Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Take hopelessness and turn it into resilience.

Something needs to be done about our bogus SCOTUS.

Not so fun when the rabbit gets the gun, is it?

No offense, but this thread hasn’t been about you for quite a while.

Nancy smash is sick of your bullshit.

Bark louder, little dog.

A thin legal pretext to veneer over their personal religious and political desires

That’s my take and I am available for criticism at this time.

So it was an October Surprise A Day, like an Advent calendar but for crime.

Fuck these fucking interesting times.

We are aware of all internet traditions.

Putin must be throwing ketchup at the walls.

And now I have baud making fun of me. this day can’t get worse.

Incompetence, fear, or corruption? why not all three?

Why did Dr. Oz lose? well, according to the exit polls, it’s because Fetterman won.

But frankly mr. cole, I’ll be happier when you get back to telling us to go fuck ourselves.

Jesus, Mary, & Joseph how is that election even close?

… riddled with inexplicable and elementary errors of law and fact

Putting aside our relentless self-interest because the moral imperative is crystal clear.

The words do not have to be perfect.

Balloon Juice has never been a refuge for the linguistically delicate.

A democracy can’t function when people can’t distinguish facts from lies.

The party of Reagan has become the party of Putin.

We are builders in a constant struggle with destroyers. let’s win this.

You are here: Home / Open Threads / Bathroom Update

Bathroom Update

by | 199 Comments

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We’re in the closing stretch, and it will be done tomorrow, which is awesome, because Ryan and Sarah are coming to visit and I GET TO MEET MY GODSON for the first time! We have an itinerary of petting zoo, swimming, and all sorts of fun stuff. Here’s the bathroom, which I think looks amazing:

Another shock today as I got the bill from the electrician. I had him put an outlet in both bathrooms, install a new vent for the bathroom we are remodeling, one in the garage so I can charge my power tools, and another one in the basement to support my herb/vegetable grow room, and the bill was 800 fucking dollars. Why everyone thinks they need to go to college is beyond me. Become a plumber or electrician or another skilled worker like that and live a very comfortable life.

Reader Interactions

199Comments

  3. 3.

    marduk

    LOL I got the same sink/vanity (different faucet) and painted the walls the same color in my 1/2 bath.

  7. 7.

    Little Boots

    john, do you still have right-wing friends? do they all hate Romney, as I suspect, or what?

  9. 9.

    Belafon (formerly anonevent)

    Not everyone can do those jobs, not everyone has that kind of patience (I can sit and write 2K lines of code, no problem, but I didn’t even like the minor electrical stuff I had to do in the Navy). That takes some pretty good 3D skills that not everyone has.

  10. 10.

    RedKitten

    Bathroom looks great! And yes, there is a lot of good money in skilled trades, as long as you’re mobile. When we built our house, I think that our electrician’s bill was the biggest bill we had (besides materials). They do all right for themselves.

    Enjoy meeting the little dude! I’m sure you’ll have a blast!

  11. 11.

    maven

    I even emailed the Andy; funny for the Oxford types; but bet my fat white ass he’ll have a comment or two about it soon…………….

    Seriously. Just went to see Queen of Versailles yesterday.

    And there she is; Maitlin; drunk as a skunk. Did I say drunk? ok. forget that.

  12. 12.

    Violet

    Looks great! How exciting that you get to meet your godson. Lots of pictures, I hope. He’s adorable.

  13. 13.

    rikyrah

    Now, folks are just clowning Willard on the tax returns. Folks are going all in on the ‘ I don’t know if he beats his wife’ accusation.

    Lawrence O just said in the first minute of his show:

    IS MITT ROMNEY HIDING A FELONY ON HIS TAX RETURNS?

    bwa ha ha ha ha ha

    there’s no way to answer these type of questions…UNLESS HE RELEASES THE TAX RETURNS.

    hee hee hee

  14. 14.

    Little Boots

    oh, johnny, check in already. it’s the best thing about this blog. when you check in.

  15. 15.

    moops

    supply and demand.

    but really, $800 for actual real electrician work is cheap by most regional standards. Putting in a vent *starts* at $500 anywhere I’ve ever heard of.

    but yeah, you can make a very good living while skipping higher education. You still have to put in your training time though. It all evens out.

  16. 16.

    mac

    PS: Low voltage (120V) wiring does not require an electrician. Really only need one for setting up a new circuit or 240V wiring.

  18. 18.

    w3ski

    If you can’t do it yourself, don’t bitch about a skilled tradesman. I have been an Auto Mechanic for 30 plus years. I have heard so many times “For that, I’ll fix it myself” only to see the car be towed in the next week. And, in worse shape than if I has repaired it to begin with.
    Do it yourself is Great, otherwise hire a trained professional and enjoy good service.
    w3ski

  25. 25.

