Stories from the Sales Frontlines

Kirstie_H · April 2011

I've remodeled at least 5 bathrooms and built (from scratch) 5.5 of them. During one of the remodels, a kitchen/bath guy recommended a Jaclo shower head. Expensive, but it's the best one I ever had, and I bought one for each of the 5 full baths constructed. The other one, I took from place to place each time I moved and left the new owners a fairly cheap one.

graphicguy · April 2011

The other one, I took from place to place each time I moved and left the new owners a fairly cheap one.

I can hear the new owners now....."But Martha, wasn't there a shower head in the shower when we looked at the house? What's this garden hose nozzle doing in the shower?"

Kirstie_H · April 2011

Oh no, I wouldn't want to be accused of bait & switch! I changed out the fixture before each place went on the market and just toughed it out. I didn't put on the $5 shower head, but I didn't leave my $200+ one either.

graphicguy · April 2011

tjc and 604....maybe my memory isn't that good. But, I certainly don't remember platforms from the late '80s handling as poorly as the new Impala. It was like it already had work bushings, but it was almost new.

If it's merely a rental product these days, then so be it. There was certainly plenty of them at Enterprise. And, it looked like my hotel parking lot was filled with them. So, you're probably right....they're relegated to rental fleets.

It just seems that not so long ago, Chevy was putting a small block V8 in it to resurrect the vaunted SS models.

If nothing else, there was no torque steer. Then again, there wasn't enough power available to induce torque steer, either.

tjc78 · April 2011

But, I certainly don't remember platforms from the late '80s handling as poorly as the new Impala

I guess it depends on how the suspension is setup. In rental fleets I've driven plenty of Impalas and didnt really feel they were too bad in the handling department. The Grand Prix on the same platform always felt a little firmer than the Impala,

Of course, I could be a bad judge, I usually drive floaty cars and curse my current ride for being too firm.

sterlingdog · April 2011

I know that this will surprise you, but I've had success over the years with Delta fixtures. They always looked nice and could be purchased at a good price. I know that they are not highly recommended, but we never had a problem with them in any of our houses. Then again, our average stay in each house was only 3-4 years. That could explain the lack of problems.

Richard

driver100 · April 2011

Even with huge discounts, I can't see anyone actually liking this car enough to buy it

Your experience is exactly the same as mine regarding the Impala. Even when it was new it was an old model, way behind it's time.

It is too bad GM didn't make the new Pontiac G6 (I think) into an Impala and just dropped this dog. It is exactly everything that was wrong with GM, no money for research, parts made as cheaply as possible, a company ruled by accountants, a company trying to make a car for a very low price.

There is no joy in driving one of these numb and dumb beasts. As noted later, the Fusion is really an example of a nice car for a reasonable price.

I guess Impalas make cheap rental cars and taxis, maybe even police cars still. But, it probably doesn't do to much good for GMs reputation to sell these cars as rentals. Tarnishes the whole line.

fezo · April 2011

You are thinking the G8 and you are right on that. Would make an excellent Impala and put the current one out of its misery.

Richard - you move too much! I'd go crazy moving that often. Of course some of that is that I've got a household of 6 vs two people....

driver100 · April 2011

The new (a year old) little (now at 60 pounds) has been a great disappointment

That is really unfortunate. With all your teaching ability if you can't teach poor Coco anything then it looks pretty hopeless.

Sounds like Coco is a candidate for "The Dog Whisperer", he does work miracles.

That sounds like a terrible experience, especially because you both love dogs so much. We haven't seen our dog for a week now and we miss her so much. But, if I went through what you have I wouldn't be able to wait for someone who wants to adopt Coco.

Remind me not to buy any cars, homes and now I'll have to add dogs from you. You could leave him in your will to fezo though....he'll take pretty well anything...even a potato from Ireland.

sterlingdog · April 2011

Well, there is one good thing about moving every 3-4 years. You keep neat closets and you don't hold on to needless junk.

Richard

houdini1 · April 2011

You're so right. I love the full extension drawers.

Are we talking about underwear now?

fezo · April 2011

You've got a point there. We are clearing out a house that has been in the family for 83 years! We're pack rats to boot. What a mess. Will be over in a few weeks one way or another.

sterlingdog · April 2011

LOL! Only you would think of that.

