That Little Drip

That Little Drip

Every time I go into the main bathroom in my house I hear it. When I sleep I hear it. If I really want to I can hear it now as I am typing this message. That little drip in my bathtub. I keep thinking that I have to fix that some day. Someday soon I am going to fix that little drip in my bathtub. After all, water is getting more and more expensive in Las Vegas. We live in a desert and I have a drip in my bathtub. There was a time when I even got my tool out and with a wrench in hand I stared at the little drip in my bathtub. I tried to see if it would be a quick fix, a little tightening here, a new washer or a new handle, but nothing I did could stop that little drip. I would have to put in and entirely new fixture.

As I sat on the edge of my bathtub looking at that little drip here’s part of what went through my mind. I have to change the fixture, which means that I have to open up the wall which means I have to take off the tile, break some of them, buy new ones to match, and then take out the drywall which means that I have to buy a 4x8 sheet of that moisture barrier drywall for a little 1x1 section. Then I have to remove the fixture which is probably soldered in on these old fixtures which means I have to take out more of the wall to get a hacksaw in there which means that I have to find a new fixture that will accept copper lines running in it unless I attach and end on it that will allow me to run a flexible line which would be much easier and less hassle. I’ve always hated that short shower fixture so since I am in the wall and have to do repairs anyway I should just raise up the shower spout so it hits me in the head instead of the middle of the back which would mean I have to get a new line up the wall a little taller from the new fixture which also means that I have to repair the hole left by the old shower spout and that is not tile so I have to do some fancy drywalling and finishing there. Which reminds me that my wife wants to get rid of that old tub anyway and put in a new standup shower which would allow me to not have to worry about the tile anyway which would let me tear things apart without worrying about having to put it back together again which means I have to look for some flooring and possibly run into some other “BUGS” under the tub when I remove it which means I have to open up the wall to the outside since the tub is too big to get out of the door of the bathroom and was probably put in before the room was finished which means that I will have to tear open our wall and then re-stucco the outside after I pull out the studs and pull out the tub which means that I will have to replace that old window with a new one but since the color of the new stucco won’t match the color of the rest of the house I will have to paint the rest of the house too, since we have been wanting to do that anyway which means the trim, which is a different color will have to be done first which means I will have to repair a few of those boards on the trip that are getting rotten and bad before I can paint them which means that I have to tear them off and you never know what you will run into when you start tearing off old board on your trim which means I will have to …. And on and on and on it goes, all for a little drip.

A friend of mine found out that his mother had cancer. She is 92 years old and to have surgery and begin a chemo therapy treatment at that age would … well… would be like trying to fix a drip by painting the house. She would probably live longer by managing the drip then she would by the radical surgery.

Someday, someday I will have to get that drip fixed but I know that it won’t kill my house or me. You have to ask: Is it worth fixing that little drip?

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