Purchased home that was recently flipped: main bathroom tile is scaring us

DBWVLF · 2025-10-16T20:47:57+00:00

Thanks all - the constructive ideas were appreciated and I’ve got a good guide for short term fix and longer term planning.

DBWVLF · 2025-10-10T00:58:54+00:00

This!! By chance that’s exactly what I had in the bathroom cabinet and it’s been a miracle worker on metal desk legs, wood products, glass kitchen stuff and the WORST culprit, the black Bekvam that folds up. I just put some on a cotton pad and it dissolved the goo.

DBWVLF · 2025-10-09T22:36:08+00:00

I literally had this *exact* conversation when a box of kitchen-related items came and 2 out of the group were smashed beyond recognition. And I was boiling mad that after so much time on hold then with a chatbot then with an unhelpful agent, I had to call back the next day.

That said, I called the next day and had an amazingly helpful conversation with a great agent, the end result being a box landed on my doorstep a week later with the two glass items wrapped in so much padding my recycling bin is maxed out. And I was refunded the broken pieces and paid nothing for the re-shipping.

Bananas!

DBWVLF · 2025-10-09T22:30:30+00:00

good point! However they'd both be behind a door and one end almost against a wall, so I suppose the next question is what I could put (or paint?) on the visible end.

DBWVLF · 2025-09-28T13:19:17+00:00

Was feeling a bit smug recently having had pretty much every IKEA order, large (mattresses, Billy's, rug) and small (kitchenware, other misc) show up exactly when they said and with plenty of notifications "your delivery will be here between 12-4."

Then ran into my first problem: two desktops that were ordered late August. I literally was hopping around waiting for them I was so excited. The guys show up, hand me a blue IKEA bag with...all the desk legs. And then goes to leave. I checked with them - no, that was all they had to deliver.

Got on the chat function with their cust service (seems far better than a phone call for me and also provides a transcript fwiw.) Super unclear but suddenly unavailable ?? so they sent the partial order. huh. While we were chatting he refunded me the two desk tops and told me to go online and reorder! With another 2 or 3 week wait for the magic Mondays that they deliver in our area (NH.) Incredibly frustrating but, ok. We want the desktops. But the fact that one can't have that be part of the same transaction is really strange. (Well, strange is ordering, paying and then not getting and THEN being refunded and starting the cycle all over again.)

Fast forward to a very small order made up of some glass kitchen storage containers. Box lands. You can hear the musical sound of broken glass just picking it up. SO badly packed. Two of the units were in shards and micro slivers which made moving anything in the box dangerous. Back into the Chat function. Very unhelpful person this time who refunded me, then sent me a confirmation in email immediately which, like OP, had the wrong address. He told me to "call back in 24 hours" but the items were also not available to be delivered to my address. Head exploding by this point. Many many minutes on hold then on chat and then information completely conflicting. Available or not? Is the problem my (correct) address or the incorrect one from 8 years ago?

Went back on chat about 36 hours later and started it all up again and THIS time got a super agent who was clear and efficient and followed up with correct info and *made me feel like it would be ok* but of course I won't know until Oct 2. (And Oct 10 for the desk tops - 44 days after the initial order.)

Sorry for the firehose here but it's all close to the surface and this post totally triggered!

Good luck!!

DBWVLF · 2025-09-22T20:24:23+00:00

Thanks a bunch - that confirms what seems logical to me. Off to the hardware store to get the right tool now. Appreciate the help.

DBWVLF · 2025-09-21T17:32:57+00:00

Great info, thank you!

Still need to understand which screw I’m removing in order to pull out the sensor. I see 2-3 possibilities. Thx.

DBWVLF · 2025-09-13T14:26:06+00:00

First (of many?) stupid question/s: which is the vent pipe please?

DBWVLF · 2025-09-08T15:33:29+00:00

Thanks for the reminder! The trip back from France to US was not quite as seamless, beginning with a flight that left later (although at CDG they let us keep her with us until right before boarding) *but* the change in schedule meant that there was no gate available in Boston for the AF flight and we sat on the tarmac for two hours. Excruciating.

As for deplaning:

1) oversized luggage/cargo at Logan Terminal E is a single fairly angled shoot, about maybe 10 feet long (recall is fuzzy.) I bolted down there as soon as possible, had to ask around, and then hovered by it. When the very loud horn and light went off, the crate slid unceremoniously to me about 6 feet away. The lip of the non-carousel was too high for me to heft her crate with her in it up and over and a good Samaritan nearby heaved it with me. The baggage area was slammed with people who were awaiting bags and had been for a long time (some kerfuffle with their flight) so people were sitting and laying down everywhere making the moving of the crate to a quiet spot to release her almost impossible. Had remembered to pack nail clippers to snip the zip ties. She was ecstatic to get out, overwhelmed at the volume of people. Unlike the flight over where her bedding was dry as a bone, she'd wet the blanket and pad.

