Hi Jen, seems you will always make it, no matter what, specially being a redhead…lol
Would you consider x linking with my humble site? I think your site is cool.
If yes, please give me a buzz.
Thanks, Colin.
All I could think of is, “Man, that is a lot of work.”
Geesh, that must be some slinky top to get those guys to be so willing to help! Good for you.
Such drama to get appliances! Did we ever think in our youth that our lives would revolve around getting our appliances to work?! When did we sink to this level? Sigh.
I linked you the other day–did you see it?
Ah Dishwashers. And stupid electrical boxes. I remember when we moved into this house, I was a young and stupid person, and I foolishly loaded up the dishwasher and turned it on. On the first drain, water started pouring out from under the sink and covering the floor. Dirty, soapy, food-filled water. I opened the thing to stop it, and at that very moment, the slightly-English-speaking Mexican handiman, who handled all the little stuff in the new houses in our developement, rang the doorbell. I opened the door and hollered, ‘Oh My God!!! Do You Know Anything About Dishwashers?!?!’, grabbed his hand and drug him to the kitchen. We were both standing in dirty water staring speechlessly at the appliance when the plumber showed up to fix a couple of little problems we had with his work…water turn-off to the house didn’t work, leaking connections, unflushing toilets (he was a real prize). He opened the cabinet under the sink and we all looked at the hose that hadn’t been connected from the dishwasher to the garbage disposal. He took out a hose clamp and put the hose on. I seriously considered murdering the stupid bastard, but I wanted my toilets to flush, so I restrained myself.
Oh, and yesterday, for no reason at all, the light fixture above the sink made an EXPLODING sound and went out. We then discovered that the light and sink garbage disposal were on the same circuit breaker, which was apparently not connected to the deceptively placed GFI in the kitchen wall outlet. Apparently, that garbage disposal is supposed to be on it’s own circuit. And the GFI is supposed to work in the kitchen, and not turn off the garage door opener. Sweet!
“So I did what any woman worth her weight would do.
I put on makeup and a slinky top.”
**HIGH FIVE!!**