Depressed

[Meenah]

This morning I went to the basement because I was hearing strange sounds. The sump pump quit working and the hot water heater was leaking!!!!!!!!!!!
Luanne

That doesn't sound good! And sounds expensive!

[SueC]

Ugh--I hate plumbing problems! Are you or Jory handy enough to fix it or do you have to call in a plumber? I hope you get it resolved soon!!!

Sorry to hear that, Luanne. What kind of mess do you have on your hands?

Our current situation is that last night our furnace/heater quit working around 2 am. It was 17 degrees outside. We woke up and it was about 50 degrees in the house. We called a repairman but the broken part is only available through one dealer who doesn't open til Monday morning. We are going to freeze our butts off for another 36 hours!

[Meenah]

I do evrything BUT plumbing. Thu Van you can always make me feel a little bit better!!
Luanne

Luanne, sorry to hear about your troubles....at least you have heat though!

Thu Van, I suppose you could look on the bright side and this could be time for you to cuddle...of course is may take everyone in your family cuddling together to help keep warm....or you could just go to the local mall, all day and walk & window shop....

[PrincessFiona]

wow..Luanne and ThuVan...how miserable!

Luanne, did you guys have a lot of flooding? We had a flood in our garage in Florida once when there was a hurricane off of the coast. Gainesville is pretty far inland, but we got a lot of rain. I had all of my 'memorabilia' in the garage stored in boxes....I had to throw out almost everything that I'd saved over the last 25 years or so I was so upset!!!!

ThuVan, if it makes you feel better, I'm suffering with you. Thomas doesn't believe in heating at night. He sets the thermostat to 55 degrees 8O Getting up at 6 am is torture...I always run right downstairs, turn on the gas fireplace and make my coffee before I get the kids up.

But at least we CAN turn on the fireplace....and didn't you guys get a lot of snow recently?????

Ugh...Here's hoping that this is a cheap fix for you both.

kris

Thomas doesn't believe in heating at night. He sets the thermostat to 55 degrees 8O Getting up at 6 am is torture...I always run right downstairs, turn on the gas fireplace and make my coffee before I get the kids up.

We turn the heat down to 60 at night BUT we have a programmable thermostat that we set to warm up the house at 6am. So, we save some on heating, sleep better, and don't freeze when we wake up. I really do love the thermostat. Maybe that can be one of your Home Depot classes/projects? I think they work best with forced air heat and aren't as good a deal with hot water heat. If you do have forced air, you can save a bundle by programming the heat to go down during the night and when you're gone during the day.

Thu Van -- that stinks! I grew up in the foothills of Denver (usually colder) and I swear that the handful of times that the furnace broke was only in the middle of the night, on a weekend, on the coldest friggin' day of the year. Those chilly memories made me push to replace our furnace before it out-and-out died. There is a special Murphy's Law for furnaces and other heating/cooling appliances, IMO. I hope you guys are staying warm!

[Meenah]

Our heater went out in November and we replaced it. The sump pump has frozen water in the pipes, and since it is so damn cold the water in the ground must be frozen because we haven't had a flood yet. The hot water heater is leaking, and will be replaced this week. The plumber tried to rog new temporary drainage for the sump but it is frozen now too. I'm holding my breath, but no flooding yet, just alot of dampness.

[fluffhead]

we have a programmable thermostat that we set to warm up the house at 6am.

I installed one of these a month or two ago, it's pretty trivial to install, and it's absolutely wonderful.
You can pick one up for about $50.

[Meenah]

that was rig not rog!!

Thanks for the sympathy, guys! Well we made it through the weekend okay with the help of electric blankets and space heaters in the kids' rooms. But I was so paranoid of a fire starting from the space heaters I kept waking up to make sure they were alright. The coldest it got in the house was 49 degrees and the warmest 55. The repairman was here first thing in the morning and for all of ten minutes of work, he charged $110. That's about $660 an hour! I need to get into that line of work.

Kris, I can't believe it's regularly 55 degrees in your house at night! That's when I get the coldest!

Nellie, you aren't kidding about Murphy's Law.

[SueC]

Gosh, I don't think I'd survive at those temperatures! I'm glad your problem is fixed Thu Van--Luanne is your plumbing fixed yet? We're wimps at our house so we keep our thermostat at a comfy 72 (Actually, it's a little too warm, there is something wrong if you have to strip down to T-shirt and underwear in January because you are too warm!)

[peggyfromwastate]

I think that anyone who stays in a freezing cold house is braver than I am! When Hurricane Isabel took out our power in August, I was ready to take the kids to Albany to see my Grandma and get some AC. I'm such a wimp! If the heat went out, I'd have to check in to a hotel! I hope things are getting better out there for all of you!