Yet more (mis)adventures in home improvement
Kimmer
We don't have air conditioning in this house. Hard to believe that
there are houses in So Cal that don't, but we don't. We do have a
room-size evaporative cooler in the main room of the house that does a
pretty good job of keeping the main living areas cool enough in the
summer, but it doesn't do a real good job at cooling off the bedrooms
even when we run the ceiling fans 24/7 like we do in summer. Usually,
though, it's adequate to make the big rooms bearable even on the high
heat days; here in my office room (formerly our living room, but as we
don't entertain and never have I've taken over this room and am making
it my office/altar/knitting room) I have a tower fan that keeps the air
circulating in my desk corner, and this is fine. Or was fine until last
year's major heat wave, the one where Woodland Hills set a record for
most consecutive days over 100F - 21 - and the record for highest
official recorded temperature in LA county at 119F; I know I saw temps
in the 120s when I was living in the Valley, but these were on bank
thermometers and not official weather stations, like the one at Pierce
College in Woodland Hills. This same heat wave had me seeing temps of
105F and 109F at 5 PM on consecutive days. At this point it was decided
that we get a/c installed before this next summer.
Brief semi-digression. About 16 years ago we did have an estimate for
a/c done. This was a company that worked with Trane and seemed very
much up front. The appointment for the estimate was set up, and we were
assured that they would only take about a half hour or 45 minutes of our
time. After 2 hours we still didn't have an actual dollar estimate, and
I was falling asleep. At that point the guy finally wrote down $14000,
but gave us a "discount" because he "liked us" and cut $1000 off the
price. We thanked them and walked them out the door. This number was
*way* higher than we knew it should have been. This was confirmed when
I talked to a gal I worked with, whose husband worked for an a/c and
heating contractor, and she said that it should be no more than $4000.
At that time we figured that since no one was home during the heat of
the day we could live without a/c. I lost this job the next year,
shortly after Caitlin was born, but since most of my time was spent in
the main living areas during the day I could live with it. Then the
heat wave hit last year, and that was the last straw for both me and the
kids.
Now back to our latest installment.
Okay, now that we've got ourselves penciled in to have the exterior of
the house painted the first week in June, we need to arrange to have a/c
installed so we can have the evaporative cooler removed and the hole in
the wall patched before painting. Calls are made to some places that
friends used and were happy with, along with a couple places found on a
website. The first estimate, though, was from Home Depot. Now, there
was no way in heck I was gonna go with Home Depot - the work is
subcontracted, and on many occasions the job done wasn't what was
promised, and they tend to have a lot of "hidden costs" (and we had a
bad experience a few years ago when we wanted to replace the kitchen
counters, but the guy at Home Depot didn't warn me that I would be
without a working kitchen for 3 weeks, and I didn't learn this until the
subcontractors came out to tear up the old counters and remove the old
sink, so I sent them away and cancelled the order with Home Depot). I
realize that when I redo the kitchen I'll be without a working kitchen
for a few weeks, but I'll be prepared for that this time and won't be
surprised by it) but it was decided that they would give us a starting
point in terms of cost. Well...sort of. The guy who did the estimate
only asked me about the square footage of the house, where the breaker
box was, and to see the outside of the house to decide where to put the
unit. He didn't even go up into the crawl space to check the ducting,
which is in place because we have forced-air heating throughout the
house but is very old and likely original equipment when the house was
built in 1969 (except for the duct that runs into the family room that
was added sometime after that but before we moved in). Then his
estimate only included the costs for the a/c unit, giving options for
higher efficiency models, and how much additional replacing the heater
would cost. Nothing about the cost of replacing the ducting or
anything. Even so, the price quoted was about what a friend had paid
for a complete installation including replacing the ducting. This
estimate was tossed aside.
Next up was the place that friend had do their work. This guy was
really nice, wasn't a professional salesman - had only recently started
in sales but was an installer before so he knew what needed to be done -
and told us up front everything that likely would need to be done. He
did a thorough check inside and outside the house. That's when we
learned that our existing ducting contained asbestos, which came as
little surprise since most of it is original equipment. He explained
that this would need to be removed before installation because a
hazardous waste team needed to do it. Okay, no problem. He was very
good about explaining the differences between the different a/c units
and gave us estimates for different size units. He also explained that
they would replace the intake grill and all the grates in the room to
allow for the higher air flow necessary for a/c; the ones we have are
for heating only, which takes lower air flow. This number estimated was
a bit higher than we expected but included *everything*. Right now this
company is the front-runner, but we still had a couple more to talk to.
