Tuesday, June 19, 2018

air conditioning, roofs and porches ~ oh my!

The weekend started out great. Me and hubby and son enjoyed dining al fresco on the river in our town on Friday night, followed by a family BBQ on Saturday at my aunt's house. Her daughter - my cousin - and her three-year old daughter were in from Tacoma, so it was wonderful getting to see them again. Even though it was 96 degrees and humid, we sat out on the patio talking, laughing, enjoying my uncle's amazing smoked ribs and steak and my mother's fried chicken and my salads...enjoying the family time with sweat rolling down our faces and backs. We'd duck back inside the house to cool down and then go back outside for some more Midwestern torture.

Sometime in the middle of the night/wee morning hours of Sunday, our air-conditioning bit the dust. I woke up several times during the night, overly warm, but chalked it up to those lovely night sweats due to menopause. But when we got up Sunday morning and saw the thermostat was at 80 degrees...and then I put my foot over the vent to feel the air coming out and found that it wasn't cold, I knew something was wrong.


Brian called our AC guy and he had Brian test a bunch of different things. Since our HVAC system (central air conditioning and furnace) are the original of the house - 30 years old! - our AC guy said most likely it was the compressor. We knew we were living on borrowed time, so we weren't surprised. Our AC guy referred us to a local business who does more complicated HVAC work and can also replace the system, if need be.

In the meantime, Sunday and Monday were two of the hottest days we've had, with the heat index reaching 102F. It was 90 degrees in our house. We spent a lot of time in the basement where it was a little cooler (good thing we have a little family room set up down there!) and didn't get much sleep Sunday night.


Rocky - the referred HVAC guy - was supposed to come out yesterday. He was going to try to squeeze us in between other jobs he had. Turns out, it didn't work out. Our area got bombarded by torrential rain and flooding, and that put him way behind.


It was still raining this morning (and finally cool - hooray!) and like Rocky explained to me, he couldn't do electrical work in the rain. I totally understood. However, it's now noon and it finally stopped raining. Rocky just called and will be here within an hour. Only time will tell if this is something that can be fixed. There's a possibility it's the capacitor. But like I said, I wouldn't be surprised if this is something that can't be fixed and we need a new HVAC system.


In the meantime, still waiting for two amended bids on the roof. These two companies simply mentioned the gutters and soffits in their bids and forgot about the rotting plywood underneath. It'll be a miracle if we get the roof fixed, the HVAC system fixed/replaced, and the porch and sidewalk project done before summer is up! 😎

"If it isn't one thing, it's another! It's always something."
(Gilda Radner)



17 comments:

  1. Yikes! I'm so sorry you're suffering without AC! Prayers for easy fixes!

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  2. A few years ago we had the same problem with our AC. Right in the middle of a heat wave. Lucky for us they fixed it, but not too cheap. Hope you get everything fixed.

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  3. My A/C went out in my duplex once and it was so hot. The part they ordered too awhile to get so they brought me two window units or I would have been looking for somewhere else to sleep. I hope yours gets fixed soon. And yes, it is always something! Hugs!

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  4. Well Melanie, I do hope you get things fixed there in a timely manner and that it won't cost too much to do them.

    Your flowers are pretty. Happy Summer ~ FlowerLady

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  5. I’m sorry about all the house repairs, sadly it does take time and money- what is the saying? Twice as long and twice as much money as expected?
    On a happy note, your flower beds are just charming!

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  6. Oh Melanie, no! What horrible timing for the HVAC system plus all the extra work needed. Gilda was right indeed. I hope you get the AC going as soon as possible or a cool low humidity front comes through soon. Praying and thinking of you!

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  7. Bless your hearts! If it weren't for bad luck, you would have no luck at all this year. Best wishes!

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  8. yikes...a crummy time of the year to have the a/c go out. And hi; new to your blog!

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  9. Oh Melanie! I am so sorry. I know how hot it was for us and I would have died without the air conditioning. Glad you had the basement at least to get a little relief. You are so right it is always something. Terry and I have to put in a new air and furnace on this house. We are on borrowed time like you too. We hope that we can hold off until fall to do that big expense. I feel your pain! Hoping for an easy fix and not a whole new air conditioner.
    xoxo
    Kris

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  10. I always get nervous when I hear stories like this. Granted, our AC unit is only 18 years old but they just don't make them like they used to.
    I am so glad help is on the way AND that the weather has cooled down.

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  11. I had no idea you still had no A/C. Oh, I don't envy you. We cooled off a bit today but our old house takes a long time to heat up and a long time to cool off. I hear we have severe storms coming.

    I love your flowers, especially the cosmos.

    Stay sane, girl!

    Jane

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  12. When I hear stories like this, kind of makes me glad I rent. Since we have no insulation, even when I close all the blinds and darken the place, my thermostat will go up close to 80. Hope they eventually get around to insulation. This place was built in the sixties.
    Brenda

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  13. Oh boy! That's the way it goes, isn't it? We had to have our freon recharged last year. Things were not cool anymore and we were waiting to hear that our compressor was shot, too. Turns out it was a quick and comparatively inexpensive fix. Fingers crossed your is the same!

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  14. Well we've got a lot in common today Melanie as our A/C is out upstairs and the heat index was 113F
    yesterday, a wee bit cooler today. Our guy has been 'patching' our HVAC problems for a few years now but we fear time is up and we'll have to replace the entire system this year - looking at big bucks I'm afraid! Our system is original also, although we've had to replace both heat pumps due to lightning strikes over the years.

    Love the family weekend you had - really sounded like a lot of fun.
    Hugs - Mary

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  15. It's always something! We have had repairmen out here all spring. The washer bit the dust, we needed more wiring done, and right now we are waiting on parts for a repairman to fix the ice-maker on the frig and our camper is in the shop getting new dump-water valves. Money in - money out, it does seem to go out at a much faster spend than it comes in.
    The weather that you're having seems to be doing wonders on your garden, everything looks so lush and beautiful.
    Here's hoping you get everything fixed soon and at a lower price than you anticipate.
    Stay cool.
    Connie :)

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  16. Oh boy, that's a lot to have going on at one time. I am hoping they are able to repair your A/C rather than replace. We've already had to replace ours and the furnace too. That get's to be expensive.
    Your family get together sounds fun and yummy too.

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  17. Don't you just love those night sweats! I wake up drowning in my own sweat! Hope that you get your ac up and running soon. Your garden looks beautiful. We've had a lot of rain this week end also... it's raining now. I think my container plants are getting to much water, they're not looking so good.

    Have a nice weekend.

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