Furnace Trouble

First, the good news.

We've deployed heaters in occupied rooms of the house, and my wife's called the repair tech.

Now, the not-so-good news.

Our furnace is on the fritz. Again.

It stopped working the night of December 29, during below-zero weather. That's hardly unusual: the weather, not our furnace failing.

The repair tech came, spotted the problem, made some calls: and arranged for the special fan motor to be driven up to our place. By the evening of December 30, we had central heat again.

The furnace is something like 20 years old. At the time, we thought having a high-efficiency furnace was a good idea. Just one problem: the thing uses a special fan motor — that's not at all easy to find these days. We're definitely going to keep that in mind when we replace the furnace: whenever that will be.

The repair tech was here yesterday, and fixed some sort of blockage issue in the furnace. Obviously, there's something else going on, too, since it got down to about 57 degrees at my desk last night: with a space heater less than 20 feet away.

Finally, more good news.

We're getting another opportunity to practice patience, while the latest furnace problem gets solved. I am, anyway.

The Furnace is Fixed: a Day Early

'The furnace guy' had a break in his schedule, we had already received the needed parts, and so he came today: a day early.

Our furnace is now safe to operate, which makes me a happy camper.

A warmer one, too.

Related post:

• "The Furnace Broke: But It Could Be Worse"
  (October 14, 2013)

The Furnace Broke: But It Could Be Worse

It's a gray, damp, chilly, drizzling day.

My cold, or whatever has been ailing me, isn't doing well at all: but I'm feeling much better. I suppose someone could work up an ethical concern over massive casualties in the rhinovirus population, but I won't bother.

Oddly enough, I can't remember any protests as smallpox was heartlessly driven to extinction: and that's another topic.

I've been getting some work done, more of which won't happen if I keep writing this post.

We've had someone look at the furnace/heating system. Good news: the situation showed up in our yearly maintenance check of machinery that keeps the house warm during winter. Not-so-good news: there isn't just one malfunction. A whole mess of parts either aren't working, or aren't working properly. Sort-of-good news: we found out before the serious heating season started; and the parts can be replaced. More precisely, the parts can be replaced: once they arrive. There's a fair-sized order being, I hope, processed correctly.

Meanwhile, our main heating system is offline, and the household is setting up space heaters to keep conditions inside somewhat comfortable.

One of the benefits of higher energy costs, compared to what householders paid in my youth, is that it's been decades since the start of heating season was punctuated by news reports of exploding houses. In some sorts of stories, it would have been a funny situation. The reality wasn't amusing. Folks whose furnaces failed catastrophically didn't always survive.

Considering some of the alternatives, spending money on this year's repairs doesn't seem like such a bad thing, after all.

Vaguely-related posts:

• "Fogbound Streets of my Mind"
  (October 3, 2013)
• "I Got What I Asked For"
  (September 29, 2013)
• "Minnesota Winter, and the Furnace is Fixed!"
  (January 5, 2009)
• "I'm Sick, the Furnace is Kaput, There's a Storm Coming: but Other Than That, Things are Fine!"
  (December 29, 2008)
• "Thursday: Furnace, Glasses, and a Violin Bow"
  (January 25, 2008)

An Eventful Week: For Me

This week's been eventful, in a way. The weather got warm enough, finally, for our new-last-month central air system to start sending cool air through the vents, and I saw two hummingbirds at the feeder yesterday.

Even better, there's blue sky and sunshine outside again today. That's been a rarity so far this alleged summer.

The other 'big deal' was my taking a member of the family down to St. Cloud yesterday afternoon for oral surgery. Good news, it's gone well; bad news, I missed my hour at the Eucharistic adoration chapel down the street; good news, I made a call that started the ball rolling on getting a replacement for me on that shift.

So far, it's been a good week.

Living in Central Minnesota with Central Air

We got central air conditioning installed late last week. My wife set it to keep temperatures inside at 74 degrees Fahrenheit or less. That's a little warmish: but we like seasonal variations, and it's fun to wear summer clothing in summer.