    JGabriel

    John Cole @ Top:

    … Ryan and Sarah are coming to visit and I GET TO MEET MY GODSON for the first time!

    Wait, whuh?

    I guess I don’t know how it is for Protestants, but for Catholics, godparents generally meet their godkids at the baptism ceremony, if they haven’t met them already.

    How did you become a godparent without meeting the kid yet?

    .

  26. 26.

    Gin & Tonic

    @mac: Around here, “low voltage” means data cabling, coax, alarms, sensors, that type of stuff, not 120. 120v can hurt you.

  28. 28.

    Citizen_X

    another one in the basement to support my herb/vegetable grow room

    You have to pay someone enough to keep quiet about that sort of stuff.

  29. 29.

    Corner Stone

    Another shock today as I got the bill from the electrician. I had him put an outlet in both bathrooms, install a new vent for the bathroom we are remodeling, one in the garage so I can charge my power tools, and another one in the basement to support my herb/vegetable grow room, and the bill was 800 fucking dollars. Why everyone thinks they need to go to college is beyond me. Become a plumber or electrician or another skilled worker like that and live a very comfortable life.

    You’re fucking stupid Cole.
    Do you even read what you, yourself fucking post? You had a guy who’s spent over 2000 hours apprenticing himself/herself to earn their card, put stuff in FUCKING FIVE LOCATIONS in your FUCKING stupid FUCKING house?
    FUCK YOU!

  31. 31.

    Patricia Kayden

    My oh my. That bathroom looks great so far. I guess $800.00 is a lot. Perhaps he charged by the hour like a plumber.

  32. 32.

    Corner Stone

    $800 FUCKING dollars? Shit. I’d be shaking that dude’s/dudette’s fucking hand on the way out the door.
    You’re a fucking fool.

  34. 34.

    Chris T.

    @The Dangerman: You don’t need a separate bidet now. There’s a Japanese toilet that has it built in.

    The catch is the price: it’s over $7000. I decided to go with a regular toilet. :-)

  37. 37.

    General Stuck

    A day without sunshine, is a day we don’t get an update with pics of John Cole’s batroom.

  39. 39.

    Brian R.

    Did Corner Stone smoke a joint between 29 and 32? Because there’s an amazing mellowing between take one and take two.

  42. 42.

    Martin

    Finish carpenter. The work just in my family room (including painting) would have been $4K. The whole house would be an easy $25K. Pretty good working conditions, too. Materials cost for the whole thing will come in around $1500. Added tools – another $500. All the rest is labor – and it’s a lot of labor. I spent 10 hours just sanding trim in this room. I’m a bottomless well of patience, so I can do this stuff just fine – but a lot of people just can’t. It’s not always the skill – it’s the ability to stand there on a ladder with a paint brush for 16 straight hours.

    But $800 for a vent plus 4 outlets? That sounds about right. Probably less than it’d cost here. I added two outlets in this room and it took about 3 hours total. That’s $200. Remember, you have to pay their transactional time as well – the time to take the job, get to and from your place, go to the store, etc. That’s less with big jobs, but can be half of what you pay for a small job.

  45. 45.

    Tony Alva

    “basement veg/herb grow room” huh? You gonna share some of that with your long time readers?

  46. 46.

    The Fat Kate Middleton

    Even though we put it in our electrical contract for our new house that we wanted wiring for a hot tub, it didn’t happen, so had to put it in a year after we moved here. Thousand dollah, but it was OK, cause we love it.

    Went to my first Obama campaign meeting tonight … even though I’d asked not to make phone called, gee, guess what. So I was the classic old lady pain the ass, and demanded lists with phone numbers in my neighborhood. Two things: an amazing number of folks who had obviously cancelled their land lines … and lots and lots of Rs and Indies saying they just could not vote for Romney. Oh … I’m in Iowa.

  48. 48.

    mai naem

    I know a guy who got into a union run electrician apprenticeship but he was too young and dumb to recognize the opportunity for what it was. It was supposed to be a 3 yr program and he finished two years but just was not disciplined enough to finish it up. He was too busy partying. He regretted it big time.

  50. 50.

    Corner Stone

    @Brian R.: Hey. I used some CAPS in both. I just didn’t have all the same verve for both comments. Maybe that’s my fault.

  51. 51.

    NotMax

    Another shock today as I got the bill from the electrician.

    Aren’t electricians grounded in providing work which eliminates the chance of shock? Or is that not the current conduct?

  53. 53.

    HEY YOU

    Having been in construction all my life, this is old but still funny.

