Our New Old House

Sorry it’s been a while since I posted. Life is getting busy and not leaving me much time to work on the house, but I promise you, work continues! This month we’ve been gathering quotes to replace our furnace and add central a/c. I’ll be writing more about our decision making process as we… um… make a decision. So far, here are the three quotes we’ve received. I welcome and encourage any comments you have regarding these quotes. Like I said, I’ll be writing more about this as the discussion continues, but I am curious to read any reactions these quotes generate from some of you more experienced home fixers.

Quote #1:75,000 BTU 92% Amana Distinction furnace $5824.00
14 SEER A/C $116.48
Humidifier $350
Additional ductwork for attic: $128.48
Additional ductwork for downstairs: $136.48
Labor (?) $268.56

Quote #1 total: $6824.00

Quote #2:

75,000 BTU 92% Rheem furnace and 2 1/2 ton 13 SEER Rheem A/C $4680
Additional ductwork for attic: $500

Quote #2 total: $5180

Quote #3:

Goodman, model GMH95070, 95% furnace and 13 SEER R22 GSC13018 A/C: $3,500
OR
same furnace with 14 SEER SSX14018 that uses R410 instead of R 22: $4,400
Additional ductwork for attic: $1,400

Quote #3 total: $4,900 (Option 1)

[tags]budget, air conditioning, contractors, furnace, HVAC[/tags]

I ripped out the carpet in the bathroom this week. It smelled like pee. Here’s Zoot sitting on the carpet one last time:

Under the carpet was some nasty padding:

And under that was some wierd old flooring that looks like those marble colored rubber balls that come with a jacks set.

Anyway, that smelled like mildew. I put down some baking soda and left it there overnight. That got rid of the smell. Now it’s just ugly. But it’s better than pee-smelling carpet.

[tags]bathroom, cats, photos, flooring, carpet[/tags]

I’ve been so busy with other things that I forgot to write about replacing the storm windows.  We’ve decided to replace all the storm windows with high-efficiency storms and repair the interior sashes rather than replace them.  Someone from the Des Moines Rehabber’s Club recommended the Corn Belt Aluminum company so I got a quote from them and then took that quote and compared it to a quote put together at Lowe’s for what it would cost to install them ourselves.  Corn Belt with the installation and hauling away the old windows beat the Lowe’s quote hands down, and in my opinion had better windows. 

The total job is going to cost about $2800 to replace all 20 of our storm windows, including the porch, plus replace the old attic windows completely with new awning windows that actually vent all the way.  We’ve paid the $1400 advance payment and they’ve given us a 3-4 week lead time to manufacture the windows (here in Des Moines!) and schedule the work.  I’m so excited!  And I gotta say, it feels good to be going with a local company.  They’ve been completely professional and helpful all along the way, including letting us try out all the features of their windows in their showroom. 

 I’ll come back with more on this in a month or so when the work begins!

[tags]storm windows, windows, budget, Des Moines Rehabbers Club, future plans[/tags]

At last!  We finished the bathroom sink last week.  We’ve been happily using it ever since.  As you can see….

 [tags]bathroom, photos, plumbing, sink, bathroom sink, pedestal sink[/tags]

Alright, so I’m a bum and we didn’t go to the Union Park Neighborhood Association meeting Tuesday.  Just too much going on this week and Brandon and I needed a dinner and evening at home together. 

Part of what’s got us so busy this week is that we’re gathering quotes to replace our furnace and add A/C. We were planning to wait until the weather warmed up to replace our furnace.  No, I lie.  We were putting off replacing our furnace indefinitely.  But an ad we received in the mail for a local company reminded us that it’s the off season for purchasing a new furnace, so we’d probably get a better deal doing it sooner than later. 

We called the company in the ad, Leechman Heating and Cooling, a Service Master company, to come over and give us a “comfort assessment.”  He had a worksheet to fill out that asked about what’s comfortable about our house, what’s uncomfortable, and what we’re looking for as solutions.  He measured all the rooms, walked through the house recommending new supplies and changing around returns in most of the rooms, checked out our existing unit for us, and took all this information back with him to his company.  We scheduled a time for him to come back this week and discuss what he put together for us, so he came back last night. 

He came back with two options.  One with a heat pump, a 92% Amana Distinction furnace, a builder’s model humidifier, and added duct-work in our house is $7891.  The other with a 92% Amana Distinction furnace, a 14 SEER A/C and a builder’s model humidifier (plus additional duct-work) is $6824.00. 

 Both options include a really good warranty, and their own company’s service warranty is included with the installation.  Also, they provide a digital, programmable thermostat.

We’re getting two other quotes from two other smaller, more independent companies later this week/early next week. 

 One of the big questions I have for the other two people coming to look at our house is whether the additional duct-work and supplies/returns are really necessary or all that beneficial.  Another is about heat pumps vs. air conditioners. 

I’d welcome any advice, links, or wisdom from my readers on this topic (as always!)  Leave me a comment or email me at kelli@ournewoldhouse.com.

[tags]Amana, furnace, air conditioner, air conditioning, thermostat, budget, future plans, duct, heating, HVAC[/tags]