Then came storms, and highs in the 50s. A few minutes ago the heating part of the system kicked in.

I like living in Minnesota: the weather isn't boring.

Related post:

• "Central Air: After Only Three Decades!"
  (May 17, 2013)
• "Sin, Death, Tornadoes, and Getting a Grip"
  A Catholic Citizen in America (May 21, 2013)

Central Air: After Only Three Decades!

When I got back from seeing a demonstration of Universal Robots's UR-5 in Fargo yesterday, the house was cooler than I expected. As of Thursday afternoon, we have central air: something my wife has been waiting for since we moved in, about three decades back. Me, too.

Roof repairs are done, and we're still looking forward to wrapping up some long-awaited maintenance and replacement. It's nice to be able to get this done.

Related post:

• "Meditation and Power Tools"
  (May 15, 2013)

Meditation and Power Tools

I put in an hour at the St. Faustina Meditation Chapel earlier this afternoon. Meditation hasn't been one of my strong suits, probably never will be, and that's another topic. (A Catholic Citizen in America (May 3, 2013))

When I got home again, the sounds from power tools were added to the rattling, pounding, and scraping I've been hearing overhead. We're getting some (long-overdue) work done on part of the house.

That's the good news.

The bad news is that the symphony for circular saws and hammers doesn't help my concentration: and I've got a 24 hours less that I'd planned for, to get Fridays post finished.

Make that "posts." There's one I'd forgotten about.

Other than that, the week's been fairly uneventful: except for the reason I'm coming up a day short, and that's yet another topic.

Planned Power Outage, Lots of Quiet, and Me

A planned power outage took my webcam offline for most of yesterday. It's back, providing a look out the window at my corner of small town America. Literally. It's looking out the window, near my desk:

• "Small Town America: Central Minnesota"

I'd figured the power would be off for maybe two hours. That estimate was a little off.

The electrician cut power a little after 8:30 yesterday morning. Circuits started coming back online by mid-afternoon. It's an old house, previous owner(s) had been less than orderly about the electrical system: and I really should have known better.

It's been a big job. At one point, when the electrician and his son were sorting out the electrical panel, a mass of wires overhead looked like an unraveled high-tech bird's nest.

We expect to have power restored to the kitchen stove today. The 'original equipment' in the basement, feeding power to that appliance, needed to be replaced: and nobody can carry everything along in a truck.

With no electricity yesterday, the house was quiet. I was also unable to do the usual research and writing. It was nice, in a way. I spent a half-hour on the front stoop, making notes and enjoying the view. I also finished reading "Platitudes Undone" - a facsimile edition of a book discovered in a San Francisco bookstore. Someone had given G. K. Chesterton a book of 'intelligent' sayings: which Chesterton read, writing comments by most of them. I think it's funny. A 'serious thinker' reading the book might have another reaction.

Yesterday was a reminder of an age gone by: a time remembered fondly as an era of serenity, tranquility, and quiet contemplation.

The experience reminded me of why I like living in the Information Age.

Asking for the Boss

The new garage is getting closer to being done. This afternoon, one of the folks who were working on the floor knocked on the back door. Or, rather, what had been the back door before it became the door from the living room into a sort of back entry/mudroom/whatever.

He told me he was looking for the boss. My wife wasn't home at the time, and wouldn't be for a few hours: and he needed her 'okay' before he'd start sealing the floor. Not mine. Hers.

He told me how to show the floor as it would look after sealant and wax went on: essentially, spill water on it and mop it around. I said something like 'got it,' then he asked me for some paper. He wrote down his phone number: and instructions for how to show the floor as it would look after sealant and wax went on.

Several years ago, a technician who'd been called in by my wife wouldn't ask her any questions. The three of us were in the same room, I'd told him that I didn't know anything about the issue at hand - and he'd ask me a question, I'd tell my wife what he'd said, she'd tell me, and I'd tell him. At least this time my wife wasn't there. And I've done enough customer service to know that not everybody's able to hold a detailed message in memory.

