Why is it.....

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

when something goes wrong, it seems like all of a sudden there is a HUGE outlay at the same time?  Why can't things break down on a regular schedule?

Last weekend, when we were out in the neighborhood at 3 am looking for the mutt (he decided he needed to pee, then took off), TD was walking the neighborhood and I was driving it.  I had to muscle my steering like never before and my car squealed like there was a dying pig under the hood.  Turns out, I needed new drive belts but in the meantime, the mechanic noted that I really REALLY needed new tires.  Yeah, I knew that but was dragging my feet waiting for a sale.  Also, my wheels had rusted too so wanted to replace those at the same time.  Now that we've entered the season of lousy weather, I can't drag my feet any longer.  $500 for tires, $300 for wheels (got an incredible deal on these though, normally they'd be 2x that).

Add to this that we've lost outlets in the kitchen and can't figure out why we've got no power there (yes, circuit box has been checked).  Right now, there is an extension cord running across the kitchen.  Need to get an electrician in and deal with this.

And now the garage door has stopped working.  Need to get someone in to deal with this too.

AND last night, the gas fireplace has been getting difficult to light so need to get someone in for that as that fireplace helps heat up the house early in the morning.

[msventoux]

Oh, it's happening here too. First the hot water heater died, then my car died.  The outlets in one half of my kitchen are on the fritz also, but I've just been doing the extension cord thing for now since I don't care that much and never used the outlets in that half of the kitchen that much anyways.  I'm already out over $2,000 in the last two weeks...All of my stuff is turning against me! 

[Bonny]

I hear ya Mich!

In the middle of the double bath remodel garage door starts acting up. Looks like we'll be replacing that in the near future (not in the budget). Estimate to install/re-finish hardwood floors is $2k higher than planned (mostly due to the cost of wood going up). PITA tenant in AZ house has melt-down and is leaving this month. While house is being shown prospective tenant notices leaking around hot water heater. OK we know it's over 10 years old, that happens, but when plumber comes out to replace he can't because furnace blocks exit. Plumber has to cut a hole in the wall to get hot water heater out and replace new. Now I'm getting bids to install a new set of double doors for future access. The house is 30 years old. I can't believe the hot water heater wasn't replaced before?!

Wonderful tenants in San Diego County house are giving notice because the husband got accepted into commander school. Oven stops working and dishwasher handle falls off day before Thanksgiving.

I knock on my wooden head that DH and are healthy...and still have a sense of humor!

[Deleted]

It happens to us too, and always in threes.

[Phoenix84]

I know what you mean.  While I realize there's never a "good" time for something to break, it does often seem to happen at the worst possible time.

I remember my car died the first day I started work with the Air Force.  Thank God at least it had the decency to die AFTER I got to work.  That would have sucked to have been late to work on your first day.  Then, the day after they fired me from the Air Force, and I had a lot on my mind, my car died again.

My first day on the job in the Navy, I locked my keys in my car.

[MarleyKeezy78]

With the electrical outlets, are they the safety outlets? We have those in the kitchen and bath and if you trip them they have a tiny reset button you need to push. Just in case it was by chance overlooked. That's all I could think of. 

[Deleted]

 Quite often, kitchen outlets are on a "Ground Fault Interruptor" circuit  that may need to be reset occasionally.
 See:
 www.thecircuitdetective.com/gfis.htm#diagram

[The Captain]

Dec 10, 2013 18:24:17 GMT -5 The Walk of the Penguin Mich said:

when something goes wrong, it seems like all of a sudden there is a HUGE outlay at the same time?  Why can't things break down on a regular schedule?

