Heat drama

I said to Mr. P about a month ago that we needed to replace our furnace and a/c system. This is not new news, we were told we probably needed to replace them 6 years ago when we bought the place. But we've been putting it off, because, really, who wants to spend $5000 on that? Versus a vacation, or IVF and genetic testing?

So on hold it stayed.

But in what I can only interpret as the beginning phases of nesting, I began to feel we needed to do it soon. I had visions of myself in January, either 9+months pregnant or with a 2-week old newborn, and the heat goes out. Not a good thing in the Northern Midwest. Not good at all.

Mr. P agreed, and we began, slowly, to talk about getting estimates. Researching local companies, talking to other people about who they used, etc. And that is where it was.

Until Monday. When Mr. P comes home from work, and says, "It's sort of warm in here, isn't it?" I hadn't really noticed, but when we looked, yeah it was more like 74* rather than our usual 70*. Not the end of the world, but a clear sign things aren't working so well.

Long story somewhat shorter, we get a reputable company to come out to replace the whole system on Friday. Of course, the whole thing conks out altogether Wednesday night. And of course, it is predicted to be super-hot on Thursday and Friday.

Friday rolls around, and the repair guys show up 2+ hours late. Not good. Then they turn off the a/c, say they need to get some stuff from Home Depot, and leave. 5 minutes later, I pop into the kitchen and notice that water is streaming from the ceiling light fixture. From the thawing a/c unit.

Uh-oh.

No sign of the repair guys. I call Mr. P, who promptly blows a gasket, then tears a new asshole into the salesguy, his supervisor and anyone else he happens to talk to. Yikes. When the repair guys come back an hour later, they promptly deny doing anything. Of course. So Mr. P kicks them out. Of our now 83* house.

So now, in addition to no a/c on the hottest day of the year, we have water damage in our ceiling.

And did I mention, I'm pregnant and not regulating my body temp well or tolerating heat that well? I had already spent Thursday night at my brother's house, in his sweet, lovely a/c'd basement. So I packed up myself again, grabbed the cat, and hightailed it back to my brother's house. Where I am now. Thankfully, my brother & his family are away on vacation this week, so we can stay here without totally inconveniencing them.

Mr. P called a trusted contractor we have used several times before, and he took pity on us. So Mr. P is over at our house now with the fabulously nice contractor (on a Saturday!), trying to assess the damage, and figure out what to do next. Who knows how long we will be out of our house. Several days, at least.

The drama doesn't end. It just changes. Ah! The joys of home ownership!