    A pipe burst in a doctor’s house. He called a plumber. The plumber arrived, unpacked his tools, did mysterious plumber-type things for a while, and handed the doctor a bill for $600.
    The doctor exclaimed, “This is ridiculous! I don’t even make that much as a doctor!.”
    The plumber quietly answered, “Neither did I when I was a doctor.”

  54. 54.

    debit

    I built my first bike wheel tonight: a 3 speed internal hub that’s going to go on a winter commuter. It was kind of an awesome experience. I can’t wait to do my next one.

  55. 55.

    handy

    @NotMax:

    Dammit you pulled that offer better than @I did. I hate you for it.

    You hear me I F’N HATE YOU! And that goes double for you little boots.

  58. 58.

    maven

    Seriously everybody/ they are all drunk at CNN

    Why is nobody watching this?

    oh. silly me…

  59. 59.

    SFAW

    @Gin & Tonic:

    Around here, “low voltage” means data cabling, coax, alarms, sensors, that type of stuff, not 120. 120v can hurt you.

    To put it mildly.

    Actually, most stuff over 40 V can hurt you, if I remember correctly. (Although that’s generally DC, not AC.) And it doesn’t take much wall current – about the equivalent of a pretty dim night light – to kill you.

  60. 60.

    Little Boots

    where the hell is John.

    he sometimes visits? is he spending all his time in that goddamn bathroom?

  61. 61.

    lamh35

    Man either Harry Reid really does know something, or he has balls the size of a planet!!!

    Harry Reid Reiterates Demand For Romney To Release Tax Returns

    …“There is a controversy because the Republican presidential nominee, Governor Mitt Romney, refuses to release his tax returns. As I said before, I was told by an extremely credible source that Romney has not paid taxes for ten years. People who make as much money as Mitt Romney have many tricks at their disposal to avoid paying taxes. We already know that Romney has exploited many of these loopholes, stashing his money in secret, overseas accounts in places like Switzerland and the Cayman Islands…

    …“It’s clear Romney is hiding something, and the American people deserve to know what it is. Whatever Romney’s hiding probably speaks volumes about how he would approach issues that directly impact middle-class families, like tax reform and the economy. When you are running for president, you should be an open book.

    “I understand Romney is concerned that many people, Democrats and Republicans, have been calling on him to release his tax returns. He has so far refused. There is only one thing he can do to clear this up, and that’s release his tax returns.”..

  63. 63.

    Violet

    Is anyone watching the Olympics. I had to go do something and came back and now they’re showing swimming. Did they finish showing the women’s gymnastics?

  64. 64.

    tam

    @maven: Are you talking about the Dana Bash thing? I just saw people talking about it on tumblr. Did she really confirm Senator Reid’s allegations about Romney???

    ETA: Here’s a dkos link about it.

  68. 68.

    jayackroyd

    John, that’s a picture of a toilet. Just a regular old toilet.

    Tunch may look great, but that’s a toilet.

  69. 69.

    handy

    Reid’s got the goods. That bastard is way too calculating to go all in like this and not know all the cards at the table.

  71. 71.

    Honus

    @mac: Had a case last year where a big strong 25 year old kid was killed by an improperly grounded 120 volt 15 amp circuit. Low voltage usually describes 12 or 24 volt DC feeds for controls. 120 volt is house current and you need some knowledge and training to work with it, or you can get badly hurt.
    Also, from John’s description of the work it sounds like the electrician added at least two and possibly three new circuits, including a ground fault loop in the bathroom.

  74. 74.

    Ken_L

    I feel like telling a lot of my business students they’d be much better off quitting uni and doing an apprenticeship instead in something like plumbing or hairdressing. But no, they’re not ‘nice’ jobs. That’s Romneyan culture for you, in action.

  79. 79.

    Left Coast Tom

    @Martin:

    But $800 for a vent plus 4 outlets? That sounds about right. Probably less than it’d cost here.

    Actually, 2 outlets and 3 vents…definitely John paid less than it’d cost here in the SF Bay Area.

  81. 81.

    Culture of Truth

    I don’t care for Tyler Clary.

    Women’s gymnastics is the premiere event so I assume it will end at midnight.

  83. 83.

    Suffern ACE

    @Gin & Tonic: That sport with the peloton or pelican or something like that. They try to make it exciting, but only the last 100 ft is worth watching.

  86. 86.

    Culture of Truth

    If you only paid this dude $800 it’s no wonder people still go into investment banking.

  89. 89.

    jl

    @Gin & Tonic:

    ” Is there anything more boring than watching people swim? ”

    Shhshh. I think Cole’s toilet tank is starting to fill again!