Last weekend, when we were out in the neighborhood at 3 am looking for the mutt (he decided he needed to pee, then took off), TD was walking the neighborhood and I was driving it.  I had to muscle my steering like never before and my car squealed like there was a dying pig under the hood.  Turns out, I needed new drive belts but in the meantime, the mechanic noted that I really REALLY needed new tires.  Yeah, I knew that but was dragging my feet waiting for a sale.  Also, my wheels had rusted too so wanted to replace those at the same time.  Now that we've entered the season of lousy weather, I can't drag my feet any longer.  $500 for tires, $300 for wheels (got an incredible deal on these though, normally they'd be 2x that).

Add to this that we've lost outlets in the kitchen and can't figure out why we've got no power there (yes, circuit box has been checked).  Right now, there is an extension cord running across the kitchen.  Need to get an electrician in and deal with this.

And now the garage door has stopped working.  Need to get someone in to deal with this too.

AND last night, the gas fireplace has been getting difficult to light so need to get someone in for that as that fireplace helps heat up the house early in the morning.

Mich - I don't know where you live but do you have general "handyman" services that you can call for a day?  Except for the car it sounds like the household items are relatively easy fixes that a single handyman should be able to knockout in a day as opposed to calling several repairmen.

[msventoux]

Dec 10, 2013 19:19:39 GMT -5 The Captain said:

Dec 10, 2013 18:24:17 GMT -5 The Walk of the Penguin Mich said:

when something goes wrong, it seems like all of a sudden there is a HUGE outlay at the same time?  Why can't things break down on a regular schedule?

Last weekend, when we were out in the neighborhood at 3 am looking for the mutt (he decided he needed to pee, then took off), TD was walking the neighborhood and I was driving it.  I had to muscle my steering like never before and my car squealed like there was a dying pig under the hood.  Turns out, I needed new drive belts but in the meantime, the mechanic noted that I really REALLY needed new tires.  Yeah, I knew that but was dragging my feet waiting for a sale.  Also, my wheels had rusted too so wanted to replace those at the same time.  Now that we've entered the season of lousy weather, I can't drag my feet any longer.  $500 for tires, $300 for wheels (got an incredible deal on these though, normally they'd be 2x that).

Add to this that we've lost outlets in the kitchen and can't figure out why we've got no power there (yes, circuit box has been checked).  Right now, there is an extension cord running across the kitchen.  Need to get an electrician in and deal with this.

And now the garage door has stopped working.  Need to get someone in to deal with this too.

AND last night, the gas fireplace has been getting difficult to light so need to get someone in for that as that fireplace helps heat up the house early in the morning.

Mich - I don't know where you live but do you have general "handyman" services that you can call for a day?  Except for the car it sounds like the household items are relatively easy fixes that a single handyman should be able to knockout in a day as opposed to calling several repairmen.

Where does one find a reputable handyman service?  I've not had any luck finding one I would feel comfortable with.  The ones listed either have horrible or no reviews, aren't licensed/bonded, seemed a know less about how to go about a project than I do, etc.  My friends either have relatives that have some knowledge of things and will help their family, or they contact specific tradesmen for whatever issue comes up.  It's probably more expensive, but I've felt more comfortable having a plumber do plumbing work than taking a chance on some unknown guy who I really have no way of knowing what his capabilities are.

[giramomma]

We've had a year like that..I feel for ya..

At one point I told my husband to stop telling me what needed fixing/repair. It was like something new every day. It was "Hi Hello dear. How was your day? We need to shell out xxx to pay for xxx." That's not a greeting I prefer right when I walk in the door.

[Anne_in_VA]

Yup - it's happening to us too. Two days before the move to our new house the washer died. I knew the dryer was not drying well and that we'd have to replace it soon but I was hoping to get a little longer out of it - not gonna happen! We bit the bullet and bought a new front load pair (on a killer sale). They're Samsung with the steam option and have all the bells and whistles.

Then we had a leak at the faucets for the new washer. Called a plumber to come fix it as DH couldn't fix it himself.  That only cost $82. 

My DIL offered to paint the main bath and we found that when they installed the new walls and mudded and taped, they sanded but never took off the grit from sanding nor did they prime the walls before painting. Now the paint is all bubbling up and coming off the walls. I don't know how we're going to fix that.

