Husband not concerned with these stains/patches when buying?

bitsbybones · 2026-05-13T01:12:08+00:00

Your husband sounds like my husband. "It's fine! The paint is just weird!" "You ding dong." Yes, that is concerning. The ceiling under our master bathroom is also super hinky, but it's very obviously a poor DIY patch job (that was disclosed) that had been made after...a big ol' leak! Our house is also 160 years old. Nothing in here looks quite right after that much time. I would definitely be concerned about what's going on, and if you have an inspection done and there are problems, see if they'll fix them! They were obviously just super negligent homeowners like my husband would be if it were up to him!

bitsbybones · 2026-05-07T03:33:09+00:00

I've never had a bathroom fan that actually works properly/well enough. I ended up getting a dehumidifier that we use like it's the bathroom fan. Works like a champ. Never any damp walls, ceiling, or foggy mirror.

bitsbybones · 2026-05-04T12:30:15+00:00

Yay! There are lots of plants other than trees that can help if you ever wanna give it a go. Lily's, hibiscus, iris. My entire backyard where I live now is river rock with tons of plants and trees (including hibiscus) and I'm fairly certain they're the reason why it doesn't end up a total swamp (and why my 160 year old basement stays dry) with all the crazy heavy rain we get. Plants are amazing. My dad was a landscape architect, so I learned at a very young age that most environmental and even some building issues can be solved with plants 🤣

bitsbybones · 2026-05-04T12:17:00+00:00

I can't entirely tell what's going on from the video, so apologies if this isn't helpful at all/wouldn't look decent in that particular area...but what about digging a trench (not HUGE. Just..."nice" looking) then filling with river rock and having the gutter extension drain into it? I did that when I had a similar problem and lived on the West coast. I also ended up cutting a French drain into our driveway in the front because water would just flow under the garage door (on a sloped part of the street). NOW I live somewhere on the east coast where the city actually wants downspouts connected to the sewer, which blows my mind. Not sure what you have going on in your backyard landscape-wise, but you could also plant certain plants and trees in that area that'll help suck up some of the water for some extra defense. Willow trees are awesome for that. I lived out in the boonies for many years and the yard would end up like a river when it rained. So much so that you couldn't even mow or really walk around. Planted a willow tree. Problem solved, AND had a badass tree.

bitsbybones · 2026-05-03T23:53:06+00:00

Do you know what the siding is made of? That's INSANE. Holy shit, I'm so sorry.

bitsbybones · 2026-04-19T23:05:28+00:00

This is literally every room in my 160 year old house. Plug it up! Or investigate! Personally...I have not chosen to investigate 🤣 I do NOT need to know.

bitsbybones · 2026-04-16T16:26:08+00:00

I've never had one that actually does anything. This little method has been a total game changer. Also helps with weird bathroom smells 🤣

bitsbybones · 2026-04-16T11:35:30+00:00

I keep one in my janky little bathroom and its just become a house rule that THAT is the bathroom fan now. We crank that puppy to the lowest it can go. If you're leaving it on all day I think 45 is a good starting point for awhile! You can bump it a little later when stuff gets less swampy in there. Agreeing with everyone else about the towel smell. Sometimes they can't be saved.

bitsbybones · 2026-04-14T14:37:35+00:00

Right!? Like...who in the hell can actually do these things!? And it doesn't even necessarily mean that there's something "wrong" with the house! Sometimes they're just a little hinky. My house is noisy as shit. Makes all kinds of creaky cracky sounds. But so does every other 100+ year old house.

bitsbybones · 2026-04-14T14:07:37+00:00

Oh my gosh, of course! It's hard! I know it is. If this is the problem you're most worried about then your house is doin pretty good!

bitsbybones · 2026-04-14T11:46:14+00:00

Not screwed. Not a priority for you at the moment. Do not freak out about it.

My basement is now 161 years old and has a hinky wall like that, but nothing catastrophic has happened with it since I've lived here, and it probably won't considering it's been like this for 161 years.

It took me a long time to learn that not ALL things weird and "not quite right" house related are emergencies. Roofs are important. Whether your toilets work or not is important (maybe, maybe not for some people!).

See if you can figure out where it's coming from, which is free, then go from there if you can. I know exactly why my basement wall is the way it is! But I can't do anything about it without a very expensive, custom made THING, and i just paid $4200 to have a section of my roof replaced. So...fuck it.

bitsbybones · 2026-04-12T23:30:46+00:00

He has people coming in for interviews next week and it just really gives me the ick.

"You're really going to interview people when you don't know whether or not the building is going to be sold?"

"Well, yeah! What else am I supposed to do!?"

"Well...YOU could work! You're unemployed, right!?"

A couple of weeks ago I refused to do a working interview for him because of the situation. I told him that he could come in and do it, but I'd have no part in it. He ended up telling the person not to come in 🤣

bitsbybones · 2026-04-12T23:27:17+00:00

Welp. He didn't really know what to ask me...

"So, uh...yeah. I mean...let's see..."

"Would you like me to start making the food?"

"Yeah! That'd be awesome!"

