Parts

Anyone who owns a house knows they are actively trying to destroy themselves and return to the random elements from whence they came. Our house in Ammon is pretty much doing that very thing.

We do what we can to stop the carnage. This past week, for instance, we had a new water heater installed -- a gas one, replacing an electric one. Hopefully once we've paid off the heater we'll have lower electric bills, though it's hard to see how the bills could be any higher than what we're paying already.

Replacing the water heater, of course, led to other things. The water heater shares the space under the stairs with two other denizens: an ancient water softener and an equally ancient air to air exchanger. Though the plumber who installed the water heater is optimistic the softener still works, I have my doubts, as there's now a slow, unidentified water leak under the stairs and I'll be darned if I can find out where it's coming from. Right now it's just an inconvenience, though with the possibility of mold in the future, it's bound to be causing more trouble down the road.

To fix that problem, I have to deal with the air exchanger. The exchanger is effectively defunct, as the furnace guys had to remove some of its ductwork to get the furnace ducts to snake through the walls to their various locations. No tremendous loss, as our new furnace has an air circulation system which will do what the air exchanger did but actually heat the air at the same time. Since the system is dead, I want to remove it. To do so, I've had to remove a panel in the hallway to get at what's left of the machinery. I tore out some ducts tonight, and will leave the baffle box and other ducts for later in the week. Hopefully, once I've got that stuff out, I can get in there physically and find out where the leak or ooze is coming from. Maddening work, this.

This work is on top of the stuff I already have to do, namely box in the furnace ducts and dig trenches to bury the new sprinkler system. Sprinkler system takes priority at the moment as I can't be digging in the wintertime but I can do drywall as the snow flies, providing I get the drywall here before the snow flies since I'm too cheap to pay for it to be delivered.

Once I get that work done, though, we ought to be able to rest easy at least until next year, when I've got at least two exterior doors that will have to be replaced. Then there's the slanty shanty fence around the property. And the landscaping. Help.