We also have to get an electrician out since there are no outlets in either bathroom - how am I supposed to dry my hair?  Can't even guess how much that will be. 

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

Dec 10, 2013 19:16:36 GMT -5 MarleyKeezy78 said:

With the electrical outlets, are they the safety outlets? We have those in the kitchen and bath and if you trip them they have a tiny reset button you need to push. Just in case it was by chance overlooked. That's all I could think of. 

Nope, that's not the issue.  We've tried resetting the circuit breaker and nada.  There are 4 outlets on that wall and all of them are regularly used because the toaster, the coffee grinder, the coffee pot and the computer all plug into them.  The extension cord has a single plug in it, so it gets dragged down the length of the kitchen to plug in whatever appliance I need to use at that time.

[MarleyKeezy78]

Darn   Sorry you're having so much trouble. 

[MarleyKeezy78]

 Can the circuit rocker go bad and that need replacing? Those are inexpensive. You just buy the correct rocker box thingy (15 or 20 amp I think) and change that out. I'm not a electrician so. I don't know if those go bad but maybe? Honestly I would call the electrician because I've had a glass of wine and my great ideas are sometimes not so great after wine 

[Abby Normal]

Dec 10, 2013 20:22:17 GMT -5 The Walk of the Penguin Mich said:

Dec 10, 2013 19:16:36 GMT -5 MarleyKeezy78 said:

With the electrical outlets, are they the safety outlets? We have those in the kitchen and bath and if you trip them they have a tiny reset button you need to push. Just in case it was by chance overlooked. That's all I could think of. 

Nope, that's not the issue.  We've tried resetting the circuit breaker and nada.  There are 4 outlets on that wall and all of them are regularly used because the toaster, the coffee grinder, the coffee pot and the computer all plug into them.  The extension cord has a single plug in it, so it gets dragged down the length of the kitchen to plug in whatever appliance I need to use at that time.

Not the circuit breaker, but one of the outlets may have a red or black reset button between the two outlets.  I think this is what Kitty was referring to. Ours is in the one outlet we never use and have stuff in front of, so we forget it's even there.

And regarding the original question-  we call it the suck zone, because you can hear the money being sucked out of the account.

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

These outlets don't have a reset button. That's not it. I know what you're talking about because the bathroom has them.

OK, I lied.  There is an outlet in a cubby that you can't see without a flashlight.  That outlet DID have a reset button and EUREKA!  We now have power in the kitchen.

Any suggestions for the garage door

[Abby Normal]

Dec 10, 2013 20:57:20 GMT -5 The Walk of the Penguin Mich said:

These outlets don't have a reset button. That's not it. I know what you're talking about because the bathroom has them.

That is the point, if your bathroom has one, likely the kitchen does to, but it's in an outlet you don't remember is there. Ours is not remotely where I would expect it because it's on an L shape.  I would just be sure I've looked everywhere before you call in an electrician. 

I hope things get better for you.

[MarleyKeezy78]

 Yay!!!

[MarleyKeezy78]

Whats up with the garage door? No power at all at the switch? Maybe it was on the same circuit as the kitchen 

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

No, the switch has power. It goes down about 1/4 the way and then goes back up. There is nothing blocking it, just that you cannot close it or open it from either the cars or the door.

Hell, if I can get the second problem solved before TD gets home from work, it'd be cool!

<we've got about 30 minutes.....no pressure!)

[MarleyKeezy78]

Maybe the sensor has something covering it like dirt or a cobweb, we get that a lot.

[MarleyKeezy78]

Or something is stuck in the track?

[midjd]

Yesterday was one of those days for us... My mom came over to drive DD and me to the pediatrician, but got her car stuck in the snow in our driveway. We ended up taking my car, which I had to drive since she can't drive a manual. Then I got MY car stuck when I got home. DH ended up having to come home at lunch to tow us both out.