    Edit: And what is all that junk in the sink? Cole trying to wash all that down the sink? That will cost a few points, especially from the Eastern European judges.

  90. 90.

    handy

    Yeah Lochte’s kind of a douche. Men’s basketball, wow. How about that 49 spot in the 10-minute first quarter? Heard some snoozers on the radio talking about lack of sportsmanship and all that. Yeah, okay so I guess the alternative would have been to just dribble the ball until the shot clock got down to 1 second.

    @Little Boots:

    I’m a cold blooded assassin biatch!

  92. 92.

    Honus

    @HEY YOU: I like the one I heard recently about the surgeon and the Harley mechanic. The mechanic was just finishing up a valve job and the doctor was watching him. He said “cleaned out the ports, install the valves, bolt on the manifold, pretty much the same as you doc. So why do you get the big bucks?” The doctor looked at him for a second and then said “next time try it wih the motor running.”

  94. 94.

    Martin

    @Little Boots: I like John a great deal. Well, at least when he’s not raving about Obama opening permanent military bases in Libya.

    @Left Coast Tom: Ah, 3 vents? That’s a grand here easy even without the outlets – assuming I handed them the vents and there were no issues at all. The only way I could get 3 vents for $800 is if they were exhausted improperly – which is pretty common, actually. It might be code to vent into your attic there, but I’d not do that. I’d insist on an exterior exhaust – and that’s the expensive bit of the installation.

  95. 95.

    SiubhanDuinne

    Could someone please put up an Act Blue page so we can all chip in and buy John a proper toilet paper holder?

  96. 96.

    RareSanity

    the bill was 800 fucking dollars

    Assuming this was a properly licensed electrician, I would say…

    Are you fucking kidding me?!

    You got a fucking steal of a deal…since when is electrician not a skilled trade? It’s not like he was cutting your fucking grass, or cleaning your damn house…

    He was masterfully pulling wires, that will carry 120V of electricity, safely and neatly through your house. Insuring that there will not be some malfunction that could burn down your house, or…you know…KILL YOU, or someone you love.

    Jeebus…That man had to study, and more than likely apprentice, for years before he could be a licensed electrician, and you’re loosing your shit because he charged you $800 for installing FOUR OUTLETS AND A NEW VENT?

    I can’t even type anymore…the rage

  98. 98.

    Nom de Plume

    My only question is, why was the electrician’s bill a “shock”? I recently had some electrical work done in my office, and I made sure to get quotes and rates beforehand. The only (mild) shock I got from my electrician was when he offered a 10% discount if I paid in cash, and I gladly obliged.

  99. 99.

    lamh35

    Geez! I already knew what was gonna happen, but damn if I wasn’t still misty-eyed at the end of the All-Around Gymnastic Finals!

  100. 100.

    RossInDetroit, Rational Subjectivist

    Speaking of tech jobs and the overpaid people who do them I got a job offer today to be a field engineer repairing industrial lasers. My first real job since about Y2K. I nearly bit my tongue off getting ‘YES!’ out. I feel very very lucky.

  104. 104.

    Brother Shotgun of Sweet Reason

    @w3ski:

    If you can’t do it yourself, don’t bitch about a skilled tradesman.

    I did a lot of my own auto work, years ago, including trannies and engines. I quit when it got to fuel injection and computer control. And the damn aluminum heads, where if you cross the threads putting the spark plugs in, you just cost yourself over a grand.

    Electrician work I can do. Carpentry, drywall, sure. Plumbing, no way.

    And all the skilled trades are worth the money. Wish my kids could do something with their hands besides xBox.

  106. 106.

    Corner Stone

    $800 fucking dollars.
    Man I’d pee on myself if I could get a real deal electrician in and out of my house for $800 freakin dollars.
    You’re an idiot.

  107. 107.

    RossInDetroit, Rational Subjectivist

    @MikeJ:

    Very cool to have a job that sounds like it came out of a science fiction novel.

    Thank you. It get better. There are also robots. Robots with lasers. I love living in the future.

  112. 112.

    RossInDetroit, Rational Subjectivist

    @Corner Stone:

    Hmmm. I thought you were like the badass that was in charge of repairing the aqua shark that cleaned all the pools for the Detroit ISDs where you lived.

    Good memory. I’ve been the custodial equipment tech for a big school district for the last few years. Laser field engineer is a stretch and a big step up. Pretty much 100% travel once I’m up to speed. USA, Canada and Mexico and lots of air miles.

  113. 113.

    Little Boots

    I actually do love Johnnie, but seriously, who the fuck posts pictures of their bathroom.

    he’s nuts.

    he’s awesome in other ways, but he’s also nuts.

