Our furnace was dying. It was old. Fine. During the annual sea-lift we got a new furnace. Wrong type (up-draft and we needed downdraft). Scratch $1000. At least we did not pay extra for the transportation, that was included in the cost of the sea-can transport.
The crack in the furnace opened up big time this fall. As well, a smell of fuel oil started to permeate the house. Things were going bad. Helen is sensitive to the odours of burning diesel (oxides of nitrogen and oxides of sulphur, both significant irritants). She is also sensitive to the volatile organic compounds coming off the un-burned fuel. She is going from friend to friend to sleep in other places. She gets nasty sick at home.
The project -due to where we live- was going to cost about 8 to 10,000 to repair. We thought. Cost are high when all the parts, including the new furnace, have to be flown in ($approx $1000 just to ship the furnace). Add to that the 4 guys, working one ten-hour day at a bill-out rate of $90 to $120 per hour each...
Plus prep time, new flooring to replace the old tiles...
Note; 1 sheet flooring plywood = $90-100, retail. Contractor mark-up is extra. Room is approximately 10 by 16.
It turns out we are luck. We qualify (Helen did not work much last year) for low income assistance from the government. As the family income is below $125,000 we are getting the repairs done for free. Yes, indeed, free money from the government. A bit of paperwork and we're ... less unhappy...
This turns out to be very good, not just financially. As they removed the first layer of flooring, they found two more saturated in fuel oil, The entire utility room floor is having to be carved up and replaced. Right down to joist level. All sub-floors and previous floors. Everything. A fitting on the underside of the furnace had been leaking into the flooring for years. The visible floor tiles that came up (fuel soaked, dissolving the adhesive) were newly laid a couple of years ago, probably just before we moved in, helping hide the problem. {UPDATE: Floor joists have to be replaced as well!!!!}
Turns out we were living in a death trap.
It will be at least 2 full days of work to be done by the crew. No heat and windchill, which is a measurement of cooling, is around -50). |
