it’s cool. i knew this day was coming. i have the financing all set up, that’s not a problem. it would have been nice to pick and choose my time, and not to have to live with cold while i work on this… but hey, at least i’m in a postition to do what my house needs.
the fan motor in my furnace is mostly dead. the slower speed normally used for heat is totally dead. that weird smell yesterday was my motor coils burning up. niiiiiice.
furnace fixit man switched the motor so the heat now uses the faster speed normally used for a/c. that will work for about 15-20 minutes before the motor starts to “sing” and ultimately locks up again. that’s actually enough to keep the house from getting seriously cold, like it did during the ice storm. we also went through all the ducts and he adjusted the dampers for me so that i’ll actually have heat in the bathroom for the first time since i moved in, and hopefully things will be a little warmer in my bedroom.
well, that is, when i get a new furnace.
the “comfort advisor” (hehehehe, oh that is just priceless. just call him a salesman, puh-leez.) came to visit later in the afternoon. we discussed what i want to do, he got a tour of the house and the basement, measured everything inside and out, and told me that he’d do a computer analysis to make sure of what i need.
now, for those of you who are house geeks and really want to know this, i’ll give you the detail i have so far.
my furnace is inside with the coil for the a/c; the a/c compressor is outside. the heat is gas. for my house he thinks i will need another 100k btu furnace (that’s what i have now). the current unit is about 16 years old and rusty from the moisture in the basement. they are recommending a SEER rating of 12, which will be the minimum standard as of next year. that’s about the point where i’ll get my money back for the added expense via savings in my monthly bills, if i stay in the house for about 5 years.
my current furnace is about 80% efficiency and they can go up to 90%. there are some concerns about exhuasting the new furnace. if i go up the chimney, as i am doing now, the chimney will have to have a liner, which it may not. if i go out the side of the house, i’m concerned a little about my neighbors kids being so close to a pipe that’s shooting out carbon monoxide. it’s probably safe but, you know, i don’t want to brain damage anyone.
for the a/c unit he’s not sure what i’ll need. it appears to be even older than the furnace. they’ll pour a new pad for the new unit… aside from that, i have no more detail.
the ductwork seems to be ok the way it is. it’s not insulated, but everyone seems to agree that that’s ok since it’s in the basement. it keeps my pipes from freezing and warms the basement slightly, which is a good thing in the wintertime.
he had the name of someone he thinks is a good water intrusion expert, so i’m going to give that guy a call. my water intrusion issues are… _BADDDD._ the fixit guy and i could literally see the water pouring in at one point.
so anyway. lots of people to call tomorrow. i realized at around 6:30 this evening that spacepod has been with My Favorite Mechanic all day and i haven’t heard from him! which probably means that he didn’t get the message to call me at home.
dude, i am like _exhausted._ don’t ask me why, all i did was hang out on the sofa all day.