  114. 114.

    Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism

    A college degree is the easiest way to get into the skilled trades. Note that this does not mean a university degree; most (all?) community colleges offer two year degrees in various trades.

  116. 116.

    Brother Shotgun of Sweet Reason

    @lamh35: You missed the best part of Reid’s answer!

    Romney has shut up. But as a presidential candidate, it’s his obligation to put up,

    When someone tells you to “put up or shut up” this is the way to handle it.

  117. 117.

    RossInDetroit, Rational Subjectivist

    I took 2 years of technical electronics in high school at a county Career Center. They taught everything from print shop to Nursing. Public schools used to try to impart useful skills. Now they don’t even have shop class.
    I got my Business Data Processing degree from a 2 year community college and had a very worthwhile 20 year run in mainframe programming. I think the tuition cost all of $2,000 30 years ago for the whole deal.

  118. 118.

    Little Boots

    and since you mentioned it, handy, where the hell are Omnes and DougJ?

    where my crushes at?

  119. 119.

    Left Coast Tom

    @Martin: Actually, you may have read it right the first time…from above:

    Another shock today as I got the bill from the electrician. I had him put an outlet in both bathrooms, install a new vent for the bathroom we are remodeling, one in the garage so I can charge my power tools, and another one in the basement to support my herb/vegetable grow room, and the bill was 800 fucking dollars.

    Outlet…Vent…one [one what?]…another one [one what?]…but the first “one” was to charge power tools, which doesn’t require a vent, so that must be another outlet. Then “another one”…not sure what the noun is to which “another” refers, “vent” or “outlet”.

    Still not clear what he’s complaining about…I’m assuming there was a building permit pulled somewhere in that sequence…

  123. 123.

    lamh35

    Did anyone catch that patronizing commentary from Costas after the Gymnastics finals tonight?

    Fuck you Bob Costas!!! “Imaginary barriers”…fuck you Costas. U coulda left that shit out!

  124. 124.

    John Cole

    @Corner Stone:

    I just can’t fucking stand Lochte.

    At long last, you and I finally fucking agree on something.

    @Corner Stone:

    $800 fucking dollars.
    Man I’d pee on myself if I could get a real deal electrician in and out of my house for $800 freakin dollars.
    You’re an idiot.

    Dude. Lighten up. I’ve rented my whole life and had no idea what electricians charged. When shit broke before, I called my landlord and said “THIS SHIT IS BROKE.” So yeah, I was surprised how much it costs to get an electrician. Fucking sue me.

  127. 127.

    chuck butcher

    I’ve been in construction for almost all of my adult life… very seldom does anybody think the work is worth the price. That’s just how it is.

    Electricians and plumbers do pretty well for themselves. I will say that I built half of my house (1878 Vic original part) and wired and plumbed all of it and passed all code inspections. I hired out nothing. Probably anybody that can read and understand and use tools effectively could do it – but considering what your own time is worth – you are most likely much farther ahead paying a pro.

    There are, BTW, a whole bunch of hidden costs you know spit about, liability ins is huge – just for starters.

  129. 129.

    jl

    Will there be action pics of the room after the construction is finished?

    I don’t see how Cole could deny his loyal blog followers that.

  130. 130.

    Anne Laurie

    @Honus: I’ve also been partial to the golden oldie where the doctor demands an itemized bill for the $800 emergency ten-minute plumbing repair, dammit!

    So the plumber writes on the back of an old equipment invoice…

    Hitting pipe with crescent wrench: $15
    __
    Knowing which pipe to hit: $785

    There’s also the one about the secret tradesworker rate sheet:

    Doing my job: $40/hour
    __
    Doing my job while the homeowner “helps”: $60
    __
    Doing my job after the homeowner has completely FUBAR’d the project rather than ‘pay all that money’: priceless.

  132. 132.

    SFAW

    @Little Boots:

    I knew you’d show up, and I love that about you.

    Jesus H. Christ, get a fucking room already. I mean, your last 87 comments have been “John, I miss you”, “John, I love you, please come back”, usw. It’s like reading Barbara Cartland put through a Bulwer-Lytton translator.

  134. 134.

    RossInDetroit, Rational Subjectivist

    The last plumber I had in, two weeks ago did the following:

    Gouged 80 year old original bathroom fixtures with a fucking Channellock wrench because his handle puller was in the truck downstairs.

    Snapped off an outdoor spigot, ruining it and forcing us to disable it.

    Left the garden hose on and it ran for 11 hours flooding the yard.

    I need to get over being intimidated by pipes. I can screw up that bad on my own for free.

  137. 137.

