FourBux

Hmm. That didn’t take long.

We’d been in the new condo a total of 17 days when I noticed some strangeness going in with the paint along the wall near the front door. It seemed like the paint was rippling a little bit. Neither the wife nor I had seen it before, so we weren’t sure if it was new or we now are just seeing it because the lighting in the entry way was enhancing it.

Sure enough, the next day after work, the strange pattern was larger. I snapped a quick picture and sent it off to the owner, along with an “any ideas” email. It was a few days before we could get a maintenance guy out here, and when he got here, the opinion was that the old paint had just separated from the wall, and he would get some guys out to re-do it. Cool with me. That’s why I like renting. Something bad happens, and you call someone else. No trying to figure out what to do about it.

When the painter came out to clean it up, he noticed the drywall under the paint was wet, which is why the paint failed to adhere. That, friends, is not good news. “Looks like your A/C unit is leaking.” By the time last Friday rolled around, we had a hole cut in the wall, the condensation line from the A/C unit seemingly clogged, which was forcing the water back out the top, and into the wall. Although a hassle, it could have been much worse. When they team left, they said to just let the wall dry out over the weekend, and to call them on Monday (today) to let them know what’s going on and if they can come back and patch it up. I put a pan in the hole to try to catch the remaining drips as it dried, just so the drying out process doesn’t take any longer than it has to.

Saturday morning I woke up early to go play paintball (my first time, and I have to tell you I’m hooked!), and when I got home the floor and wall was soaked. The pan was full and overflowing, down into the hole and onto the unprotected side of the drywall. I call the owner and then the maintenance folks, and of course, nobody answers. It’s Saturday, after all. No call backs until Sunday.

Long story short, it’s now Monday morning, the owner said she’s trying to find an A/C repair company (it’s Phoenix…shut your eyes and open the phone book. There are hundreds of companies here.), the condo maintenance group says it has now crossed over into the owner’s responsibility (after they cut a hole in the wall), and I took the day off work to just sit here and listen to the drops falling. Mostly into the wall, but some of them are actually falling into the pan.

Which I have to empty every four hours, unless it overflows and fills the wall with even more water.

So I can’t go anywhere, just in case an A/C tech shows up or if the leak suddenly starts spouting. Oh, and I have the A/C off, because that’s only making the condensation worse, so it’s 85 degrees in here and rising. Fortunately, it’s only supposed to be 106 today with 37% humidity. This shouldn’t get uncomfortable.

Thanks for letting me vent.