furnace story

here's a fun little tale of home ownership.

yesterday morning shortly after i started working i noticed that it was a bit chilly indoors. the first one out of bed usually turns the heat up to the mid 50s or so, but the thermostat read 47 degrees. i checked the furnace. the fan was not fanning and the gas jets were not firing. i called our friendly neighborhood gas company, pse. they told me they could send someone out tomorrow (meaning today) sometime between eight in the morning and midnight. i thought that was a mighty wide window but there was little i could say. i shivered through my workday and when my shift was over i made a fire in the woodstove. that in and of itself wasn't unpleasant, to be honest. i do like our woodstove. it makes the house smell good (which is a nice change after all of max's incontinence).

this morning it was 44 degrees when i got up. (i spent last night mostly awake, preparing myself mentally for another chilly day and listening to max's toenails clicking on the hardwood.) a gentleman from pse showed up at a little after nine. i was mighty impressed with that. he took a look and told me that the gas valve was shot. it wasn't opening up to allow gas out. no gas, no fire, no heat. i would need a new gas valve and he didn't have the kind i needed. weirdly enough, i needed the newer kind and he had the older kind. i don't know if that's happened before. the diagnostic visit was free and that was nice.

it was at around nine forty-five this morning, then, that i called washington energy services and was told someone could come around in a few hours, probably before noon. again, i was impressed. same-day service is a wonder. a gentleman from that organization appeared at my door at approximately 11:15. he had the appropriate part and he installed it, with no small amount of grunting. because another gentleman from the same organization serviced our furnace less than 30 days ago, the service visit was free, per the warranty. however, a two-stage gas valve costs $385. so that wasn't so nice.

apparently the valve went bye-bye because the furnace, prior to my having it serviced last month, was horrendously dirty, and filth got into the valve. those darn previous owners (you know who you are!) didn't tend to their furnace as they should have. but the end of the story is a happy one, because now our house has heat again.