    Corner Stone

    @John Cole:

    At long last, you and I finally fucking agree on something.

    That’s just not true. I mean, we both agree that Picard is the superior officer. Don’t we?
    DON’T WE?!

  138. 138.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    So another episoid of the week long series “John’s John”.

    You really got a good deal on the electrical work, remember you can sue the guy if the house burns down.

  139. 139.

    jwb

    @chuck butcher: I’m happy to pay a professional when I can find one who is any good. I love our guy who repairs our appliances, for instance, and he’s worth every cent. Our roofers and exterior painters have also been good. But interior repair and remodeling is the pits. If i can even get someone to come out and bid on the job, it ends up being horribly sloppy work even when I pay them well, so I end up doing most of it myself.

  142. 142.

    SFAW

    @Corner Stone:

    That’s just not true. I mean, we both agree that Picard is the superior officer.

    In terms of what? Rank? Acting ability? Sounding like a Limey? Being pompous?

  145. 145.

    Anne Laurie

    Also, Cole, dude: Avocado green walls? Nobody who remembers the 70s would ever make that mistake!

    I should send you our leftover wallpaper border, a lovely pattern of loons & cattails which would go perfectly over the tiles in that shower. We installed it to distract from the dental-pink fixtures, which we couldn’t afford to replace right after buying the house. You’ll need something to keep visitors from thinking about mildew.

  150. 150.

    SFAW

    @Anne Laurie:

    Also, Cole, dude: Avocado green walls? Nobody who remembers the 70s would ever make that mistake!

    He did that to match his Harvest Gold washer-dryer set, which he hopes to install there.

  152. 152.

    SFAW

    @lamh35:

    Nice that she won, but watching her on the medals stand during the Anthem was disconcerting. I didn’t see any trace of emotion on her face – no smile, no tears, no nothing. That’s something I just can’t parse.

  153. 153.

    brettvk

    I needed an electrician last year but opted not to even bother getting an estimate because I figured it was futile — John’s rant affirms my judgement. I’m poor enough after having my hours cut that I qualified for a free weatherization program administered by a local antipoverty agency. But after telling me they’d fix my windows and insulate the walls of my ca.1900 hovel, they informed me that they could only give me the goodies if I rewired to get rid of the post-and-wire tubing. If I could afford that, Jack, I wouldn’t qualify for your program. I’m sure there’s sound safety reasons for this ruling but it’s one of those big guvmint myopias that make both poor people and teabaggers froth at the mouth.

  156. 156.

    Martin

    @Brother Shotgun of Sweet Reason:

    Wish my kids could do something with their hands besides xBox.

    Yeah, that’s been my 3rd job right there. I learned most of what I know from my grandfather, would would have given da Vinci a run for his money on the ‘holy fuck, you can do that too!?’ metric. Been teaching my son, but it’s a lot of work, and I don’t always make the time. He really likes electronics and took to a soldering iron in a hurry and is pretty eager to rewire a room, but the heavier construction? Yeah, he’s not so eager there – though he comes running like a kitten to a can opener when I charge up the nailer (that’s fun…). I made him hang his own bedroom door. Other than carry it for him (he’s all of 90 lbs still) I didn’t lay a finger on it. That was pretty cool and he did a really good job. He likes telling people he did that. I’m trying to build on that feeling. Mostly he lacks the ‘lets get this shit done’ drive, and tends to sit back – I need to keep pulling him in to do stuff. But it’s hard when a 2 hour project becomes a 4 hour project.

  157. 157.

    lamh35

    @SFAW: personally, I can only guess it’s shock and she’s probably just taking it all in.

    But this gymnast let’s it all shine during her routines. and unlike some (I’m looking at u Ryan Lochte) she’s always been charming, nice and cordial in any interview I’ve ever seen her in.

    So she wasn’t overcome with emotion…meh. We all react in different ways.

    ETA: God forbid a female athlete doesn’t cry or completely fall apart cause she won. Seems Gabby always felt she had a chance to win this thing, it was everyone else (if u watched then u heard the way the announcers seem credulous that she was doing so well) who was in doubt.

  159. 159.

    MikeJ

    @lamh35: I’m not that impressed that she won. Watching the NBC coverage the only other people in the competition were the other American girl and a Russian who just stumbled around all over the place.

    Of course I could switch over to NBC Sports on cable and verify that “card game that gets you put in moderation” and the European darts championship from Düsseldorf are more important sports than the Olympics that they just paid over a billion dollars for the right to air.

  160. 160.

    Martin

    @Anne Laurie: If we’re going to be critical – I don’t know what the fuck the guy was thinking with that showerhead/tile decision. Not just that there’s an extra ⅔ tile up there, but also that it’s asymmetrical with the rest of the tile.