Richard

sterlingdog · April 2011

Having just had that experience, I don't envy you one bit. Have a yard sale and make yourself some money. One good rule of thumb: If you don't use something in a year, you can pretty safely dump it. If the house still has furniture, lamps, rugs, etc., consider an auction house. You'll pay 20% commission, but you don't have to fool with it yourself. Good luck, especially if you're dealing with other relatives. That factor can certainly complicate things. :sick:

Richard

nyccarguy · April 2011

Delta is a fantastic brand. Very reasonable. If you've done this 5 times before, then you don't need my help. Another brand that I really like is SYMMONS. Their shower bodies are made using brass cartridges (Not plastic) & they give great pressure. Made in the USA. Very reasonable priced too, less expensive than Delta. Good luck!

fezo · April 2011

It's my folks house and there are five of us. There isn't much left that is if value. By far the most valuable thing is the house itself. That will be in someone else's hands come mid-May.

No antiques, no insanely valuable things.

driver100 · April 2011

. One good rule of thumb: If you don't use something in a year, you can pretty safely dump it.

That's a really good rule. And the thing is, even if you do need it, if you haven't used it for a year....you won't know you have one or you won't know where it is any way. Better just to get rid of it.

cdnpinhead · April 2011

. . .there is one good thing about moving every 3-4 years. You keep neat closets and you don't hold on to needless junk.

The expression I heard a lot while I was growing up in a household that picked up and moved every 2-3 years was: Three moves is as good as a fire.

True, that. I've been stuck in a house now for most of 19 years with a packrat spouse. I'm thinking a fire would be a good thing.

fezo · April 2011

We had the thought that a fire wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing but I think this is for the best....

We are just hitting 18 years in our house - though we added on to it 7 years ago.

tjc78 · April 2011

I'm in my house for just about six years. I can't believe the amount of stuff that has been accumulated. I am ready to start cleaning out the storage part of the basement soon. I also 110% refuse to put anything in the attic! Like someone else here said, if you haven't touched it for a year you probably don't need it (exceptions being electronics and power tools of course

).

tallman1 · April 2011

exceptions being electronics and power tools of course

Yeah, 'cause those electronics never go out of date.

fezo · April 2011

As you might guess our biggest amount of time is spent in the attic with the basement coming in next...

kyfdx · April 2011

One thing to note...

The Delta, Kohler and Moen fixtures that you get at Home Depot or Lowes, are not of the same quality as the ones you get from the plumbing house...

A Delta shower faucet from a plumbing house will be $200, but is rock solid... The ones from Home Depot will be about $129... and not worth even that..

explorerx4 · April 2011

I've had an Impala rental a couple of times.
Back when my Expedition got smashed in 2002, I rented one to get back to CT from Maryland.
The other party had not reported their responsibility and I had to get home so I rented it on my own.
Drove it for 3 weeks. The seats gave me a backache and there was a corner on the highway that the damn thing could not get through without a steering correction. I adjusted tire pressures and my speed, but I always had to make that adjustment.
To this day whenever i take that curve, I have a steering correction in the back of my mind.
I liked that car so much, I drove it 350 miles back to DC and took the train home, so I could get a different loaner.
The other Impala I rented was a brand new '08. Lost power assist in parking situations. The car was a lot nicer overall, although the mileage wasn't that great.

explorerx4 · April 2011

I thought of that too, but i have earned a host shadow on some threads, so I am on best behavior.

mako1a · April 2011

When I retired we went from 3,300 Sq Ft down to 2,300 in this house.

It was scary crowded. I thought the packing boxes would never end.

We found a nice community about 80 miles from here I would love to

be part of, but never moving again (the decree upon moving here) holds.

sterlingdog · April 2011

You with a host shadow? It's hard to believe. You're always a gentleman on this site.

Richard

sterlingdog · April 2011

I'm delighted that you have a high opinion of Delta. I'll definitely remember the Symmons brand for the shower. Thanks so much.

Richard

sterlingdog · April 2011

Don't go as drastic as a fire. Just start throwing out when she isn't looking. I do that all of the itme. Once in a while she will say, "I wonder what happened to that thing I was looking for." I just respond with, "Can you imagine that?"

Richard

sterlingdog · April 2011

Excellent point! I always buy from the plumbing houses. You pay more but the quality is so much better.

