How Many Have Visited....

Friday, September 05, 2008

"Houston, We have a problem!"

I am trying to find some humor out of our "problem" with our house! Our little A/C problem (2 mnts ago) has become a BIG problem! It is a LONG &hard to explain story over blogger...but I will try to explain it the best I can! Actually, complicated! Please pray for wisdom for Mike and I!


(This is our fake vent....) No Duct work in there!)
It all began in June of 2005 when we got the keys to our new house! The day we moved in there was NO A/C! I about died as we were moving in every box, piece of furniture and essential that we owned! We called the homeowners waranty and they covered the "so they thought repairs!" And at that time- "Ants had gotten in the A/C unit, clogged it and stopped it from running! Interresting ?But we had air again.
The problem continued on and off-but we didn't let it get to us to much, since we had & have a fully functioning upstairs A/C unit! *(Most homes that are 2 stories have 2 furnace/A/C units!)
Last summer we ignored it and this summer I had, had it! I called 1 company to come and see what was wrong! They discovered that our Air compressor was shot! The house is 13 yrs. old and (both Furnace/A/C units are the original) we needed to replace it! We called around 6 other companies for quotes. We naarrowed down the company to install a new Furnace/& A/C! We even purchased a Hepa filter (in hopes that Parker and Momm'y asthma would improve!) The engineer came out did a "thorough" check to make sure all was in the right place! Within 2 days we had a new unit! Life was great for 2 weeks! I was in tears and on the phone with them by then! When you live in GA-you have to have central air! They sent out a tech late at night and he said we had freeon leaking! To sum this all up, we called them 2 more times to fix our new A/C that was showing 80 degrees each time we had a "hot house again" and it is set for 72!
The engineer came out and said that most likely we had a broken duct and would need a simple repair!
THE DUCT WORK DOES NOT EXIST for the RETURN VENT DOWNSTAIRS! So 13 years this house has gone with a builder flaw and a fake vent! No proper airflow has ever existed....causing the duct work from the furnace/AC to be clogged ! There is a hole (which is just sheetrock/that was never drilled) that is blocking the duct work to come down to the return unit!
We had to have a certified inspector before we moved in...and it is not their responsibility to look at all the duct work! Of course I am saying what inspector is ever perfect?!
The engineer from our heating & cooling company has never seen our dilema in the 15 years he has worked for the company! He was shocked and felt HORRIBLE for us!!
So, we are in the midst of getting holes drilled so the duct work can be installed and FINALLY have air downstairs....and heat. (Here is the duct work being installed (in garage)/ the hole goes into the "fake vent (photo above) and up to our attic...connecting to the Furnace/AC! (They will be covering the ductwork and putting drywall around it!)
Looking back, I do recall some cold winter days and not thinking that the heat was working either!
So glad to finally get to the root of this! We are really unsure if the 2,500 will be given back to us from the builder! (This is a problem 13 years later!?) So we are "bitting the bullet" and covering it! Thankful to God for Mike's good job that allows us to pay for emergencies as this! And we have that wonderful Emergency fund set up too!
I will post some photos of the "before and after" for all you visual people!
Thanks for all the prayers!
SO all you future buyers out there....make sure there is PROPER airflow in any home you get!
Jenn (Mike, Parker and Abbey (she has even noticed the lack of air control and chooses to be up-stairs most days!)
PS -we are sorry to all our guests for the lack of good "air" control! We promise to have great control next time you arrive!