    The tile should be cut on both the interior and exterior to be balanced (lazy to skip cutting those interior tiles) and to be centered with the shower head. And either get a shower head neck which can crane up so it can be installed in the regular field of tile or bring all of the tile up higher. And the 6″ shouldn’t be out of phase with the 12″ tile. Those joints should stay together.

    Man, I hate seeing pros doing shittier work than weekend hackers like me.

  161. 161.

    SFAW

    @lamh35:

    God forbid a female athlete doesn’t cry or completely fall apart cause she won.

    I could give a rat’s ass if she cries. It was the complete lack of (apparent) emotion that was bizarre. And she could certainly turn on the 300-watt smile when she wanted to.

    I understand your point about shock, but given how things have gone for her, it seems unlikely.

  164. 164.

    danielx

    Hard to say what a good price is for that, but if it involved cutting into walls and stringing cable it may be on the money. I acted as an unpaid construction super a couple of years ago while getting my late mother in law’s home ready to go on the market, and one of the items was upgrading the electrical service from 100 amp to 200 amp service; house built in ~1960. New cable run to the house from the pole, new storm hood and conduit, new breaker box, new ground, a GFI outlet in the basement and a new outlet in the basement for a new sump pump. (Basement is workshop heaven, about 12 outlets including the 8 or so in a BIG top shelf workbench; Grandpa was a woodworker – but I digress.)

    The whole shooting match was $2400 or so, but that included the permit, the utility company turn off/turn on of power at the utility pole (it ain’t free), supplies and two licensed electricians’ labor for a day and a half or so. It’s up to code and much safer. Expensive but had to be done to bring the house up to code. Older homes generally do not have the circuitry to support central air, multiple televisions, stereos, computers, hair dryers and all the other stuff we use today unless the electricity has been updated.

    That wasn’t really bad. The $7500 to turn a wet basement into a dry one, now that hurt.

    Anything major** having to do with electricity or plumbing is going to be expensive because it generally should/will be performed by a licensed professional. If you are not sure you can do it yourself, hire a professional. If they fuck up, they’re bonded and insured so you can be sure they’ll take care of damages. Professional means that they’ve been through a prescribed course of training and apprenticeship so they know what they’re doing, and, and, and – get paid accordingly. Since they’re doing work that can seriously affect your well being if it’s not done right, they ought to get paid well and they do.

    I keep telling my career-confused 20 year old nephew that there is nothing at all wrong with being a decent god-fearing plumber; he’ll make a shit ton of money honestly (by 99% standards anyway), he’ll always have work and the work can’t be offshored – unlike, say, reading x-rays, which can be read just as accurately and a lot cheaper in, say, Calcutta.

    *major being defined as a) anything beyond replacing a faucet, fixing/replacing a leaky toilet or an outlet/switch or or b) anything under ‘a’ plus anything that requires a construction permit.

    So be afraid, Cole, be very afraid. $800 for an electrician is diddleyshit. Just wait until you have to drop major bucks on something upon which you didn’t want or plan to spend any money. At least you’re getting a spiffy new bathroom.

  166. 166.

    danielx

    Flat out amazing how a home improvement project can produce/provoke posts like almost nothing except a really bad David Brooks column.

  171. 171.

    NotMax

    Installed a new stove hood/fan/light in the landlady’s domicile last month (the condition of the original was enough to gag a maggot), and almost could not believe the work of the people who originally built the house.

    Romex wire came out of the wall and snaked across the bottom interior shelf of the cabinet above the stove to a hole drilled in the shelf at the front. Worse, it wasn’t even stapled down, just laying there loose.

    Hole cut in the wall (lowest grade Formica backsplash behind the stove) to the outside vent a weird, smaller than standard size, because a stud somehow ended up on either side of it. And no ducting either.

    What should have been a 2 hour job took closer to 10.

  172. 172.

    JWL

    I dig that shower tile.

    However, those pea soup/puke green walls render the tile superfluous. It’s all that people will ever notice in that bathroom until you re-paint.

  174. 174.

    danielx

    @SFAW:

    Yeah, but I’m talking about a really, really bad David Brooks column, just a humongous big steaming pile of exquisite horseshit. Occasionally he comes out with one that isn’t really, really bad, it’s just….I can’t think of a way to end that sentence.

    I concede your point.

  176. 176.

    Mnemosyne

    @SFAW:

    I’m not sure if it was shock, per se, or just, “Now what?”

    Plus IIRC they don’t just take the athletes straight from their final event to the medal ceremony. They have at least a few minutes to pull themselves together, so she may already have gotten the tears out.

