I had three criteria when I bought my house: I wanted 9 foot ceilings, radiator heat, and I wanted a place that could be completely gutted and re-wired. I do a lot of work with computers and audio and video equipment work and good, clean, reliable power is a must. I wanted to make sure my power was entirely free of the sorts of wiring issues that lead to sound problems.
I never expected to own a jackhammer or cement mixer or a variety of chainsaws.
On the way to replacing all the wiring in the house it seemed like a really good idea to address the plumbing issues. There were a lot of plumbing issues. Over time, I ripped out and replaced every bit of supply and drain pipe. I never set out to become a plumber and I'm probably not what a real plumber would consider a real plumber but, everything now is brand new and 100% up to code from the top of the stack to the street drain.
If I ever need to repair or replace any plumbing I should be in really good shape but, now that all the plumbing is new I should probably never need to touch it again.
A lot. The answer is, a lot. As any owner of an old house in Pittsburgh can probably tell you, old houses need a lot of work--work requires tools. Over time the tools accumulate until you reach a point where you can walk through Home Depot or Lowes and not find a single tool you need--or want. I'm about at that stage.
