It’s too cold.
Hold still then while I knit you another sweater.
No, I don’t think it’s working right.
Put on a sweater. I have on two sweaters and wool socks and I’m warm enough. It’s working just fine.
I didn’t want to turn up the thermostat and face $800+ heating bills again sooner than we had to. We went around and around that sort of conversation quite a few times these last few weeks. Flying home last Monday to a 51 degree house and shivering all night sealed it for him. More discussions. So I finally called to make him happy–couldn’t hurt–and Joe arrived today to check the system out.
When Joe saw what Joe saw, he got Richard to climb the ladder to come up there and see it too.
Our house is an Eichler, and the radiant heat coils in the flooring that was such a fad in the 1950’s didn’t hold up well over time and earthquakes; ours died before our time here and we’ve always had forced hot air via ductwork slapped on the roof as an add-on.
We replaced the furnace once and were sold a White and it lasted two years; when I asked about a warranty, I got laughed at. Seriously.
Okay, then, so the second time we went with an expensive outfit for their stellar reputation. No corner-cutters. New everything–furnace, ducts, the works. Needed to be done.
That furnace, a Trane, is still chugging along nicely a dozen or more years later. But.
Here, look at this. Joe had slit a duct to look inside. There was insulation in there–and it was absolutely soaked. Richard went to give it a little squeeze to test it and it squirted vigorously.
They had the furnace running full blast while they worked to look for any leaks. Joe cut another slit about ten feet further down. That soaked insulation wasn’t even warm, and at 54F outside, we’d had the heater running all day. But the water that had leaked in stopped it cold.
Richard had ordered me an Ipad, a long-hoped-for big Christmas splurge, but the moment it gets here, it’s going straight back to Apple. It doesn’t matter how thrilled I would be to have one. We have to have that ductwork replaced. Again.
$5400. I have no idea how we’re going to do it. All I know is, I want it done right.