Today On This New House

When we bought this house, we knew there were three major repairs that needed to be done - the patio needs to be replaced, the basement wall has a crack in it, and the fireplace needed a total overhaul. Well, we've embarked on the first of the three repairs, namely getting the fireplace in working order. I can not express how unnerving it is for me to be getting work like this done.

First, I want it done right, but I simply can't do it myself. Heck, the reason it needs to be done in the first place is that someone who owned the house before us failed to recognize that same failing in themselves and put their own gas log insert in, not quite correctly. Far be it from me to criticize the work of others, but I don't feel entirely safe having this around, especially since this is one of the few fireplaces I saw without doors or an emergency shutoff valve. So this means that I have to pay someone to come out and do this for me.

This is awkward for me because I am traditionally a push over, so I'm always afraid that I'm going to get hosed on these things. I have an inherent distrust of anyone who wants money for services. I try not to, as this is a pretty cynical view of people and their intentions, but at the same time I don't want to be taken advantage of. Besides, it really is up to the people doing the work to see that it gets done both efficiently and correctly. All I can do is hover about, making sure I'm not paying for nose picking and whatnot.

So today one group of people come out and finish removing the logs, stubbing out the new line to correctly re-install the logs, and put in the emergency shutoff. Tomorrow another group of people come out to fix the hole the previous owners put into the fireplace box and put a set of doors on. Then the first group returns to re-install the gas log insert. After that, I find someone to redo the tiles and fix the new holes in the basement ceiling that were required to get to the gas lines in the first place.

Ironically, the worst part of the whole mess is the inability to use my computer at home until it's all done. I had to move the desk to make room for the aforementioned holes, and the computer is out of commission until it's done. I don't even really need the computer for anything, it's just the idea that I can't use it even if I wanted to that's driving me nuts.

Do they run a twelve step program for this kind of thing?