Showing posts with label installation problems. Show all posts
Showing posts with label installation problems. Show all posts

Saturday, June 11, 2022

Day 4552

Nothing is easy these days. The appliance installers arrived this morning, carried a huge box containing the new dishwasher inside the house and then told me that they couldn't install it. What? Why not? This is an easy job. You pull the old dishwasher out, attach the supply and drain lines to the new dishwasher, push it back under the counter and you're done. 

No can do, they told me. "You have copper supply lines," one of the guys said, "and we're not allowed to touch copper." I couldn't believe it. "You'll have to get a plumber to install this," the other guy told me. The installers left and I now have a very large box sitting in my living room. I called the two plumbing companies I normally use and they both told me that they charged emergency or after hours rates on weekends. Since these exorbitant rates were double what they normally charge, I decided to just wait until Monday to deal with this. I kind of wish I'd just called an appliance repairman to fix the old dishwasher now.

When I called to get my installation fee refunded I was told that I would have to go back to the store because I used two different credit cards on the transaction. I did use an old gift card I had for part of the purchase, but never realized that it would cause complications later. When I went back to the store I ended up talking to the same salesperson who sold me the dishwasher. "I warned you about copper pipes," she said. Nope. I don't think so. This thing will eventually get installed, but it has become a major nuisance.

I think we set a new high temperature record today. The thermometer on the back porch reached 106 degrees. How did the weather go from wet and cool to impossibly hot so quickly? It wasn't that long ago that the furnace was coming on in the morning. It was good that we got Dawn walked very early this morning. We weren't really trying to avoid the heat at that point. We were just trying to get everything done before the dishwasher installers arrived. At least I managed to get my grocery shopping done before everything started to unravel.

By the time I finished dealing with all the installation problems it was way too hot to walk in the park. I decided to go to the gym after I got my installation refund from the appliance store. The gym was almost empty by the time I arrived because it was getting close to closing time. I still had time to shoot some hoops on the basketball court, use the rowing machine, and walk a mile on the indoor track. It wasn't my best workout, but it will have to do.

I'm so tired of dealing with broken things I could scream. The dishwasher problems will be resolved sooner or later, and then it will be on to the next thing. It would be tempting to just tell a contractor to fix everything all at once, but we still live here. There's nothing worse than trying to go about your life in the middle of a bunch of construction. I hate all the surprises that contractors and repair people throw at you too. Few people these days are really familiar with old houses and they either don't know how to do the job right or are in too much of a hurry to do the job right. Most of these people prefer to work on new construction when the homeowner isn't even around.

We might not be able to take Dawn on her regular Sunday outing tomorrow. If we wait until the ice cream store opens, it will be too hot. Dawn will get her sunrise walk, but maybe we'll skip the later walk at our Sunday park and just go directly to the ice cream store. I don't think Dawn will have any complaints. It was almost too hot for her last week and tomorrow will be much warmer. So far, it looks like it's going to be a long, hot summer.

Willa is today's Dalmatian of the Day


Watch of the Day


Friday, December 10, 2021

Day 4369

The new TV arrived today. As expected, there were a few surprises. For starters I couldn't attach the TV to the stand I'd put together the other day. The wall mount screws included with the stand were the wrong size and there were no screws included with the TV. I thought about just placing the TV on top of the VRC and set top box like the old TV, but it was too wide and wouldn't fit. Right now it is sitting on the floor and way too low to view.

I had an online chat with a Samsung tech support guy who kept recommending a wall mount screw size that other people online said wouldn't work. This small TV is seldom wall mounted, so that is part of the problem. It is also not very popular since most people get larger sizes. I actually think this is the smallest 4K TV available. I guess I'll go to the storage warehouse tomorrow and bring home some small cube tables that will at least raise the TV up to a decent viewing height. I'll also go to Home Depot and buy a wide selection of metric screws. Something is bound to work.

I managed to get the TV hooked up to our cable service and turn off some of the most annoying features. I really don't want my TV talking to me. It's annoying enough to have my watch and phone talk to me. I need to figure out how to disable the built in Alexa feature. Janet doesn't want Alexa snooping on us. I had a lot of things like a Roku stick and Apple TV hooked up to the old TV, but these streaming services all seem to be built into this TV. Setting up a TV these days involves scanning a lot of QR codes with your phone and configuring the TV using an app. I can never seem to type using my phone, so I enter the information on my computer in the office instead. I think I spent the entire afternoon walking back and forth between the office and the bedroom where the TV is. Basically I'm too old for a high tech TV. I was happy enough with 13 channels and the little portable Sony Trinitron I had decades ago.

It's looks like I'll have to wait for the FedEx truck. I could never figure out how to request that my shipment be held at a Fedex facility. The FedEx website is basically broken. When I'm not signed in, it offers a variety of choices for managing my delivery. Of course when I'm not signed in, it doesn't know who I am. As soon as I sign in to my account, all these choices disappear. I tried calling the FedEx help line, but it is completely automated now. Have you ever tried to describe your problem to one of those automated artificial intelligence voices? It will drive you mad. It's hard to explain to one robot that another robot isn't working. 

I don't think I'm going to get my 20,000 steps today. Dawn got her sunrise walk and I took a longer four mile walk later. I usually need one more short walk to go over 20,000 steps. Sorry. When I should have been walking, I was at Home Depot looking for a small table for the new TV. I also went to a neighborhood Walgreens to see if they could hold my FedEx package, but their in-store Fedex facility was such a shambles that I left without even talking to anyone. All in all, it wasn't a very productive day. 

Tomorrow is basically just waiting for the FedEx driver. I'll do my grocery shopping and hopefully get some walking in while Janet is still at home to sign for the shipment. Probably we'll wait all day and the shipment won't come anyway,. That's usually how it works.

Princess is todays Dalmatian of the Day


Watch of the Day