apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Things that freak me out:

AC breaking - not because of the heat I would experience but because of the cost to replace it

Bugs - I don't mind the spiders too much but the roaches need to stay outside

Gas - Every now and then I can smell it from the stove but that is just the pilot. It still freaks me out though

One of the main rooms has a ceiling just under 7 feet. It's eco-friendly because it's very inexpensive too heat or cool. No, I can't raise or even create a coffered ceiling, Already checked into that, but I am open to suggestion.
It also creeps out visitors, especially first-time visitors.

The toilet overflowing...the furnace making sounds I'm not familar with...smelling gas. If the washer started to flood, that would freak me, also.

I meant to say washing machine, not washer. Come to think of it, the dishwasher flooding would not be good either.

I guess my biggest fear is the 20 million legged bugs (a exergrattion) that keep appering in my sink. The sinks makes me mad since it drips constantly.

I've been worried about my 110 year old ornate plaster walls for years. They're beautiful but they need some work and I've been particularly concerned about structural soundness. Weirdly, due to recent water damage, I must now do some restoration - one thing led to another and now I'm in for a fix up of all the little things that have been driving me nuts. Amazingly the job starts tomorrow (2 months ahead of schedule with a day's notice)! But I can come up with other things to worry about...

What worries me most is my cabinets. It sounds strange, but it's totally scary. We're in an apt, and the kitchen is very cheaply made. The cabinet was cut too short in many directions, and the builder's solution was the caulk the gap (which is half an inch!). Then the crack between the cabinet and the backsplash was caulked too after it had a HUGE crack in it. I put something not heavy on it this week and another crack appeared. One of these days, I'm going to be washing dishes and the whole thing is going to fall at my feet.
And then I will die of a heart attack.

Those are pretty funny, I freak out about zombies trapping me at work and chasing me to my car.

Oh woops I was supposed to write about what freaks me about my house....thats easy, my frig makes weird knocking noises and I'm always freaked it will just die

Slowly dying of asbestos exposure, icky stuff coming out of the heating vents ::shudder::

My last two apartments have been ground floor and it FREAKS ME OUT. We live in Chicago, I'm always worried that someone's going to break in if we leave a window open at night. At my last place the kitchen window was broken, so you either had to leave it open all the time or every night climb on the counter, lean over the microwave and heave that monster up, working both locks simultaneously. It was the a 10-15 minute job. And without AC, that window had to be open or you would roast. So we just left it open most of the time and hoped for the best.

When someone finally did break in, they pushed in the window AC unit in my son's room. We came home before they could take anything - and they just ran away, thank god - but it was so scary. Now I'm the window police; I've been known to get up in the middle of the night to do the rounds. Plus, I got a dog. A dog with a big loud bark. That helped!

I need that poster.

my plumbing. our pipes freeze constantly during the winter. we end up staying up all night on cold nights running our faucets. it is a nightmare!

I'm worried about not having that sold out poster in my stairwell! ;(

That poster is amazing. Love it.

tequila red - I used to be the same way. I invested in a security system - security code/pad with screens on all the windows on the first floor. I was a little pricey to install (about $800) but now it's only about $20/month to pay for the service.

WELLLLL worth it, coming from a girl living alone on the first floor.

Other than that I dont really freak out. My brother on the other hand has made me drive him home from over 20 minutes away because of his fear that he left the candle burning.

But seriously....

I ripped apart my bathroom with a handyman today.

Ripped the tile out, the toilet, and the vanity

And the state of the plywood underneath that tile almost made me cry. It wasn't warped or rotting (thank god) but looked it's 40 years and then some! It seemed as if we would go crashing through the floor and into the living room.

Ripping it all out and exposing all the plumbing made a dank musty smell that also nearly brought me to tears!

Luckily I can type this with the security (and smell) of new plywood sub floors!

I'm freaked out by homeless people screaming at one another in the middle of the night, the sounds of gunshots and cars running red lights and slamming into other cars at the blind intersection below my building (followed by sirens), and the graffiti that's popping up all over The City...

...and I live in a pretty good neighborhood.

San Francisco sure isn't what is used to be when I moved here.

Those giant centipede things are scary, although I realize they are more scared of me than I am of them.

I also hate finding dead things in or around my house. I've found two dead mice in my basement over the last two weeks. That's two too many.

But nothing is worse than plumbing malfunctions. Clogged toilets, backed-up sinks, frozen pipes...I just can't deal.

that the bathroom door doesn't latch or lock. Showering without a locked bathroom door freaks me out.