The floor is concrete, now acid-washed, and quite ready for sealing. I hope that the rich mottled-brown color looks the way it did this afternoon. That's one attractive floor treatment.

Apart from that, my son's well-settled into his office, we've got wire cages around the garage's fluorescent tubes, and the pass-through from the office to the living room is cut, with doors/hatches in place.

My wife's been very patient, waiting to get her garage/workshop. I'm glad it's almost entirely done.

Somewhat-related posts:

• "Men, Women, Differences, and Equality"
  A Catholic Citizen in America (May 2, 2012)
  Particularly
  • Power Tools and Getting a Grip
• "New Office"
  (March 28, 2012)
• "Home Schooling, a Garage, a Desk, and Business"
  (March 26, 2012)
• "Hey, I Can See In This Room!"
  (March 2, 2012)

New Office

My son is in his new office today. He finished moving stuff in yesterday, and started working at reducing echoes in the room. He does a little recording, and as he put it, his microphone hears better than he does.

Me? I'm still at my desk, by a north window. Which suits me just fine.

Related posts:

• "Home Schooling, a Garage, a Desk, and Business"
  (March 26, 2012)
• "My Son: First Paying Job"
  (March 5, 2012)

Hey, I Can See In This Room!

Yesterday afternoon, and this morning, electricians installed lights in the north room and living room of our house. They did other stuff, too: but it's the new lighting that impressed me most.

We live in an old farmhouse that was extensively remodeled somewhere around 1970 or 1980. I'm told that having no ceiling lights was 'in' for a while back then.

For whatever reason, the two largest rooms on the ground floor had no lights at all in the ceilings. Which would have been fine, for folks who had enough floor and table lamps to spread around. And a lifestyle that allowed that sort of thing.

We didn't - both ways.

The living room was adequately lit, but the north room where I work? I had a desk lamp that provided pretty good light for my mouse pad - but apart from that, the room got pretty dark after sundown. Or on cloudy days.

Actually, the only time the room had adequate illumination - by my standards - was during the winter, on a clear day, with fresh snow outside.

That was then, this is now.

We've got three sets of broad-spectrum fluorescent lights in each room: and nice, even, good-enough illumination. Even by my standards.

I like it.

'It was Only a Small Fire'

First, the good news: Nobody got hurt.

My son-in-law had gone into the garage to get some chicken feed out of their Buick. Since the car hadn't been driven in a while, and he & #2 daughter were planning to use it later in the evening, he tried starting the engine.

He heard a "POP," and saw smoke coming out from under the hood. It's a wood frame garage, attached to their house - with a propane tank on the other side of one of the walls.

My son-in-law called #2 daughter to come and help, hooked a logging chain to that burning car, and pulled it out of the garage- - -



- - - before it got to this point. Then he told #2 daughter to call the fire department.



It only took them about five minutes to get out there - which is pretty good response, considering they're on the other side of an Interstate from the town. I'm told the fire fighters commended the young couple on quick thinking and cool heads. When they got the call, for a garage fire, they figured there wouldn't be much left of the house by the time they were through.

#2 daughter and son-in-law had a fire extinguisher out there - but they decided the priority was getting the vehicle away from flammable materials. I haven't heard of a logging chain and towing hookups being standard home emergency equipment - but it sure came in handy this evening.

I spoke with my son-in-law an hour or so ago. He figures the most likely explanation for the fire is a critter getting under the car's hood and chewing on wires. When power was applied, a short circuit could have ignited plastic, melting more insulation away.

I'm just glad he and #2 daughter are okay.

Photos by Aaron McWilliams.

Late last month, #3 daughter got promoted to 1st gup in Soo Bahk Do. Which is a pretty big deal - it's the last step before black belt. Except it's more of a midnight blue belt. Soo Bahk Do is a sort of karate, except it's from Korea. Which is why my wife and #3 daughter are learning Korean.

Also, in my wife's case, Latin - and that's another topic. She's teaching for another home-schooling family we know. So, for that matter, is #3 daughter.

Me? I spend most of my time writing posts, and nosing around the Internet to find something to post about.

