This always happens to me. One minute I'm talking about replacing a sink, the next minute we're installing a skylight.

Does this happen to you? Do you follow through on your plans?

-- Anonymous, October 11, 1999

Answers

Here are my helpful notes.

The best crowbars are the flat ones. There is a brand name one called "Wonderbar" (get it?) that is just the perfect thing for pulling out nails. In eight years I'm on my third one. Pulling nails was the first thing I did when I moved into my house. The previous owners had pounded in nails all over the house, I guess to hang their clothes, backpacks, bicycles, bongs, etc. I removed forty nails the first day.

Insulation is always good. You'll feel better knowing it's in the walls.

Leveling the floor is extremely important before tiling. God help me I know. My bathroom floor was vinyl over several layers of plywood. When I removed the vinyl before tiling it, I noticed a strange dip or two in the floor but filled it in with mortar and hoped for the best. Naturally the best didn't happen and the job looked awful. Then a few years later I finally ripped out all FOUR layers of plywood and discovered that in the past parts of the floor had rotted away but instead of fixing it, they just threw another layer of 3/8" plywood over the rotten parts and put a new vinyl floor down. If I had had the guts to rip it all out in the first place, it would have saved me so much trouble!

Moving the toilet a few inches must seem like nothing compared to your original sewer project!

-- Anonymous, October 12, 1999

I shouldn't write because it might scare you but----My husband [an architect] and I bought an old duplex very cheaply in 1975. The original plan was to fix it up while we lived there cheaply for two years, sell it at a profit, and buy a really nice house. This may be hard to believe but we still aren't finished so I guess you can say every single job we have done has snowballed. I truly regret that we didn't take lots of before pictures. Looking back it was a big mistake to live here while completely redoing the house. If I had more pictures and if we had the advantage of the modern computers I would write a book. My husband's favorite movie is "Mr. Blandings Builds his Dream House". It is an absolute must for anyone about to rennovate or if in need of a good laugh. Rent it!

-- Anonymous, October 14, 1999

We haven't done that many projects - yet. I know we'll soon be up to our ears in our own out of control projects.

Man, am I ever impressed at your industry, though.

-- Anonymous, October 15, 1999

I've been following the bathroom woes with sympathetic pangs, and wanted to mention a -- I don't know -- shower alternative?

Friends of mine recently (this summer) redid their very small bathroom. Very small -- it's in the under-stair space in their house. They got this absolutely nifty shower, that fits right into the corner in a very compact way. It's not angled, it's _rounded_ -- like a quarter segment of pie -- and so far they're very pleased with it. I don't think it could have cost that much, either, knowing them. But maybe that would be an alternative to look for?

-- Anonymous, October 17, 1999