D*mn, Bepsf. That sounds like Oakland when I lived there in the 80s. The druggies would freak out outside my window and start shrieking and carrying on. The only things I heard in SF at night then were the cable cars and traffic. In Berkeley, I'd hear strains of the Grateful Dead live drifting down the hill, or the Talking Heads from the open window of every apartment hosting a party.

At the moment, I'm listening to the croaking of about a million frogs and worrying about possible tornadoes that could level our house to the slab. No basements in tornado alley. Explain that one to this native midwesterner.

I agree with Sally305; plumbing problems freak me out like nothing else can--at least where my house is concerned.

I had a clog in one of my pipes and my well-intentioned dad went down into the basement and decided he would open up a pipe and have a look...Let's just say your worst plumbing nightmare? That was what proceeded to happen. I won't go into detail, but I was so upset by the mess and worry and fear of giant bills that I couldn't even cry.

It's been months now and I'm still a little nervous every time I flush.

centipedes are my hands down, number one biggest phobia ever. i just bought a house, and thought all was well, but then i saw a freaking huge one on the wall and went shrieking up the stairs. i made my boyfriend solemnly swear that he will take over laundry duty so i don't have to go down there on a regular basis. i even volunteered to do dishes forever in exchange, so he knew i was serious!

I want that poster.

yes, that poster is hilarious.

I freak out about my basement flooding...it flooded twice, and my husband was out of town both times. Once, I was 8 months pregnant and had to rip all the carpet out the next day with my visiting step-mother. No wonder I went into labor 3 weeks early!

I also freak out about my furnace going out in the dead of a Minnesota winter. It did once and I had to pile baby and pets into the living room and tend to a roaring fire in the fireplace until the furnace dude showed up to fix it.

My last place was haunted. Between the constant feeling of being watched, the footsteps, the doorknobs rattling, the knives being thrown out of the knife holder, and oh yeah, the "shadow person" who casually strolled by behind me as I looked in a mirror, I was fit to be tied. I once lived in place that had been a Victorian hospital. You'd think that joint would have been teeming with restless spirits. But oh no, it was the 1948 Cape Cod! I couldn't move out of there fast enough.

Plumbing disasters are pretty high up on the list too, though.

hey labchick, I'm with you on the zombie thing that is my biggest fear ever. I'm so scared of them even watching Sean of The Dead freaked me out (it was still funny though).

The only thing that freaks me out in my house are the pesty jumping black spiders that only seem to show themselves in my bathroom. Seriously besides outside I only ever see them in my bathroom, no where else in the house, I don't get it.

bepsf, it sounds like we live in the same building. O.o

In my previous apartment, I was terrified by little mice that came up the plumbing into our 3rd floor CLEAN house, from dirty neighbors.
I was also terrified thet someone would break the front wooden door with a steel arm and I was planning to install a metallic door.
Last year I moved to a new apartment that seemed perfectly allright. But still:
- I am terrified that the heater will explode, as is makes strange noises;
- I double check the key lock every night before I go to bed;
- I had a bad experience on New Years Eve. I hosted a great party that ended up in tears, as I had a double flood: one in the bathroom from a (suddenly) broken toilet and one in the kitchen from a (suddenly & invisibly) broken pipe;
- I am afraid of plumbing problems with my kitchen sink and I'm always checking it when I do the dishes;
- I am afraid of someone breaking in through my bathroom window, which opens to a common area terrace, but I will secure it this summer with iron bars:)

Bedbugs. We don't have them, I haven't heard of anyone in our city who does, but I am terrified of getting them. When relatives go to NYC or some other bedbug infested place I surreptitiously try to look at their arms and legs to see if there is any evidence of bedbug bites on their extremities. I will not allow my husband to unpack after being in London, I immediately put his clothes into the washer and leave them to soak for ages (in the manner I read will kill bedbugs). I could go on and on about it...

I also have to check all the dowstairs windows and doors a couple times before I go to bed lest I forgot to shut or lock one.

Bugs since we seem to get a few no matter what since idiots in the hallway leave the hallway window open.

I get jerked awake being afraid the front or back door isn't locked - the second is almost funny since we live on the second floor so I shouldn't freak.

The washing machine, dishwasher, toilet, etc overflowing - would be a major bad thing.

But to some extent, a lot of this is better than my last place - I'm with someone above, it was haunted. That was freaky.

Gosh, I was going to say "nothing, really," but after reading all of these lists I'm starting to feel a little nervous.

