Lights, Heat, Hot Water, No Plumber Here

Posted by Jim Kimmons, Broker/Owner • February 11, 2011 • Printer-friendly

I'm crossing my fingers, but this could be the first normal morning in over a week at my house. When the gas went out, I thought I had a lot of writing work to do and knew that my fingers don't work at sub-zero temps. I winterized the house and we headed up to Pueblo, CO for three nights, returning on Sunday.

We came back because the news seemed to indicate that we would have gas restored, and we knew that we'd have to turn the water back on and be ready. Of course, that didn't happen. And, it didn't happen on Monday. However, I did get the word that we could "self light" and I did that. Of course my joy was short-lived, as the water heater wouldn't fire back up. Even a new thermocouple didn't do the job, so it seemed to be a defective gas valve.

We decided it was time for a new one, bought it, and I installed it myself. I'm not that handy, but calling someone to do that would have been a total waste of time, as every plumber in town was very busy. Well, I got the hot water up and everything was fine ... until Thursday morning when the upstairs water stopped, and we had frozen and busted pipes under the house. We did get a plumber for that, and ended the day yesterday with everything running. The water is dripped as I write this early in the morning, and I really hope not have the teenager come down the stairs later to tell me that she has no water. I'm feeling confident.

To all those who lost their heat and probably have very similar stories, I feel your pain. To all of those who have propane, I've been jealous. Even at a higher heating cost, the last week's extra expenses would probably pay for it for a year or more.