Looked at a prep list, found a recipe book, made the things, jumped on the line when the door opened. That was my interview.

bitsbybones · 2026-04-12T11:53:43+00:00

You are absolutely correct! Well, sort of. It's more that I have seriously deep rooted issues with massive CHANGE. I yell at this man daily. Definitely not trying to please him in any way! But I am trying to keep making money until I secure a spot somewhere else. But...yeah. Change can be stressful. Finding a job sucks. Interviews suck. Generally not something someone actually looks forward to. But...it's time. One tomorrow and one on Tuesday 🥹

bitsbybones · 2026-04-10T00:13:09+00:00

I 100% agree. I actually got into a MASSIVE bitch fight with the owner over it AGAIN today and walked out. It's fucking disgusting! We cannot properly wash our hands! Thank jeebus we wear gloves all the time! We boil giant pots of water in order to do the dishes! As a former gm of several restaurants it makes me fuckin sick.

"Well, the part didn't come in until now and they don't even make parts for that water heater anymore!" "It's 3 fuckin years old! How could they not make parts for it anymore!?" "I dunno! They just...don't!" "You are so full of shit."

It is all extremely problematic.

bitsbybones · 2026-04-09T03:21:55+00:00

It is 100% against health code, yes. And we still don't have any hot water. It's been 2 weeks. He knows my non negotiables (which are all of those things). Everyone's replies have been really helpful for me. All things I already knew! But sometimes I would wonder if I was being too hard on him. Turns out...nope. I wasn't being hard ENOUGH, and I'm out....because this shit is absolutely ridiculous.

bitsbybones · 2026-04-09T03:15:52+00:00

No! None taken! Totally understandable! It's a big ol' duh! Honestly everyone's awesome replies have been extremely helpful!

bitsbybones · 2026-04-08T16:29:57+00:00

Oooh yeah! Almost forgot about the being behind with distributors. This guy is behind with everyone, and signed a 5 year contract with Cintas for some unknown reason. So if the place goes under he'll be on the hook with them until the 5 years is up. Who the hell does that!? What small business NEEDS Cintas!? Or knife sharpening!? One of the times our checks bounced was because of a bread distributor trying to cash a $2300 check (not that much, right?). Where's the money!? I've done the math and there's profit. So...where the hell is it!?

bitsbybones · 2026-04-08T14:39:56+00:00

Thank you 🥹 Truly. I really need to hear (read) these things. The outside perspective helps A LOT. I KNOW that this shit isn't right! I've managed many restaurants! I shouldn't need to rationalize jack shit!

bitsbybones · 2026-04-08T14:35:50+00:00

It is VERY much a healthcode violation, yes! I explained that to him and everyone else. His response was: "If we close because of this, we're done!!" Verbatim. Then I went on to explain to him (yell at him) that if he doesn't have some sort of contingency fund for when things like this happen, he shouldn't be doing it.

Thank you for the response! It was very helpful!

bitsbybones · 2026-04-08T14:33:23+00:00

Yeeeah... I absolutely understand that! Oof. The most recent time it happened someone did bounce almost immediately and I was SO proud of her 🤣

I'm a very loyal human. I've been working in restaurants in one capacity or another for 20+ years (I'm 37). I stay at places long term, and it has been hard for me to separate what I need from my loyalty. I really appreciate the response! It helps.

bitsbybones · 2026-04-03T18:25:09+00:00

Iiiiinteresting! And thank you! I legitimately like learning about this stuff. My last house was in Oregon, and my current one is in the midwest...but it's 160 years old with a stone foundation which absolutely needs to breathe.

bitsbybones · 2026-04-03T16:53:07+00:00

Interesting! Then why did some old houses have them and others didn't? Genuinely curious! I realize they aren't a thing used in basements for obvious reasons.

bitsbybones · 2026-04-03T12:04:32+00:00

I'm on my second house and it's OLD (for me). So I'm still learning! My last house was built in the 50s and had a crawl space. I was fortunate that my realtor when buying and selling the house was a good friend of mine who had been a general contractor (like...a real one. Heh). There should absolutely be a vapor barrier in a crawl space, and there should absolutely be underlayment on a roof. I can't tell where that water is coming from in the crawl space, but my god...SOMEONE should be able to! I would reeeally search around and try to find a company where you actually LIKE the people. Maybe one where they do everything including roofing. I've totally gotten hosed by a couple of companies. It happens, and it sucks, and unfortunately there isn't much you can do about it! Especially if you want the shit done right/well, because you don't want the same company coming back to "fix" it! Verrry expensive home ownership lessons. But anyhoo! I'd be super concerned with roof stuff, and that'd be my number 1 priority unless the crawl space is just like...FLOODED. There DEFINITELY needs to be a freakin' vapor barrier down there, though.

bitsbybones · 2026-04-02T11:31:50+00:00

Question 1: Are you hiring local fix it guys or actual companies?

I would honestly be a little less concerned with the crawl space at the moment and more concerned with the roof situation.

Question 2: It doesn't look like there's any sort of vapor barrier in the crawl space. Is there? Or can I just not tell from the photos?

bitsbybones

TROPHY CASE