Wednesday, Oct. 2

Last night, the lady who was to work on the stairwell and bathroom called to say she would be here this morning, so we hopped up around 6:30, got dressed, and again cleared the bathroom.

She and her husband arrived around 8:30. Her husband set up a scaffold for her in the stairwell, and then she began work. The first thing she ran into was a wet place in the sheetrock when she removed the wallpaper from that area.

She went on with her work, while Hubbie called a plumber, a sheet rock man, and an insurance agent. The plumber arrived a little while later and repaired the pipe that was causing the problem leak. To do this, he had to cut a section out of the sheetrock in the stairwell.

Later, the insurance agent arrived and said that our coverage would pay for replacing the sheetrock, as well as the cost of new wallpaper, although we will actually be painting that area.

As though this problem was not enough, the lady taking the wallpaper down found that the person who had hung the paper had not sized the walls first, so in struggling to remove it, the sheetrock covering was peeling, too.

We discussed solutions to the problem, and I suggested that we might texture it. The lady agreed that this would be easier than trying to add enough layers of primer to smooth the wall. However, she said she would not be able to return to continue work until next Tuesday.

In the meantime, Hubbie set a fan up in the stairwell to dry the area where the leak was, in hopes the sheetrock guy would come soon.

The lady finished removing the wallpaper and left around 4 p.m. In the meantime, I'd put sweet potatoes in the oven. Hubbie went to the WDCS to fetch a rotisserie chicken, and I served the meal with a side of coleslaw.

Afterward, Hubbie accompanied Mother to her house, and then we settled in to watch TV.