2016-03-19 - 12:17 p.m.
Something crazy happened yesterday. I was minding my own business, working my little fingers to the bone, when I noticed a trickling sound.
Hmmmmm... what makes a trickling noise? Bubbling brooks... zen water fountains... a beautiful cup of tea being poured... expensive appliances that are broken... Guess which one it turned out to be?
The trickling noise could be traced to just underneath my AC filter, so I figured it was an AC problem. I called the people, they came out and the guy went up in the attic because my home builder put the AC unit, hot water heater, etc up there. This is a very bad practice, folks. Things that have water shouldn't go in the attic. (<-- foreshadowing)
So the AC guy went up there and came back down pretty quickly with good news and bad news. The good news? Not a thing in the world wrong with your AC unit. The bad news? Your hot water heater has busted and water is going everywhere. He turned off the water and he didn't charge me at all. Shockingly enough. So I called the plumber he recommended and since it was Friday..... they thought they might be able to help me tomorrow or Monday. So I went online and found a 24/7 plumber with good reviews. They sent a water damage company out to contain the damage. There was wet spots on my ceiling, all along the place where the ceiling meets the wall throughout the hallway and guest bedroom, and the water had run down inside the walls all the way to the floor where the new, pristine, barely walked on carpet was soggy. So, water damage guy pulled the baseboards off all throughout the wet areas, drilled holes in the sheet rock behind the baseboards to let air in, pulled back the carpet and cut out the wet padding underneath, and set up a whole bunch of fans and a couple of dehumidifiers. After he was gone, all this overloaded the breakers and the nephew and I had to go searching for the fuse box. Which was on the outside of the house. That was a whole other drama that we had to handle at about midnight.
The plumber didn't show up until 9 pm. The water was off from about 5 pm to around 11 pm when he got done fixing it. It cost $905 to have the water heater repaired. That was the cheap route. Replacement was over 2K. For a water heater?? Ridonkulous. There was a faulty valve and a faulty something else on this not quite 4 year old water heater. It's hardly ever touched. It's in the attic, out of reach. It has 1 job. Heat water. How could it be completely busted in less than 4 years of gentle, gentle use? But it found a way and here we are.
Water damage guy took $1600 from me. That's my deductible so as much as that sucks, it's the end of my financial obligation. Everything else will be covered by my home owner's insurance. The upside is, they are going to have to replace my sheet rock, paint, baseboards, and water damage guy said they have to match it exactly with the surrounding paint so they could end up repainting that whole side of the house! He said the carpentry guys will come out and make it all good as new. Water damage guy also told me that the thing that caused the problem is a faulty part and my insurance adjuster will go after the manufacturer to get all the money recovered. I might even get my deductible back.
Thank God I have an emergency fund. This is what emergency funds are for. I was kind of steamed yesterday when I had to lay out 2500 bucks for repairs. Year before last I had to lay out about the same amount when my AC unit sprung a leak. I didn't go on vacation that year because my vacation fund was given to the AC people. This year I'm going on vacation anyway. So is this how it's going to be? 2500 bucks every 2 years on repairs? On a well kept, gently lived in, NEW house? Where is the quality anymore? Water heaters used to last 20 years or so!
I feel like I am being prompted to start thinking about selling. Start planning the next move. But I don't think I'll be leaving this house for the next year or two. Unless something changes. This is a wonderful home and I like my community too, but I now have the dilemma of whether to go nearer to my family, or go to a more northern location where there are at least some hills if not mountains and I'd like 4 seasons. I am considering the Ozarks, Colorado, and Asheville NC as possible next places to live, along with the possibility of living nearer to my family. But they have so many natural disasters in Louisiana I'm thinking a big NO on that right now. When I go visit, I think it's not so bad there and the people I love are all within a 2.5 hour radius, except Philly Boy and he's a lost cause. So... maybe I'll move nearer. Sometimes I feel like I should because... family. That would be THE only reason I would consider living there. I dunno. I don't have to decide today.
The Ozarks are beautiful... so beautiful. The trees turn RED in the Autumn. They have 4 distinct seasons, low cost of living, it's not much farther from my family than I am now, but in a northern direction which means cooler climate. I have a good friend who lives there. She and I worked together but we became really good friends. The Ozarks are also much closer to some relatives I love and never get to see. I forgot about them when I said all my loved ones were in a certain radius. They are in St. Louis. Asheville NC is a beautiful part of the country and I'd have fun exploring that. My sister loves that place and might be willing to go there. She said that when we were there last fall she felt that she should be living there and I believe in signs and promptings. We were there and she said she had a feeling of sadness that because her husband would never leave the dismal podunk town he was from, she could never live in a beautiful place like where we were vacationing and her spirit says she should be living someplace like that. And now.... her husband has died and she can go anyplace. She would never go alone, but I bet she would go with me. Colorado is the home of my heart and I feel this feeling of happiness when I'm there. I hesitate to live there full time though, because too much snow. Estes park has a fantastic summer and 9 months of winter. That is out of balance for me. I think I want to live where there are 4 seasons and spend summers in Estes Park.
And right now, I have to perform a few miracles to get all my insane amount of work done in a few hours so I can relax and enjoy some of my weekend.
::love::
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