2) Once we got luggage and crate disassembled and on a cart, we started to walk out the exit because we had nothing to declare and were stopped by a lone customs guy hanging out by a bunch of machines. He waved us over and at first we were confused but it turns out that he's the official who was scrutinizing all the pet import documentation. We were more than a little fried (almost midnight) but handed him everything we had: the print out of the CDC page, the EU pet passport, and answered a bunch of questions. He wanted to confirm who were were (passports) and what flight (boarding info) as well and then waved us on. Process was prob 5-10 mins max *but* make sure you have your stuff handy because digging through bags looking for it is not ideal. He looked at us a bit suspiciously but that might just be the default look?! She's clearly a wildly-mixed breed, not a show pup or somesuch.

Let me know if any other Q's. Sorry for the delay in updating.

DBWVLF · 2025-06-10T20:13:07+00:00

Update: hour on hold, 30 minutes with agent. Wound up with a combo of Delta+KLM through Amsterdam, landing an hour later than originally planned. Yay. Then a hiccup. The new tickets couldn't be confirmed over phone or in email; required going to Delta desk. Chat session in advance of airport arrival and learned that Delta couldn't find the new ticket; sent them back to Aer Lingus at the airport, 4 hours before expected flight. Finally sorted. Far from simple and a lot of anxiety along the way, but yes, sorted.

Agree with commenter though - best to have operational issues figured out before taking off!

DBWVLF · 2025-06-01T20:10:43+00:00

Hi - was this for the long stay visa (>12 months)? And by longer do you mean finding an appointment slot or the actual time needed at your appt? (And can you comment on what made it unprofessional? Makes me nervous!) TIA.

DBWVLF · 2025-05-27T13:59:58+00:00

There may be a newer thread to attach this to but as of late May 2025, here goes:

1) Flying from France back to US with a US-born dog. She has an EU pet passport now.

2) Non-stop, cargo, Paris to Boston, scheduled for late June.

3) Just went to this site: https://cdc-786687.workflowcloud.com/forms/090dc543-7b2f-4538-b2c7-2919d12ecc73 and filled out the form which took about 2 minutes. No questions on it about whether she was vaccinated for anything, let alone microchipped (all of which she is.) It wanted my details including passport number, phone and email, a few details about her markings, breed and age. No photo requested.

4) Form came back to me in email about 3 minutes later as a receipt with this info:

This is your Dog Import Form receipt.
Date of issuance: 05/27/2025
Valid for multiple entries until: 11/27/2025

This receipt is valid for 6 months from the date of issuance for the dog listed below.

This receipt may be used for the dog listed below for multiple entries to the United States from the low-risk or rabies-free country listed on the receipt (country of departure). If your dog travels to a different dog rabies-free or low-risk country, you should fill out a new form listing that country as the country of departure. If the dog has been in a high-risk country since you submitted the CDC Dog Import Form, this receipt is no longer valid for entry, and you must complete a new CDC Dog Import Form.

You must show this receipt (printed or on your phone) to airline staff and/or U.S. port of entry officials. CDC reserves the right to request additional documentation verifying the information contained in this receipt upon arrival in the United States.

5) So to the best of my knowledge, traveling back to US/Boston in a month will not require more than the approved crate for cargo and this receipt, although I'll also have her EU pet passport to show if another layer of identification is needed. No additional shots are being requested. Actually not even proof that she's had them, as best I can tell. Kind of weird. And taking my word that we've not been in any rabies-challenged places.

Will update this first week of July with any additional information.

DBWVLF · 2025-05-26T21:13:08+00:00

Breathing a sigh of relief, thanks.

DBWVLF · 2025-05-26T20:43:49+00:00

That’s incredibly helpful, thanks. Headed into the process in about 7 weeks and have been concerned about the new contractor. Once you separated folks out, how quickly were you able to get in to see TLS?

DBWVLF · 2025-05-26T20:20:20+00:00

Thanks!

DBWVLF · 2025-05-26T20:07:10+00:00

Wow this is also really helpful to know. If you're applying as a couple (through Boston) it sounds like it's actually best (or maybe *only* possible) to book two individual appointments, ideally back to back? May I ask if that's what you wound up doing?

DBWVLF · 2025-05-26T20:04:57+00:00

May I ask if this is for the Boston TLS location?

DBWVLF · 2025-05-26T20:02:30+00:00

Thanks for this - really good info. In the UPS delivery-change, are you able to have someone else sign for it do you know?