Sunday Afternoon: Goofing Off

Actually, I haven't been goofing off all that much - I've celebrated Mass, opined in another blog, and discussed family matters with my wife and son-in-law.

Also enjoyed, thoroughly, noticing my wife and #2 daughter discuss the layout and functionality of the kitchen in their place - #2 daughter & son-in-law's, that is. They live in the house where my mother grew up. My parents made heavy modifications when they refitted it as a retirement home for themselves: and now the next generation is doing some long-overdue repair.

They're also stripping the old southwest corner of the house to the basic structure and rebuilding it. I've seen what they have in mind: and it makes sense. For starters, the house will have a new electrical system when they're done.

About time, too: my parents brought a 19th century farmhouse up to speed with late-20th-century technology; now it's time for another upgrade.

Living in a Construction Site

There are much worse things than having a water pipe burst in the house. But that's been enough to disrupt things for this household.

We've been in the rebuilding stage for a while here. And, since my desk and computer are in the north room, just off the kitchen, I have a sort of front-row seat.

As I wrote in another blog, earlier today:

"It's quiet at the moment, but pretty soon this area will be suffused with the rhythms of a staple gun, the shrill sonority of a rotary saw, anon hammerings and scrapings.

"Tranquil it ain't."
(Apathetic Lemming of the North (October 8, 2010))

I took some photos on Wednesday, while the floor was mostly taken apart in three (or four, depending on how you count them) rooms:


Tearing the floors up uncovered a few things that needed fixing. (October 6, 2010)

I'm not going to say that having an indoor water feature in the house was a good thing - but taking up flooring, and what the flooring was sitting on, showed a few spots that needed attention - and made it possible to get the fixing done.


Here's the floor at the foot of the stairs going from the ground to the second floor: or, rather, the floor joists and old subfloor. (October 6, 2010)

If you look closely, the gaps between the old subfloor planks aren't very dark. There's a reason for that. You're looking straight down into the basement, where a light's on.


I'm going to miss being able to see into the basement from the first floor. But not much. (October 6, 2010)

There's smooth flooring in the rooms that needed work now, for the first time in - quite a while. There's going to be a finished surface that goes over that - but I'm glad not to be walking on rough planks and the occasional screw or nail any more.

Just to keep things interesting: as of - early today, I think it was - the refrigerator is in the north room, behind me and to my left as I sit at the desk. It's plugged in, so our food supply is okay. The stove? It's somewhere else. And not plugged in.

I'm going to be glad when the various repair/reconstruction jobs are over.

For the season.

There's quite a lot of work that needs to be done on the east wall of the house - but happily that can wait until spring.

One more thing: My wife and #3 daughter have been off with the Soo Bahk Do class, down in the Twin Cities (Minneapolis-St. Paul to non-Minnesotans). Some sort of test. I expect them back in an hour or so.

Busted Water Pipe, Day Nine: Getting Back to Normal

Possibly the last of the Servicemaster fellows was here yesterday, cleaning and - sanitizing, I suppose you'd call it - the ductwork that got water in it. I took a few photos, but that'll wait until another day.

The duct cleaning is important, I think: dust builds up in those things, and water got into over a dozen feet of them a week ago yesterday. One of the last things I'd want is mold getting a foothold there and spreading spores through the house. Not healthy.

Good news: the ducts were more airtight than the technician expected them to be.

There are going to be 'next steps' well into next year - but at this point the house is dry, and ready to get flooring replaced.

#1 daughter arrived Friday afternoon, and is here for the weekend - and glad that the fans are out of here. This place was noisy for a while.

The ladies have been sorting through stuff that was taken up from storage and has been getting dried. We'll be discarding some, passing some along to #2 daughter and her husband - and keeping some.