Then I fell down the outside stairs and jacked up my knee.

THEN, on his way home DH slid off the road in his Jeep and ended up pinned between a couple of trees about ten feet down a hillside. It broke out the back window and punctured his radiator (but luckily he wasnt hurt). One of his coworkers found him, drove him home, and we had to load DD into my car and go meet the tow truck (pitch black and freezing outside).

Then, after we got home and picked up the mail, there was a letter from Anthem letting us know that DH's surgery (in 2 weeks) had not been pre approved - even though we got a letter in September approving it.

And I couldn't even drink 

Today my knee feels better, DH's Jeep will only cost a couple of hundred to repair, and we seem to have the Anthem issue straightened out, so it wasn't so bad - but by the end of the day yesterday I just wanted to go to bed so nothing else could happen!

[busymom]

Check the "tracks" the garage door is on. At my Mom's house, she's gotten dust, crap (leaves) lodged in the track, & I had to clean the track before the door would go down. Also, do you have a sensor on the garage door that snow might be blocking? That's messed up our own garage door.

Aren't houses fun?

[MarleyKeezy78]

I checked online and it could be a bad spring or cable. I don't know anything about that stuff but hope it it's a easy fix like cleaning of the sensors.

[msventoux]

Dec 10, 2013 21:13:35 GMT -5 The Walk of the Penguin Mich said:

No, the switch has power. It goes down about 1/4 the way and then goes back up. There is nothing blocking it, just that you cannot close it or open it from either the cars or the door.

Hell, if I can get the second problem solved before TD gets home from work, it'd be cool!

<we've got about 30 minutes.....no pressure!)

WD-40?  Mine was catching and stopping right after I moved in.  I sprayed the chains and tracks down with WD-40 and it's worked fine since then.

[Deleted]

Dec 10, 2013 21:00:31 GMT -5 Abby Normal said:

Dec 10, 2013 20:57:20 GMT -5 The Walk of the Penguin Mich said:

These outlets don't have a reset button. That's not it. I know what you're talking about because the bathroom has them.

That is the point, if your bathroom has one, likely the kitchen does to, but it's in an outlet you don't remember is there. Ours is not remotely where I would expect it because it's on an L shape.  I would just be sure I've looked everywhere before you call in an electrician. 

I hope things get better for you.

 Check the one(s) in the bathroom and make sure they're all reset, too.
 And sometimes it's just a matter of resetting the circuit breaker properly.
www.ehow.com/video_4971862_reset-circuit-breaker.html

[cronewitch]

Garage door might just be a shadow covering the green light. One of mine tends not to work right when the shade if hitting it. I also sweep the floor under the garage door so it doesn't hit a leaf and go back up. Sweeping is quick and easy so you may as well try it.
Mine has two green lights facing each other and if one gets bent they might not see each other so bend them back. They turn red when angry.

[marvholly]

Yep, it never rains, just pours.

Between fall 2012 and Oct 2013 I had 10-12k in ‘extra expenses; furnace, a/c, dead tree, 2lk auto repair, replace a dead tv, replace my dead fridge………..Also, my separate freezer died-have not yet replaced.

Handyman has told me my hot water heater is on borrowed time. I suspect my sump pump is too. Next year is another year.

[The Captain]

In my area there's Angie's list.  I also have a General Contractor who I hired after checking several references (off of Craigslist).  He knows how to do most things, and what he doesn't know he has specialists that do it for him.

DH is pretty handy so he could handle everything Mich has listed.  For the bigger projects we've used our guy to

1.  Refinish the basement after ripping up all the plumbing/concrete floor to replace the septic.  That includes new plumbing, drywall, carpet, lineloeum, etc.
2.  He's repaired skylights and repainted several rooms
3.  Electrical work
4.  Structural work (took out rotted set of french doors, installed an insulated knee wall and put a window in place) matched trim, drywall and paint.