Richard

explorerx4 · April 2011

I don't always post just here.
My intentions are good and although I almost always right, it's potentially detrimental to growing the business at Edmunds.

We are privileged to have this thread and I enjoy every post, but it is not like that on some others.
I do understand and it does make sense in the big picture.

nyccarguy · April 2011

Kyfdx - you are 100% correct. Kohler, Delta, & American Standard all manufacture specific fixtures exclusively for Home Depot. Whoever the buyer is for Home Depot goes to his or her respective company & says: "We're going to buy X amount of these fixtures & pay this price. If you can't make it at that price, then I'll take my multi-million dollar purchase order elsewhere."

Richard - Symmons makes faucets too.

nyccarguy · April 2011

Someone asked about the best way to do a stand up shower. The Only way to fly is by using a lead pan, then concrete, then tile or stone work. If done right it will NEVER leak.

graphicguy · April 2011

nyc....want to come to Ohio and be the general contractor for a couple of bathrooms that I'm planning to rebuild? Your kind of knowledge is something that's rare....and I'm unable to find it locally? I make a mean BBQ.

explorer and driver....I concur, GM isn't doing themselves any favors by leaving the Impala on the market, even if it is only as a rental. I noticed the power steering pump couldn't keep up with quicker steering inputs, either (like when you're backing into a parking space and turning the wheel quickly....it sort of stops working).

I really scuffed up a nice pair of Allen Edmunds shoes by applying the parking brake. Obviously, there's some sort of naked, pointed piece sticking out on the foot brake (didn't bother to get down there to look). I've got several big gashes on the top of my shoes as a result.

Just a poorly engineered, built poorly, with cheap parts.

It was a huge (and I'm not exaggerating) difference once I got to my Acura to drive home from the airport.

nyccarguy · April 2011

If you are serious, I do business with someone from here who also has a place in Ohio (Near Cleveland) who would be willing to travel for a big job. Especially over the summer when things are slow. He's an old school NY Plumber.

sterlingdog · April 2011

Just wondering why you were using the parking brake. I didn't think that anyone used them now. I bet that I haven't applied a parking brake in 20 years. BTW, we call them emergency brakes down here.

Richard

driver100 · April 2011

I bet that I haven't applied a parking brake in 20 years. BTW, we call them emergency brakes down here.

I hear the term "emergency brake" and "parking brake" used interchangeably. I think, technically if should be a parking brake because that is what it is really intended for.

If you don't use it you will lose it.....they have to be used or they will seize up just when you need it. They should be used when parking on a steep hill, otherwise your car could be locked in park and you won't be able to shift your car. There could be so much pressure on the pin that the car won't pull out of park.

I use it with my standard transmission if I am parking on level ground, because if someone hits me it will probably save my transmission. It might even help to save your transmission in an automatic if it is applied when parking...might stop the car from moving if someone hits it while parked.

If you never use it, and you do want to use it in case of an emergency, chances are it won't work if you don't use it on a regular basis.

That is only the opinion from the international man of mystery.

And, for some reason Jettas are called Boras in Europe.

tallman1 · April 2011

I always use my parking/emergency brake. IMHO, it's a great habit to get into. I realized we have more hills here in western Washington than other parts of the country but I still use it on level ground. If it is a habit, I won't forget when I'm on an incline.

jmonroe · April 2011

Just start throwing out when she isn't looking. I do that all of the itme.

You won't last long in the house I live in doing that.

A few days ago DIL #2 called and wanted some coupons that were in the circulars in the Sunday paper for some kids stuff. I had gone through those circulars a day before she called and threw out the things that I know we don't use (just trying to be a nice guy by getting rid of the superfluous junk). It turned out that was a bad decision and I was reprimanded for it. I was also reminded that I have done this before and that the paper didn't belong to just me. :mad:

I'm done trying to be the nice guy around here. :sick:

jmonroe

sterlingdog · April 2011

To Driver and Tallman: What you say makes perfect sense to me. I just never thought about those things. I guess that I have spent too many years living in the "flatlands".

Richard

jmonroe · April 2011

Someone asked about the best way to do a stand up shower. The Only way to fly is by using a lead pan, then concrete, then tile or stone work. If done right it will NEVER leak.