Related posts:

• "Busted Water Pipe, Day Seven: Flooring, Gas Pipe, and Sparks"
  (September 23, 2010)
• "Busted Water Pipe, Day Five: Bathroom's in the Kitchen, and a Mouse Condominium?!"
  (September 21, 2010)
• "Hammers, Fans, Dehumidifiers, and Maybe Some Good News"
  (September 20, 2010)
• "Wet Albums, Loud Fans, and Grilled Burgers"
  (September 2010)
• "Not So Much Water on the Floors"
  (September 17, 2010)
• "Busted Water Pipe, Standing Water on Two Floors"
  (September 17, 2010)

Busted Water Pipe, Day Seven: Flooring, Gas Pipe, and Sparks

I can't work up much enthusiasm for the idea, yet, but it's probably a good thing that a pipe broke in the laundry room last Friday morning. One of the fellows who's been over here, sorting out what needs to be done now that Servicemaster has dried the structure out, noticed that he got sparks around the circuit breaker panel.

That is not a good thing.

When an electrician came to evaluate the sparks, he found that one wire wasn't quite insulated properly. It's hard to tell what happened: years of slight movements might have cracked the insulation, it might have been nicked when the system was installed - or maybe something else.

Good news: It wasn't the water, so we aren't looking at tearing apart the walls and floors and tracing the wires. And, the faulty wire has been replaced.

Like I said, I don't feel all warm and wonderful about that busted pipe and the water damage. But between discovering a dryer vent that could have caught fire, learning about a small-but-dangerous flaw in the wiring, and getting a look at some repairs in the outside walls that can - thank God - wait until next summer: It looks like it's a good thing we had our attention focused on the workings of this house.

Oh, right. One more thing. We discovered that the insulation over our living room needs replacing and that the airspace over the room isn't adequately ventilated. That area wasn't affected by the flooding: but my wife had one of the fellows who was over here looking at needed repairs take a look at that area too.

I'm not surprised about the insulation situation. That area's one that we figured needed attention - but could wait. Now, it's getting attention.

One last thing: Servicemaster took its fans and heavy-duty dehumidifiers out of the house yesterday afternoon. It's really quite, now that they're gone.

Related posts:

• "Busted Water Pipe, Day Five: Bathroom's in the Kitchen, and a Mouse Condominium?!"
  (September 21, 2010)
• "Hammers, Fans, Dehumidifiers, and Maybe Some Good News"
  (September 20, 2010)
• "Wet Albums, Loud Fans, and Grilled Burgers"
  (September 2010)
• "Not So Much Water on the Floors"
  (September 17, 2010)
• "Busted Water Pipe, Standing Water on Two Floors"
  (September 17, 2010)

Busted Water Pipe, Day Five: Bathroom's in the Kitchen, and a Mouse Condominium?!

This could have been a lot worse. It still looks like we won't have to replace the drywall. Most of it, anyway. There's part of the laundry room that may need work done on the walls.


You know it's going to be one of those days, when you come downstairs and find part of the bathroom in the kitchen. September 21, 2010.

Floors in the ground floor bathroom, kitchen, and front entry, on the other hand: Those are stripped down to the old country-farmhouse floorboards. We'd use that as the 'new' floor surface: but there was too much damage done over the generations, before we got this place. So, after some repairs and yet more drying out, we'll be getting those floors resurfaced.


The Servicemaster crew has done this before: That's an impressive tool kit. September 21, 2010.

The fans and dehumidifiers are on again. They were off while the Servicemaster crew was here: good thing, too, since they kick up quite a breeze. I was right, by the way: the house did seem awfully quiet. Apart from the hammering, drilling, and tearing up of flooring, of course.


Good news: We're getting new flooring in three rooms. Bad news: We need new flooring in three rooms. September 21, 2010.


My wife saw those holes in the cabinet base and said to the fellow, in a pleased tone: "You're making mouse condominiums!" September 21, 2010.

If those holes do their job of ventilation, we may be able to keep the existing cabinets. Which is to be hoped for: the things are nailed to the walls, not screwed in place.

As for 'mouse condominiums,' the first thing I thought of when I saw those holes was something like 'pre-drilled mouse access?' It would make a good story, maybe.

