The offending doorknob.
...of owning an older home. There are times that I dream of building a brand new home. One where everything works in the way it is intended, and free of the quirks that come with older homes. Don't get me wrong, I love my little house, but there are days that I feel like it is telling me it is time to go. I'm sure the owner of any older home understands where I am coming from. Sometimes I dream of a new house built from a set of 1950s blueprints that I have, using some vintage plumbing and kitchen fixtures to give it a real vintage feel. Let's look at what happened yesterday:
I work up bright and early. I sleep with the bedroom door closed, and when I went to open the door, the knob would not turn - the inner workings in the doorknob had gone bad. It took me 10 minutes to get out of that room. I would have called for help, but my cell phone was on the charger in another room, and I couldn't take the knob off or the door off the hinges because I don't keep my toolbox in the bedroom. I would have gone out the window, but with the way the locks on my house are set up, it can only be unlocked from the inside once I am in it for the night (the keys for the house weren't in my bedroom, either). What an exciting way to start my day! I bought a new doorknob when I got home from work, but the "universal replacement" set that I got was too big for the existing holes in my door. Wonderful.
Then, when I got home last night, I started a load of laundry, and when I pulled the chain on the light for the closet the washer is in, the whole chain came out of the light fixture. Yay for another weekend project! And finally, to top it off, the plumbing for the house is backing up in the bathroom sink and the washing machine. The main line to the house was replaced just a few years before I bought it, so now I have to figure out which line needs to be cleaned out...
Anybody else having vintage home ownership frustrations?
We have the same knobs, and have been "locked in" on a few occasions. My SIL got locked in our downstairs bathroom during a party and we were so loud we didn't hear her calling for help for 15 minutes, LOL. Both my kids' rooms have the lock part of the mech removed so they can't lock themselves in their rooms either...
ReplyDeleteThe lock to my back bedroom does that occasionally too or won't click closed at all, depending on the weather, I guess.
ReplyDeleteI confess that I sometimes dream of building the perfect home from mid-century plans too...all the beauty and none of the frustrations.
If you have a Habitat for Humanity Re-Store shop (they sell home building salvage) you may be able to find an age appropriate door knob to replace with your busted one. Look at it on the bright side, you have a home of your own, and even though its old and needs lovin' it's still all yours! :-)
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