The key words are if done right. I know two people who were talked into paying an arm and a leg for a bathroom concrete covered lead pan shower area by two different bathroom designers and both eventually leaked which caused a lot of damage. While not as much as the fall-through-the-floor damage that Richards old house had but extensive damage never the less. Because of the potential for a poor job being done, I would NEVER consider a concrete over lead pan installation unless it was in the basement over a concrete slab.

Give me a well made, one piece, prefabricated fiberglass pan ANY day.

jmonroe

sterlingdog · April 2011

"I'm done trying to be the nice guy around here."

Not YOU. The way that you love those boys, I'm surprised that you didn't run out and buy some newspapers so that your DIL could have her coupons. As for Mrs. J, if she didn't reprimand you now and then, you'd be a loose cannon.

My wife, bless her heart, wants to keep everything---articles from newspapers, old magazines, ink pens and pencils (whether they work or not), worn out shoes, socks, etc. Not long ago, she was complaining about closet space. We have nine clothes closets! I finally talked her into cleaning out her closets. She gave away clothes that she had from the '70s and '80s! I didn't realize at the time that she needed the space for new purchases. :sick:

About a year ago, she went to the beach with some girlfriends for a few days. I had a field day cleaning out bedside tables, a desk, two kitchen drawers, two magazine baskets, and three chests. Then I spent a day cleaning out the garage. When she returned home, she thought that we had been robbed. Since this is a family thread, I won't mention her reprimands here. She's meeting her girlfriends at the beach again on May 11th for a long weekend. She has already reminded me not to touch "her stuff" while she is gone. :mad:

Richard

sterlingdog · April 2011

Would there be much potential in getting a crack in the fiberglass over time---say 15 years?

Richard

stickguy · April 2011

richard, i am pretty sure that your wife and my wife are long lost sisters. She is exactly the same way. If 1 is good, a spare is needed. and 20 spares is better than nothing.

one of the reasons I am happy to spend on remodeling, it forces the issues!

one of the projects is converting an upstairs closet (stuffed to the rafters with crap, and none of it mine) into a laundry room. Well, that stuff has to be thineed out, since there is no where else to put it. Win win!

jmonroe · April 2011

My wife, bless her heart, wants to keep everything---

Not sure I understand this heart blessing, given the explanation that you gave for it a while back. :confuse:

She has already reminded me not to touch "her stuff" while she is gone.

You better not forget that advice and you better not bless her heart in front of her.

jmonroe

sterlingdog · April 2011

LOL! There are two forms of the "Bless your heart." One is sincere, and all Southerners know by the tone what the other one means.

Richard

sterlingdog · April 2011

"Win win!"

You're a clever young man. It may be an expensive way to clean house, but it will definitely get the job done.

Richard

jmonroe · April 2011

Would there be much potential in getting a crack in the fiberglass over time---say 15 years?

The only time I have heard of a problem with a fiberglass shower pan (at any age) was when the hired clutz hammered and chiseled out the tile that was put on top of it to replace them with new tile. The home owners were thrilled with the new look until the grout cracked between the new tiles. When water got under them, lots of damage resulted when it found its way to the cracks in the pan caused by the removal of the original tile.

This is another reason why I like to do things myself rather than hire a so-called professional.

We have tile on top of a fiberglass pan (our house was built in the mid 70s) and Im positive that some of the grout joints have hair line cracks but any water that finds its way through those cracks can only lie on top of the pan below it. Some day a tile or two will come lose but the water stays in the pan and doesnt leak to the living room below it. FWIW, this bathroom is slated for a redo in the summer and the pan will be replaced at that time. I only hope that the new fiberglass pan is as good as the original.

jmonroe

explorerx4 · April 2011

Richard, There's you out. Tell her you were burglarized while she was away.
That might lead to 'Where were you when it happened?', so it's a trade off.

nyccarguy · April 2011

Richard - Great story about you cleaning out your wife's stuff. I can see you waiting by the front window until the car is up the block, then rush to the broom closet for supplies.

Jmonroe - the few customers I have who can work with sheet lead, renovate bathrooms in multi-million dollar apartments in Manhattan. They know what they are doing. You can also buy a plastic shower pan liner & pour cement over that, then tile. The purpose of the lead pan (or shower pan liner) is so there are no leaks because concrete is porous (sp Richard?)

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