  177. 177.

    lamh35

    @MikeJ: and that the gymnast fault why???? Suew NBCFail, but how is it any different fom any of NBC Olympic coverage. doesn’t make her win less impressive, IMHO

  181. 181.

    lamh35

    @Mnemosyne: exactly, her reaction after the final score was in that cemented her Gold was pretty darn happy if u ask, me. but hey she didn’t show enough emotion on that podium. as opposed to the Russian gymnast who could barely bring themselves to congratulate her. maybe we needed a bit more gloating from her,

    btw, she knew she had a real good lead after the 3rd pparatus . so I’d bet she was focused on getting through her final routine, and she had to wait for 2 other gymnast to complete their floor including her USA teammate. so yeah she had time to compose herself.

  182. 182.

    SFAW

    @Mnemosyne: I imagine we’ll end up agreeing to disagree, but it’s certainly not in the top 10,000,000 most important things in the world – at least, not to me. (Probably not to you, either, I imagine.) It just seemed … weird. And not in a good way.

  185. 185.

    Mnemosyne

    @SFAW:

    Nobody knows how they’ll react to a situation like that until they’re actually in it. You may think you’re going to react one way, and you react completely differently.

    For all we know, somebody said something assholish to her right before she went out for the ceremony and wrecked the moment for her. It happens.

  187. 187.

    Studly Pantload, the emotionally unavailable unicorn

    @Corner Stone: Dude, is it too much to ask that you muzzle your outrage at JC’s mild shock at his electrician’s bill and just be thankful that we’re not reading about the injuries he suffered being a DIY electrician whilst nude?

  189. 189.

    Anne Laurie

    @JWL:

    It’s all that people will ever notice in that bathroom until you re-paint.

    Nice, busy wallpaper border — preferably across the top of the wall, so Cole can run it over the tiled bathtub surround as well. Draw the eye away from the “how damp *are* those lichen-colored walls?” paint job. Doesn’t have to be loons, but any kind of wildlife motif should satisfy Cole’s craving for earth tones.

    Also, Cole? — Mirrors. Biggest mirrors you can find that will fit thru the doorway, on facing walls if you can manage it. And good strong light bars over those mirrors, too. Guaranteed to make a windowless room with a light-absorbing paint job look less dark and cramped.

  190. 190.

    sfinny

    @lamh35: I had already heard about the results but really wanted to see the gymnastic finals. Unfortunately my power went out twice tonight and I missed the floor performance of Gabby. But I saw the award ceremony and saw her as close to tears, and trying to keep it all together. Shows that interpretations are different.

  191. 191.

    Anne Laurie

    @RossInDetroit, Rational Subjectivist:

    Speaking of tech jobs and the overpaid people who do them I got a job offer today to be a field engineer repairing industrial lasers. My first real job since about Y2K. I nearly bit my tongue off getting ‘YES!’ out. I feel very very lucky.

    Congratulations!

  195. 195.

    Triassic Sands

    Become a plumber or electrician or another skilled worker like that and live a very comfortable life.

    I saw this very late, but I had to comment.

    Doing physical labor — like plumbing — takes a huge toll on the body. By the time many plumbers are in their fifties their bodies are nearly worn out. Since the Democrats and Republicans seem to agree that since we’re living longer, we can postpone retirement, I’d recommend strongly against going into plumbing (electricians may have it a bit better, but decades of manual labor is always hard on the body).

    I have a good friend who has been a plumber all his adult life and his body is a mess.

    Careful, John, you’re making the same mistake the wingers make when they think people who do hard physical labor can continue working through their sixties.

  196. 196.

    gelfling545

    @mac: oh, yeah. It does. Maybe not “require” as in the code but “require” as in want it to work & not burn your house down. This is not something just anybody can do. Some people’s brains are not wired that way, so to speak. I speak from bitter experience – no fires but some smoke & one wall switch that can short out the whole house.

  197. 197.

    WaterGirl

    @jl: I love Cole, but bathroom action photos may be a bridge too far.

    Shower pics, maybe. I think I’ll skip the action photos for the, um, other stuff.

  198. 198.

    Kevin

    I can’t believe it – 197 comments so far and not one quip about John referring to Lily, Rosie and Tunch as a petting zoo? I was under the impression John lived in a hyper-small town, and am mildly curious how far they would have to drive to find an actual petting zoo :)

  199. 199.

    Maude

    @Martin:
    It is very important for people to learn how to do practical things. Your son builds up confidence and now he knows how to hang a door.
    You have to watch an unskilled, unlicensed contractor do plumbing to appreciate not owning the place that he’s working on. Needed popcorn.

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