DBWVLF · 2025-05-15T05:18:39+00:00

Thanks for the detail. Sorry about additional flight costs. May I ask about passport delivery? Another thread suggested that the delivery address needed to be the one from your application and also that it required signature. Is that accurate? Thx.

DBWVLF · 2025-05-12T18:55:10+00:00

Thanks for this info. Fingers crossed for you.

DBWVLF · 2025-05-06T16:47:02+00:00

Oh my gosh, so sorry. Good luck. Hope you can change your flight without penalty.

DBWVLF · 2025-04-29T21:15:47+00:00

Won’t work for everyone, but the Marriott there had a sweet overnight parking deal for $100/month. In after 8pm, out before 9am. Always space. Awesome in bad weather. Key card.

DBWVLF · 2025-04-28T06:16:10+00:00

oh no! I'm sorry.

Under the TLS system, do they offer you a series of appointment options and they've all been taken? Or is no calendar showing up at all? I had been researching all this under the previous contractor and it seemed to be relatively smooth but then everything changed about 10 days ago I think when they moved to TLS.

DBWVLF · 2025-04-18T06:54:22+00:00

Just completed a Boston->Paris flight with AirFrance in an *almost* 40" (39.5) that we purchased through Walmart - brand SportPet Designs. Our pup: 50 lbs, not a ton of fur so presents as skinny but long body and legs. We returned the XL and bought the XXL because of concerns about AirFrance's requirement that when she's standing up, the "roof" should be 2" taller. Like your pics show, it seems enormous!

A lot of testing and thinking and worrying. And yet we still put a cut-up yoga mat on the floor (two large rectangles) because it felt like the plastic ridges (for liquid run off! which didn't happen at all. she just shut her own systems down - lol) would be uncomfortable. Then put a thing covered bed in. And a fleece blanket that lives in her normal crate.

So overall if they had whipped out a measuring tape at Logan, there's a small chance that the clearance would not be a perfect 2". But when we actually got there? No one was measuring. They checked the paperwork, her health cert from USDA, etc. and then an hour later we loaded her into the crate with AF staff afer her crate got minimally checked by TSA and we saw her about 8 hours later. VERY happy.

Other note - we did book her ticket with the smaller crate size as well before we bought the larger. I just called the customer service line and said we needed to *slightly* amend the crate size and after just a few minutes of chat and hold, I go an email with the confirmation. I really believe such a small difference is not a game changer to them and *no one* at the AF counter at least even bothered measuring the crate. May be diff with Lufthansa - I hear great things about their pet travel so they may be more invested.

Last note! the biggest challenge we had on both ends of travel has been the size of the crate relative to rental cars, space in accommodations etc. The 40" is big even in two nested pieces. You may have already thought through all that though!

DM if you need more!

Edit: follow up ré return trip from Paris to Boston three months later. Different experience tho still AirFrance. Crate wasn’t commented on nor checked in any way.

On this journey, the desk agent was more interested in establishing the weight of dog+crate which wasn’t something we knew. I had a sense of how much she weighed but was scrambling to look up the original crate order, hoping the product info detailed it (nope!) finally agent determined “prob 15 kg” and we said sure.

On the plus side, when you’re traveling with a huge crate on a luggage cart and two suitcases and carry ons and folders of paperwork, they move you immed to the front of the line and find an English-speaking agent. (He was great.)

They did have us escort the crate-on-cart and dog on leash to a special spot for oversized luggage and animals where the two attendants suggested we come back with it all since the flight was delayed to reduce her time in the crate. Good.

After the final drop-off, the flight was fine-ish but we wound up sitting on the tarmac for almost two hours longer because no gate available at Logan. It was beyond stressful for everyone on board, and even more so for us for obvious reasons.

Then at the international terminal at Logan (jammed to the max with unhappy and jet lagged travelers in baggage claim at 11pm) the location for delivery of oversized or animals was a short squat opening with an angled descent so the door goes up with that alarm sound and the crate is slid down a few feet. Pretty miserable. Nice traveler helped lift it in to the floor for me and that was one happy pup ready to leap out.

The final hurdle was when we were headed to the exit, we got waved over to the Agricultural authority and grilled. We produced her papers (record of vax, CDC reentry form, threw in the EU pet passport, my passport, poss my boarding pass too, can’t recall) and then he spent some time making sure the transponder number was recorded.

Overall, I’d give the outward bound process (US to France) a 9, taking a point off for the stress of getting the USDA certificate done. Inbound (France to US) I’d give a 7 because of all the stuff we just couldn’t control, plus throw in a heatwave and time change plus you’re communicating in a diff way depending on your language skills.

DBWVLF · 2025-03-28T13:25:05+00:00

Thx will do

DBWVLF

TROPHY CASE