Next up is a small company we found on a state website for a/c
contractors. The guy is the owner of the company, a former engineer who
was caught in a layoff some 20 years ago and was trained in a/c and
heating and started his own company. Again, really nice and thorough.
Explained that whatever number he comes up with as an estimate will be
the number we pay even if he calculates that we would be better off with
a larger and more expensive unit once we commit to having him do the
work. He even says that the ducting may not need to be replaced even
though it contains asbestos - once it's in place it's really not a
problem; it's the dust that gets kicked up in the installation (and
removal) that is problematic - unless it's damaged in some way. He
takes a look at the ductwork and does find some cracks in it, so it does
need to be replaced. Not a problem 'cause this was expected. His
estimate, after rebates (all estimates were after rebates from
manufacturer and state; we also qualify for a city rebate), was $1000
less than the previous guy. We tell him that we'd be making a decision
within the week, and he asks us to call him even if we decide to go with
someone else so he can take us off his follow-up list if that's the
case.
On to the next one. Another company found on that same website.
Another former engineer who was hit in a layoff back in the early 70s.
Didn't explain things as well as the previous two guys, but by then we
had already had a lot of our questions answered and knew what to expect.
The problem, though, was that he didn't even look at the ducting and
didn't include that in his estimate. Now, we had learned before that
the ducting does contain asbestos and would need a haz mat removal,
which could not be done the same day as installation, so the fact that
he didn't check the ducting raised a red flag. His estimate came in at
about half of the higher of the previous two, but this was only for the
installation of the actual unit and didn't include any costs for
replacing ducting or anything else. It was also a lower-efficiency unit
than the previous two, coming it at the bare minimum allowed by state
law, which was changed last year to require a minimum efficiency level.
So then we needed to do an "apples to apples" comparison of the three
estimates. Checked the Lennox and Trane sites to get details on the
units involved. Checked the cost of power and estimated use of a/c;
decided it would only get daily use for a few months out of the year,
and then it wouldn't be on 24/7. Ultimately decided to go with the
second company, the one that asked us to call him no matter what. He
came out Tuesday evening to do the official contract and get the
installation set up. Right now the installation is scheduled for April
30 through May 2, and I'm still waiting to hear back about scheduling
the removal of the ducting; I'll need to be home for that and need to
coordinate around my driving schedule.
The bad news is that this will put us further in debt. The good news is
that we'll have a/c this summer - woohoo!!!
Now I need to dig up the color chart and figure out how I want my house
painted. I have some ideas but need a bit of input on this. Anyone
willing to help if I get a picture to them in email? The thing I'm
debating is doing the trim in one color and the garage door and front
door in another contrasting color. I've seen this on other houses and
like it, but I'm not sure how it would go on our style of house.
Kimmer
kimagreenfieldatyahoodotcom
Wolf
news:58pr18F...@mid.individual.net...
> Part the Third: Wherein we get estimates on air conditioning.
>
> painted. I have some ideas but need a bit of input on this. Anyone
> willing to help if I get a picture to them in email? The thing I'm
> debating is doing the trim in one color and the garage door and front door
> in another contrasting color. I've seen this on other houses and like it,
> but I'm not sure how it would go on our style of house.
>
> Kimmer
> kimagreenfieldatyahoodotcom
stuff. I LOVE PAINT and am really good at picking colors. Give me a shot.
The above addy works.
Lisa
Kimmer
> I would love to see a picture or two and give you input. I'm all
> about this stuff. I LOVE PAINT and am really good at picking colors.
> Give me a shot. The above addy works.
Okay, I'll try to get a couple good pictures of the front tomorrow when
there's more light. It's been the color it is now - kind of an almondy
beige with redwood trim - since before we moved in 18 years ago, and
it's gonna be weird to change it, but it's time. Other than the termite
treatment, painting is the only exterior work in the queue right now.
I'm sure I'll replace the windows with double-pane vinyl ones eventually
but not right now. Same with the roof; as long as it doesn't leak it'll
do, although with the winds we've been having maybe a damage assessment
is in order; we lost some shingles last year because of wind.
Kimmer
kimagreenfieldatyahoodotcom
Kimmer
> Okay, I'll try to get a couple good pictures of the front tomorrow
Change of plans. It's raining here, and whereas I love rain I don't
particularly like standing outside in it just to get a picture or two.
My next chance with the camera will be Sunday, when Caitlin gets back
from "Jew camp" with the camera.
Kimmer
kimagreenfieldatyahoodotcom
Wolf
Tracy
I would take a peek. I'm considering outside house painting myself so
maybe I'll get ideas ;-)
Tracy