This Old House

I love my apartment. Its in a house that was built in 1919. We occupy half of the upstairs, and in the past 4 1/2 months since we've been here, we haven't had any major problems. However, since it is an old house, there are some, let's call them "quirks" that we have had to get used to.

First, no matter how many times the landlord comes by to fix it, our toilet runs constantly. We've grown used to the constant swish of water coming from the bathroom, but guests are puzzled sometimes. It doesn't really bother us, but we wish we could just get a new toilet.

Second, the shower. We've decided the hot/cold knobs on our shower are basically useless. On most days, it doesn't really matter which knob you turn or how far you turn it, the shower has a mind of its own. The temperature of the water constantly switches from hot to cold. And usually its not just a change of a few degrees. I'm talking burning hot to uncomfortably cold. The pressure is just as unpredictable. I'll be taking a nice shower, the kind where the temperature is being somewhat stable, and suddenly the pressure will drop to nearly zero. Now the fun part is, you never know if the trickle of water you are suddenly showering under will be burning hot or freezing cold. You can rest assured, however, that it won't be pleasantly warm. We think we must share a hot water heater with the other apartments in our house, so that is probably part of it, but I am convinced that our shower just hates us. All I want is a nice shower. Is that too much to ask?

Third, the back staircase. I would not recommend running wantonly up those stairs, because we are convinced they are going to collapse any day now. They weren't originally part of the house, and I'm not sure who actually constructed them, but they are definitely falling apart. I just hope when they do collapse, neither Dustin or I are on them.

Finally, the heating/cooling aspects of the apartment leave something to be desired. Yes, it was pretty hot up here in the summer, but we had two little electric air conditioners to keep us relatively cool, and didn't use the oven if we could help it. However, temperatures are rapidly dropping as September approaches October, and having lived through Logan winters before, we are concerned about freezing this year. There are four large metal radiators standing in each of the four rooms in our apartment, but we haven't a clue how to use them, and frankly we're not sure they even work. I think they've been here since the house was built, but maybe not. I hope our landlord can clue us in about how to use them. If not, donations of extra thick quilts will be appreciated!