House Drama

I realize that I haven't blogged about the new house much since we moved in.  That is mainly because the new house has proven to need a series of expensive repairs.  First, the day after we moved in, we discovered a major leak in the basement.  Archer had to pull out the carpet and the padding, and then it took another 2 weeks to determine precisely where the leak was.  We had it fixed in late October, at a cost of $1,000.  At that point we made plans to replace the furnace, not out of an immediate need but out of a desire to purchase one that was more energy efficient.  We shopped and compared, and we finally found a local company we liked.  We made plans to have it replaced in January. 

In the meantime, we discovered what we though was a minor leak in the roof of the playroom.  Now the playroom was used as the den by the previous owners, and this room was added to the house about 8 years ago.  When we had our home inspection done, the inspector assured us the room (including the roof) was in great shape.  Now, we've had a very rainy fall in CU Land, and several storms have been very windy.  When we first noticed the leak about 6 weeks ago, we'd just had one such storm.  Archer inspected the room, although he didn't climb up on it, and he thought the wind had pulled a few shingles loose.  He made plans to fix it as soon as he could.  In the meantime, we've had a few more storms and the leak has gotten bigger.  This past Sunday it rained all day, and water literally poured out of this leak.  It was apparent this was more than just a few loose shingles.  So Archer and I dug through all the paperwork the previous owners had left us, and we found some information from a roofing company.  It looks like they repaired the roof in 2005, so Archer called them, hoping the repairs were still under warranty.  The owner of the company came out to the house yesterday, and as soon as he saw the roof, he remembered the house. 

It seems that the previous owners did as much of the addition as possible, including the roof, and they didn't do a very good job on the roof.  This company came out to repair their mistakes on the mudroom, which was built at the same time as the playroom.  The leak is not something they've fixed before, so the company is sending someone out tomorrow to go up on the roof to give us an estimate on repairs.  In the meantime, Archer has called our lawyer to see if we have any recourse, as this is clearly an issue that the previous owners knew about and did not disclose to us.  We doubt that there is anything we can do, but we figured it didn't hurt to call.  Once we get the estimate we may have to put the furnace on hold altogether, and we may also have to cancel our trip to Home State for the holidays.  I refuse to go in debt to fix the roof.  We have the money saved to pay for it, but it will mean using the money we've saved for the trip.  I don't relish having that conversation with my parents or with Archer's mother, but we have to have a roof over our heads.

In the meantime, I'm a very bitter home owner.

Seriously, this is enough home improvement

Usually I love having a handy husband. I love that when something breaks C can usually fix it and fairly quickly. He is not the sort of person who puts off home repair. Things get done fast. But right now our office is a disaster as is our kitchen. Why? Because this week he's decided he has to finish all the projects he started before Bear was born. So last week he put another coat of paint on the downstairs hallway and decided to prime the office. Today he finished installing the kitchen cabinets. Now we have to purchase countertops and have them installed. He also have to finish painting the office so I'm no longer working on job materials and planning lessons at the kitchen table. I told him a little while ago that he cannot take on so many home improvement projects at one time ever again. Seriously, this is a bit ridiculous.

Our new refrigerator

So after talking to the salesman at the appliance store several of C's colleagues recommended, I decided not to wait until C got out of class to go look at it. The store only had 2 delivery slots left for tomorrow, and I did not want to live out of a cooler any longer than necessary. Less than 30 minutes after I left C's office, I had purchased our new refrigerator. I feel better knowing the problem has been solved, although I didn't relish spending all that money. And to make me feel even better, I still have some time to get some work done before the end of the day.

The Joys of Home Ownership

Yesterday afternoon, Wild Man and I arrived home to find a big puddle of water in our kitchen right in front of our refrigerator. Wild Man promptly said to me "What happened, Mommy?" I told him I had no idea. I sent him to play in the living room and began investigating after mopping up the puddle. As far as I could tell the contents in the refrigerator were still cold, so I checked out the freezer. Things were partially defrosted, and the compressor was running rather loudly. I quickly pulled everything out of the freezer and carried it all down to the laundry room, where I loaded it into our recently purchased deep freezer (for once, I was thankful my mother-in-law tends to purchase extravagant gifts). I then sent C, who was in a faculty meeting, a text message, and then I called my dad. I asked him if he thought it was worth finding a repair person to check it out. He asked if I knew how old it was and had me describe what was going on. In his best estimation, given the water all over the floor, the compressor had suddenly died, and that, as I well know, is pricey to replace. In the mean time, C sent me a text telling me where the warranty information on the refrigerator was. Luckily our house's previous owners were very well organized and graciously left us the warranty information on all the major appliances that came with the house. It turns out the refrigerator was purchased in 2001, so it is no longer under warranty. And the best I can tell, it only cost $500. Some quick internet searching told me that replacing the compressor could cost at least that much. So I made dinner for Wild Man and me and waited for C to come home so we could discuss our options.

As soon as C got home he stuck his trusty weather monitor (the man is obsessed with the temperature in the house and outside) in the refrigerator to monitor the temperature. By 9:30, it was apparent the refrigerator wasn't working well either as the temperature was sitting right at 53 degrees. So we loaded everything up into our coolers and carried it outside. For the first time all week, I was glad the temperature was in the 30s! C went out to pick up some ice while I finished researching refrigerators. And as soon as C is done teaching, we're heading out to buy a new refrigerator, in the hopes it can be delivered by tomorrow. Oh, the joys of home ownership.