Pouring

Once again, we are testament to the adage that when it rains, it pours and in our case, it is partially literal too!

(1) In the early part of October, building management asked to check out my windows. The unit downstairs had been reporting a leak coming through its walls and management has exhausted all other options and decided to check the walls on my part of the building. Sure enough, there was a crack on the outer wall and water was getting in because the weather strips around my windows were worn out and water was getting in and pooling around the crack. Bldg management will take care of sealing the outer wall crack but we now have to replace all the weather stripping on our windows. Cost to replace weather strips, including tax and shipping: $40 (not bad).

(2) This afternoon, the super came by to seal the outer wall crack and he noticed that our windows need to be resealed too in the area where the glass meets the frame. *sigh*. Estimated cost of sealant (needs to be same color as the frame): $10 ?

(3) This item on the list is what concerns me the most. Our bathroom ceiling has been leaking on and off for the past two years. Each time I report it, the bldg super either just replaces the vent cap on the roof or repairs the roof over our part of the bldg by pouring some sort of sealant or compound. Two nights ago, it started leaking again and what worries me is that it's dry out. It wasn't even raining! So where was the water coming from ? There are no units above us.

The thing is, we have a textured finish on the bathroom wall ceiling. If part of the paint has to be stripped out to see what's underneath, the entire thing needs to be stripped and refinished. And if the whole ceiling is to be redone, I would prefer that the entire bathroom be redone as well because it really is outdated. So this is sort of a cascading expense.

Part of me wants to ignore for now if the leak stops (super has promised to reseal our part of the roof) and part of me wants to strip it and see if mold is growing underneath but the latter option scares me because of the cascading expense it might start.

estimated cost: $10 (for mold testing kit) all the way to $5k - $7k for a bathroom remodel

The next items concerns our old(er) car:

(4) New tires, there's really no way around this. Cost: $600-900, depending on brand and model of tires.

(5) Right inner axle boot cover is ripped. Subaru is charging $286 + tax for just the boot cover replacement. I called different repair shops to get estimates:

• Midas: $305 + tax for just the boot cover
• Meineke: $135 + tax for just the boot cover but they recommend replacing the axle as well because if dirt / grit got in already, then damage has already been done. The entire thing will cost $185 + tax (only $50 more).
• Aamco: recommends replacing the entire thing as well, estimates $180 - 190 + tax.

Looks like we'll be going w/ Meineke and will have the whole axle assembly replaced. We decided to go with Meineke over Aamco for the simple fact that Meineke is open on Saturdays while Aamco is M-F only.

(6) November is property tax time again. We pay every quarter so our next payment will be in February, 2011.

(7) And last, but not the least, Christmas season. It's the season to be jolly and the season to spend... add that to Swe-cha's upcoming birthday celebration. Eek.

Hoping that 2011 will bring lots of blessings and good karma, especially on the job front. If expenses keep mounting up like these, we're going to need the income.