Bottleneck

Tomorrow I start my Estradiol three times per day.  I guess I will put the pills in my purse that way I will always have them whether I eat at home or out.  Everything seems to be ramping up - I increase my meds the 24th (tomorrow), I have my prep appointment where they will check lining and follicles on the 28th, I will start new medication the 30th and then the transfer is on September 4th.  Everyone keep your fingers crossed and good thoughts heading my way!

Yesterday morning I got to wait for the shower guy to come and tell me how much it would be to fix my shower.  I will preface this part of the post by saying I do NOT like this company.  The work is fine it is dealing with them that is such a hassle.  May of 2010, Handsome and I decide it was time to renovate our master bathroom.  We had the counter top replaced with granite tile, we had glass tile added around the bath, and we had the old fiberglass shower stall removed and replaced with porcelain tile.  We installed new brown glass vessel sinks and new satin nickel hardware.  Everything looked great.  The piece de resistance was a new frameless shower door also done in an amber/brown glass.  The problems started from the beginning. 

When the guy first came out to go over our options and give us an estimate we found out that they only work Monday through Friday, 8 am to 5pm.  Both Handsome and I work so this made it extremely hard to find a time we could both be there and this was a large investment that we both felt we should be there together.  When he came he originally gave us a quote for a semi-frameless door because he said it was too large an opening for a frameless door - whatever we could handle that.  We also had to remind him a few times about the type of handle we wanted and what side of the door it should be on.  Then the installers came to install it and again we had to take time off because they only came Monday through Friday, 8am to 5pm.  This was somewhat of a hassle but we were happy because the result looked great!  Although we did notice that there was no frame at all - we had gotten a fully frameless door. 

We brought this up but nobody seemed concerned and it seemed solid.  However, once we started using the shower we noticed water leaking out from under the shower door.  One their frequently asked questions page of their website they indicate it might be time for a new shower door if you are mopping up after showers, they also say "Because the installation is custom made to fit your particular bathroom, Century Shower Door can assure you that your framed unit will not leak and that each door will open and close properly. We offer a one year limited warranty on parts & labor, please ask to see our contract for the details of this warranty."  emphasis is mine - they try and sneak it in that they only warranty their framed units against leaks.  Nowhere does it say - framed units may experience some leakage.  After a week or two of the leaking, during which time we tried shorter showers, adjusting the showerhead, etc, we called them to have them come out and look.  It was during this time that I was told frameless showerdoors leak and they can' guarantee they won't.  I understood that some spray or some drops might get out but we were soaking through bathmats and towels.

This is the towel we started putting down to soak up the water during our showers.  The whole thing would be soaked.  The leaks were bad, especially for Handsome who is quite a bit taller than I am and lanky.  The water would pour off of his elbows and such and pool on the inside of the door and then seep out under the door and off the curb.  They came out and "adjusted" the door and sweep trying to make it closer to the tile and keep the water in.  This did not work.  I called them again but just didn't have the time or patience to take another day off work for them to come and do more adjustments.  They weren't offering any real solutions either.  So for over a year we continued using the towel when we took our showers.

We finally figured out (ourselves) that the problem was the shower curbing. 

See the curb that acts as a the threshold for the shower door is flat, it really should be slightly tipped inward so that water would flow back into the shower and then into the drain.  I called them again a little over a year ago and was told that I was out of warranty and that frameless shower doors leaked.  I could arrange a time (M-F, 8-5) for someone to come out but I was sick of trying to work with them.  So Handsome and I continued using the towel and trying to figure out some solution.  We thought of having the tile removed and reinstalled with the correct incline but I knew we would have to take the door off while that was happening and probably pay for them to remove and reinstall the door along with the cost of any tile work.  Finally I started looking at their website and found this:

A dam strip which goes below the door.  It is only about half and inch wide and a quarter of an inch tall but I wasn't sure about installation or if it would fit below the door.  I talked to Handsome about it and we decided to contact CSD (Century Shower Door) yet again asking about this possibility.  I wrote them an email asking about whether this would work, would it fit beneath the door, and other questions.  I gave them both my email and phone number saying that my preference was email contact.  After waiting almost a week I sent another email letting them know I hadn't heard anything.  Finally I get a snarky voicemail on my phone saying that he had called me multiple times last week and now he gets this email saying no one called me.  I was pretty mad because I had no missed calls and no voicemails so to me the guy is a liar.  Now we finally come to yesterday when I waited for the guy to come and give me a quote.  He says a dam strip may work but he can't guarantee against leaks - since I know the leaks are coming underneath and this will be siliconed in (is "siliconed" a word?) I am sure the leak issue will mainly disappear.  They are also going to replace all the polycarbonate - like the sweep and the stop and such.  All in all it comes to $200 which had I known the dam strip was available and was only going to be $200 I would have had this fixed 2 years ago. 

Once we get the damn strip in (pun intended) I will post a picture.  Below you can see the puddle which is already soaking into the bathmat and this is after a 4 minute shower by Handsome.

 

 I also pointed out some of the minor water damage we have been seeing even though we mop it up:

Well I will talk to you more tomorrow or Saturday and let you know about all the new acupuncture stuff I am doing including warming tea that looks like dirt, a weird warming cigar thingy and my diet. ttyl

The Bottle Neck
"The main mast was split asunder, the ship sprang a leak, and the pumps became useless, while all around was black as night."
Andersen, H. C. (Hans Christian) (2009-10-04). Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen (Kindle Locations 941-942). Public Domain Books. Kindle Edition.