I REALLY want to refinish my mother's antique record player myself - with loving hands, and patience, etc - but I'm TERRIFIED I'll ruin it in the process - so, I tell myself to take it to a professional, but then I think of the pleasure/pride I'd get in "successfully" doing it myself - then I get scared all over again. So, it just sits in a closet covered by a soft cloth waiting for me to make up my mind!

A toilet overflowing and I cant make it stop! Heck, any source of water that cannot be stopped freaks me out. Thank goodness I have a sort of "panic" button in my whole house water shut-off valve if the hubs isnt around.

Actually, no. The thing that has traditionally scared me most about my home has been the landlord. I was incredibly lucky this time to have a landlord who I really like and who truly cares about his tenants, but I have been in places with landlords that have made my life a living hell. I just signed on a new apartment, and the thing that freaks me out most is the possibility that the landlord could possibly be another stinker. I sure hope not...

Yes where do I find said poster? :P

What freaks me out? Lots of things...and if I start mentioning them I may have a panic attack and move out so let's just smile and nod ok?

*smiles and nods*

The water heater. At our inspection we were told that basically it was improperly installed and could fail at any moment. We have a home warranty so the repair would be easy and inexpensive but they wont send someone out until it actually breaks.

The waiting is torture.

Zombies. Definitely zombies.

And that poster is hilarious!

I worry about my renter's insurance. Am I *sure* that my insurance company changed over my address properly when I moved into my current place? What if they forgot? What if I accidentally forgot to include flood damage on my insurance? Why if I insured myself too low and my place burns down and I have barely any insurance money with which to start over? What if I do something stupid to void my insurance - like what if I'm the idiot that accidentally leaves the window open do the pipes freeze and burst and the building collapses and it's all my fault?

I feel bad for my broker, because I'm always just randomly calling her up and saying, "So... I'm still insured, right?"

The state of our roof is scaring us. Because we have to trust roofing guys. Or get others to confirm their diagnosis, and then trust them. And it's leaking, and now on top of a leaky roof, we have water damaged ceiling and attic! These shingles here have worn thin because they're in the most exposed space where the sun beats on them and the rain beats on them the most! $350! Still leaking?! Your flat roof needs another layer! $750! An extra row of shingles over this eavestrough will fix that leak over your window! $150! But, because I am pee-myself terrified of heights (had to get taken off a kiddie ferris wheel in one of those parking lot carnivals last summer!) and will not go up there with them, and even if the husband did so, we wouldn't know anyway just by looking ourselves, we're all "Duh, okay!". It leaves me sweating, huddled in a ball whimpering "just fix it", then I pray for drought so I don't find out that anyone was wrong, and then I use lots of exclamation points on AT just talking about it.

I panic about my upstairs neighbors as they seem to have recently adopted a Clydesdale horse and I'm fairly sure they neither have the room for such a beast, nor the proper riding attire. I panic each time I come home from having enjoyed too many drinks and the dog rushes me down the narrow spiral stairs as my head is spiraling in the opposite direction. Oh yeah, and zombies.

I occasionally find scorpions in the shower. They must be coming up through the shower drain, so I am completely paranoid every time I take a shower!!!

i'm with sally on the centipedes - but i wouldn't want to live anywhere near StarKat's scorpions!

eek!

I freak out when I hear scratching in my upstairs bathroom's wall. I can't figure out if it's bats or squirrels, and I can't decide which would be worse. Plus, i try to only use live traps, and there's nothing worse than an angry rodent on a road trip.

Those big fat brown garden spiders.... on my clean white walls in the bedroom. eeeuuyuck, they run really fast! If I don't find them, I can't sleep at night... I once woke up with one on my face! Ever since, I definitely panic if I don't find it! Zombies don't scare me much, my daughter is a ninja!!!

There is another poster that say "Panic and Run Away"
That is me... when I see spiders!
This is where I saw those posters if anyone is interested.

http://vi.sualize.us/view/977f54e5a5da7811238f7f4d0ce2b2e5/

Whoops my comment didn't post.... I hate big brown garden spiders that land on your face at night! I am not afraid of Zombies because my daughter is a ninja!!! I am more the "Panic and Run" type! Here is a link to find the posters...

http://vi.sualize.us/view/977f54e5a5da7811238f7f4d0ce2b2e5/

Cockroaches, then spiders.

Carbon monoxide poisioning. My bedroom is above the boiler that heats 11 units. I've installed carbon monoxide detectors in all of the bedrooms just in case.

The upside is that my floors are always warm!

My mouse infestation freaked me out a bit. They had been scratching around inside the walls next to my bed, leading to all sorts of nightmares. I didn't think I really minded mice but when I discovered that they'd been nesting (and pooping) under my bed... ugh.

