Friday, March 22, 2019

Viewpoint. . . . . hot and cold!


I'm useless when it comes to taking selfies. 
Perhaps having my phone in a leather case makes it more difficult. 
But I love my case, especially when I drop my phone!  
Anyway, I really dislike photos of myself at this age so don't take many,
 plus I usually dodge other people coming at me with a camera.

These I took on Monday killing time whilst waiting for a salesman to arrive
 to talk about replacing our HVAC system. Our house, built in 1985, is aging
 too and things need to be updated. One comes to a point where a quick fix
 is no longer going to work. Heat breaking down on a freezing winter 
day + air conditioning dying during a heatwave = stress and discomfort.
Like most people in this modern age, we've been spoiled. Technology
has, with all its faults, at least made daily living in whatever climate 
ones inhabits, much more comfortable when regulation of the temperature
is possible.

So three salesman have come this week, all very nice and very different.
 Several estimates for this big, costly job are needed, mostly just out of curiosity
 as to the differences in cost for the same job and equipment, and of course
 the guaranteed work of the company and its installers. We've heard horror
 stories from people being ripped off in many ways with pricing and poor
 workmanship when it comes to these types of home improvements.

We did our homework ahead of time.
Hopefully we'll find the best company with a fair price and can get moving
 with the work whilst the weather, and the attic, stay cool.
A mess ahead? Of course! Spring cleaning may be put on hold!


8 comments:

  1. Good plan! A good contractor who can be trusted is a big help with jobs like these. They have access to equipment and product that is superior to the status quo.

    Don’t be an invisible woman now! Too many of us have become that in our own families. 🙃

    (I do not consider people spoiled because they live in a modern world. You certainly need heat in winter and cooling in summer. I hope that the entire world will one day have what they need.)

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  2. It will be a little inconvenient, but you will be so happy when it is done and working perfectly! I take terrible selfies!

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  3. Hi Mary :) Oh that kind of sucks to have to have such a big job done, inconvenient I mean! But I see the necessity of it. Alex and I lived without a/c for the first time last summer and it was tough because we also were spoiled!!! But we want to really try to cut down on electricity, especially when we find our new home. Heat though? That's a MUST. I like your selfies!!! :)

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  4. I think your selfies not only showed your pretty self, but your pretty home, as well! A suggestion for you instead of the leather case - how about an Otterbox cover? That's what we've always had on our phones. They're basically indestructible. You can order one on Amazon. I also get a shatterproof glass screen protector on my phone.

    I'm all too familiar with the HVAC stuff. Our home is about the same age as yours and last year - of course, on a 96-degree day - our AC went out! Believe it or not, our furnace is still fine. We had two different companies tell us that. Yes, we could've went ahead and gotten a new furnace along with the AC at the time, but we were told the price difference to have the furnace replaced later actually isn't going to be that much more than if we had the work done all together. And since we also had over $3000 worth of work done on the roof last year, plus our front porch rebuilt - the less money spent at the time, the better! Good luck with finding just the right contractor. It's a pain, but absolutely necessary!

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  5. I am with you re the selfies - all the same issues :) I don't even know what HVAC is, but if you have snow, I know it has to be important. We have two small air con units which only serve the living areas, and not very well at that. It is enough in what is supposed to be a mild climate, although a Summer of constant days hitting 100F and more is quite trying. I don't think it gets any easier as we get older, do you? Even temperatures would be very nice. Good luck, and I hope you find an excellent Contractor. x

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    Replies
    1. Patricia - HVAC is Heating/Ventiltion/Air Conditioning over here! With our huge difference in temperatures here in the southeast we need a good central heating and a/c system. It does get very cold in winter at times - not a lot of snow though this pst season, we just had that one fall before Xmas, none since, but it has been cold and wet. Summer is VERY hot - often many days 100F or higher and with awful humidity. The weekend we arrived when moving here in 1977 from cool New England (Massachusetts), it was around 105F and you could cut through the humid air with a knife! I told Bob there was no way I could ever live here! Well here I am, almost 42 years later - thanks to a/c I've survived!!!

      Mary x

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  6. Ageing houses need lots of maintenance. Replacing the HVAC system is certainly one worth getting lots of opinions! It will be inconvenient, but then you'll get to enjoy the reliability for a good long while.
    Most homes here do not have air conditioning (but definitely have heating), however, during a few visits the south eastern USA I came to realize that AC is a necessity! Your description of cutting through the humidity with a knife is an apt one.
    You are lovely, Mary, and needn't be hiding your face. There is beauty at every age even though we might not see ourselves as the young women we once were. A friend of mine passed away a year ago and on the anniversary, just last week, I looked again at the slide show done at her service. The photos spanned her lifetime and in every one she was beautiful. Her smile and the warmth in her eyes is what I saw. It was a lesson to me. So now I let Tim take photos and I don't delete them all! HA!
    Have a wonderful day, Mary.

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  7. Those big repairs for our homes are indeed costly. We are still trying to recover from putting a new roof on our house. Take a break and hopefully you can get out of the house a bit while they are making their mess. Spring cleaning can indeed wait.

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