Related posts:

• "Hammers, Fans, Dehumidifiers, and Maybe Some Good News"
  (September 20, 2010)
• "Wet Albums, Loud Fans, and Grilled Burgers"
  (September 2010)
• "Not So Much Water on the Floors"
  (September 17, 2010)
• "Busted Water Pipe, Standing Water on Two Floors"
  (September 17, 2010)

Hammers, Fans, Dehumidifiers, and Maybe Some Good News

A crew - two men - from Servicemaster came today. I understand that they usually have more people on a job like this, but St. Cloud Servicemaster's territory extends up to the Canadian border - and apparently there's a rather major job that needs attention in a hospital up in International Falls. It's probably connected with this news item:

"Hospital in full diversionary status after waterline break"
Laurel Beager, International Falls Journal (September 20, 2010)

"ER, clinic campus remain in operation

"A major waterline break Sunday evening at the hospital campus of the Rainy Lake Medical Center has caused the hospital to divert its inpatients to other facilities, according to CEO Brian Long.

"Long reported this morning that the water line break that occurred at 7 p.m. Sunday caused the concrete floor in the basement to lift and the lower level to flood with about 7 inches of water...."

Under the circumstances, I'm glad that Servicemaster, St. Cloud, sent anybody to a residence in Sauk Centre, Minnesota.

The crew did a good job, too, stripping floor coverings from the ground-floor rooms. They also made quite a lot of noise, between hammers and other tools.

We got some tentatively-good news. We may not need to replace the drywall.

Once again, I'm really glad I was up at a crazy-late hour Friday morning, and (eventually) noticed the running water. This could have been a lot worse.

Actually, it may be just as well that we had to pull the washer and dryer out and inspect all the hoses and ducts. There was quite a lot of lint in the dryer's vent. Note to self: inspect that system more often. Lint makes good kindling - and that's not something you want near something hot, like parts of a dryer.

Bear in mind: After Friday and the weekend, I'm just a bit jumpy.

This house is going to seem very quiet, once those fans and dehumidifiers are out of here.

Related posts:

• "Wet Albums, Loud Fans, and Grilled Burgers"
  (September 2010)
• "Not So Much Water on the Floors"
  (September 17, 2010)
• "Busted Water Pipe, Standing Water on Two Floors"
  (September 17, 2010)

Wet Albums, Loud Fans, and Grilled Burgers

I spend about two hours this afternoon, cutting foam plastic squares in half, taking the records (vinyl albums) out of their jackets and inserting a half-square of the plastic, to keep the two sides apart.

I wasn't able to get the job done with all of them: but did process the lot that had been put in the garage, instead of being set up in the basement where Servicemaster's fans and dehumidifier are. The jackets were not damp: They were wet. I rather hope that I got to them in time - and that we can hang on to the drying system long enough to keep the collection from molding.

Other than that, it's been a fairly normal day: high-volume fans and a humidifier pumping water out of the air - and so, indirectly, out of the walls and floor on the first floor and basement; grilling burgers - actually, #1 daughter did that today (thanks!). I was talking with a fellow from Servicemaster when it was time to fix lunch.

I'm not complaining: but those fans are rather loud. I like the sound, actually: but it makes a certain amount of concentration necessary when I want to talk with someone.

Related posts:

• "Not So Much Water on the Floors"
  (September 17, 2010)
• "Busted Water Pipe, Standing Water on Two Floors"
  (September 17, 2010)

Not So Much Water on the Floors

Servicemaster (St. Cloud) got a crew out here long before sunrise. They got things carried to the garage and set up fans and dehumidifiers - big ones - that are pulling what water they couldn't get out of the air, and so indirectly out of the wood and dry wall.

The company will have someone else come - in a day or two, as I recall - to see whether we get to put new dry wall into the laundry room. I could do without that, but I could also do without mold and other problems that can come from neglecting maintenance.

My wife relieved me at about 7:30, I got maybe four hours sleep, and I'll shortly be heading for St. Cloud for some testing.

After that, I don't think I'll have trouble sleeping tonight.

Related post:

• "Busted Water Pipe, Standing Water on Two Floors"
  (September 17, 2010)