Water. We have a history of issues with water. Once the hose to the washer blew up and caused over $4000 worth of damage (insured, thank goodness) in less than 5 minutes. (Three floors, including finished basement, of ceiling/floor/ wall damage.) Once (at our old house) the in-ground sprinkler system broke (underground) and flooded the foundation, leaking water into the basement. (This happened twice before we had a pressure release valve installed.) Most recently, the furnace in the attic of our new house started dripping water into my walk-in closet. Turned out the idiots who hooked it up channeled the condensation into pipes that discharged onto the lawn. But in winter the water froze, blocked up the pipes, and backed up the water into the drain pan which overflowed through the ceiling! (House was maybe 2 months old.) We used our SpotBot to suck up all the water we could, and the next morning the HVAC guys came and rerouted the condensation through indoor plumbing.

So now I'm afraid of any drip, puddle, water-in-pipes sound... anything that MIGHT be a disaster!

basement leaks, roof leaks, broken furnace, broken ac, tenants who are aggressive and don't give a flying crap about the property they live in but want every cent back for any expense they incur. shitty insurance companies who cause extreme stress and don't cover what they should and adjusters on the take. all this I've dealt with over in the past two years, I'm just about ready to sell up and rent.

Noise. My neighbors make more noise than the rock club that used to be down the street, and since there's a community pool, the sound waves carry pretty well, bounce off everyone's exterior walls, and echo between buildings like nobody's business. It can be very difficult to determine exactly who, or what, is responsible for the noise.

I keep security on speed dial for those occasions when my less-refined neighbors are shrieking and splashing in the pool after midnight.

I think that I shall apply the rasterbater to that jpeg of the poster. ;^)

When I see a house centipede (the kind with long, hair-like legs) I scream "I hate that bug I hate that bug" in a really high pitched voice and I run out of the room. Or so my daughter tells me. I think I kind of black out at the same time. I think this qualifies as a freak-out.
Oh, and the poster made me laugh out loud... thanks!

The poster is a sold out Threadless print from here:

http://www.threadless.com/?from=dearsweetbriar

Although I think you can still buy the t-shirt.

The poster is a sold out Threadless print:

http://www.threadless.com/print/1626/Now_panic_and_freak_out_Print/?from=dearsweetbriar

Although I think you can still buy the t-shirt.

I hate taking the garbage out at night! I always pretend to be brave but as soon as I start walking back inside I freak out and have to run all the way back in and turn on the lights! I don't know what exactly I think is going to get me but it's seriously freaky. Oh and those centipede things that have the bajillioin legs and go warped speed, NOT on my list of favorite things.

Centipedes. And the eight-foot crack in the ceiling, and burglaries (we've had two, at least, in the building in the last year).

Having a clean perfect house scares me. A perfect house will not make your life perfect. Who really wants to be Martha Stewart? Divorce? Jail? I have an irrational belief if the mess is only my house, I will be spared from other misfortunes. As much as I love AT, I am a heretic to the philosophy.

the fact that my lovely home is worth less today than when i bought it less than a year ago freaks me out

I'm terrified of fire (can't even use matches) and I'm always paranoid that a pilot light will go off on my stove and I'll be forced to light it. I grew up in a house that had an electrical stove and even though stuff takes longer to heat up I'd feel saver knowing that I won't blow the place up.

I'm not a fan of centipedes, I seem to get 2-3 large ones every few months. I woke up with a beetle on my face two nights ago though and jumped up, started screaming, and ran into the corner of my dresser and now I have a huge bruise on my ribs. :(

So so many things. Thank god I don't own this place and just rent.

That there will be some type of disaster deeming that the Fire Department (with hot firemen) or my Landlord will have to bust in at a weird time when the dishes are in the sink, I'm filing my toenails on my couch, faced smeared with green masque, wearing my 12 year old vintage hotel robe that looks like rats have been eating it. And oh yeah, there are piles and piles of dirty laundry all around because it's laundry day (everyday, actually), and my cat is traumatized and projectile vomits in the midst of this. And I will have to vacate wearing said outfit and catch my 21 lb Hulk cat that goes gelatinous when I approach, and his sister a 7 lb 'bunny' and get them into carriers and somehow get all 3 of us down 2 flights of stairs just to stand in front of my neighbors whom I really don't like.
That scares me, as well as a vacant apartment adjacent to mine. God knows what will move in...they might hate vintage anything.

So two days ago I mentioned my fear of those giant centipede thingies, and guess what was lurking in my bathtub today? Thank God for a powerful vacuum with a long nozzle and a 15-year-old boy to wield it.