Another Hole in the Wall

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Visiting hours have begun for our furnace, whose flame is about to be extinguished. To send it off in style, Nate has called a number of contractors to traipse through our house, rattle the walls, and tell us how much they’d charge to replace it.

Two contractors showed up yesterday, and they both said the same thing: “We need to put a hole in your wall in order to replace your tiny furnace with a much bigger one because big is the only option.” Actually, one of the contractors said he might be able to find a smaller model, but they might still need to give the drywall a whack or two.

So Nate told me our other option could be a heat pump, which goes OUTSIDE the house, which sounded really great to me.

“It is rather expensive,” he said, “but it’s an investment in the house, and I think we can get a tax break.”

And I thought that sounded reasonable—and when I jumped up and down and said, “Let’s do it—especially since we won’t have to drill into the drywall,” Nate said, “Whoa there. We would still have to knock out part of the wall near the vent to expand it.”

To which I said, “Well, F&$$$$ SH*&&^! Why does everyone want to knock holes in our walls?”

For instance, the shower guy just destroyed Alex’s bathroom, putting in a shower stall. He wreaked havoc on walls that were so far away from the shower, I didn’t even know what to think. Then, he charged us for it. A lot.

I’m being reassured that the wall in question, where holes and horrors will unfold, is “just the closet,” but I know that sometimes floors and messy hands on other walls—and shoes tracking in mud—come with the territory.

Nate has a solution, though. He thinks getting a smaller furnace, is the better way to go, if the one contractor can find it. Then, instead of inviting him back to repair the crawl space to the way it was, Nate would repair it with some trim work—and bonus option: If I help, I get a blog post. And possibly a foot rub. I’m going to negotiate a foot rub, too (from Nate, not the contractors).

And, in fairness to our little furnace, still chugging along like a little engine that could, I’ll keep a candle lit in its honor. And what the heck—I’ll pour myself a glass of wine to get lit too in case the furnace gives out before it’s replaced.

Your Turn: What is one thing you know you’ll have to replace, but you’re dreading it?

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Published by ckennedy

Author of the DIY blog: Fixin' Leaks and Leeks. Paper/Rock Writing Consultation, Sole Proprietor.

31 thoughts on “Another Hole in the Wall”

  2. It’s already happened. Our furnace expired, and we replaced it. Both furnace and fuel tank are in the basement, fortunately. Oh, we’ve had to replace the hot water heater and the radon mitigation system, too. Need I go on??

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  6. This: “If I help, I get a blog post. And possibly a foot rub. I’m going to negotiate a foot rub, too (from Nate, not the contractors).” Plus the part about getting lit too, and the swearing. Love it.
    We got down to two burners, no oven on our stove so it’s time to replace that puppy. Stupidly expensive, but at least it definitely definitely feels necessary and worth it. New one comes Monday. Hope it fits! Oh, and we did finally replace the door handle to our garage. No contractors or holes in walls required for that one, just the requisite hole in door.

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  9. Rest in peace to the furnace! Replacing things sucks, appliances and assorted items should just last forever! We have to replace our washing machine, but our collective reaction when we think of removing the old monstrosity and then bringing in the new one is – groan –

    I’m pretty sure we’ve all been there! 😉

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  14. Well, at least your glass of wine will help to keep you warm if your furnace goes out again. 🙂 I used to dread replacing the water heater, which was why I refused to buy a house until 2 years ago. Everyone said the water heater was new and I had nothing to worry about. Six months ago, the water heater went out and I had to replace it. 🙂 I hope nothing else goes wrong for you for many moons, Cecilia! I appreciate your humor in what was surely an aggravating situation.

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