Most of the time it’s great being a homeowner! You can make all of the changes you want, it’s a smart investment and you get to build up equity.
But then are those inevitable times that it’s nerve-racking
to be a homeowner because something is bound to go wrong and you are responsible for getting it fixed and footing the bill.
On Monday night, our heater wasn’t kicking in. David said it was an issue with the pilot light on our boiler. The sensor was either too dirty or old to register the flame from the pilot light. Since it didn't sense a flame, it shut down. This is a safety feature so that gas won't leak out. David tried to clean the sensor, but couldn't reach it, so he decided to remove it and unfortunately, the igniter broker.
David was able to temporarily fix it by duct tapping the igniter back together, but the tape would melt and we would be back to square one. That night we ran our space heater and planned to try to replace the piece the next day.
The fix was going to be more complicated then we originally thought. David drove around from store to store looking for a replacement igniter, but no store carried it. We would have to order it. In addition, we had an issue with the gas leaking out, so that would also need to be addressed. We would need some professional help, so we planned to have a family friend that works on HVAC systems come look at it the next day.
Again we slept with space heaters. Of course our heater would break on the coldest week of the year! Baltimore was experiencing record lows with sub-zero wind-chills. I mean it was colder here than it was in Alaska! Not only did we want to not freeze, but the bigger concern was that our pipes might burst. Pipes were bursting in houses that had heat, so we decided it would be best to shut our water off to minimize the damage if a pipe did burst. When we were home, we kept the water on upstairs so we could shower and use the bathroom, but at night and when we were at work, we shut the water off completely. I had David show me where the valve was to shut off the water so that I would be prepared in case anything ever happened.
We decided to give up on our first floor bathroom for the time being and shut off the water to this area at all times. This bathroom is an addition that was built on to the house and is not insulated well. Even on days when we run the heat, it is pretty cold back there. David hung a curtain in the hallway that leads to the bathroom to help keep the cold out. It got seriously cold back there….so cold that the toilet water ended up freezing!
We strategically placed our three space heaters near water sources to prevent pipes from freezing. We had a big one that we used on the first floor and two smaller ones upstairs. We had to run space heaters even when we were not home to prevent freezing. We placed them in the middle of the room so that it would be safe.
I can't complain too much because our house was pretty comfortable; the coldest it got was 59 degrees. At least we had electricity so we could run the heaters! We would move a space heater to the room we were hanging out in so that it was around 65 degrees. We also used lots of blankets, heating pads and put hot water in jars next to us (an old Merino heating solution).
We had our boiler looked at on Wednesday and then ordered the correct ignitor piece but it would be a few days before it could be fixed. It wasn't until Saturday afternoon that we were able to have the piece replaced. It took a couple of hours for the professionals to fix it because the gas was still leaking too much.
But alas they figured out a solution and our radiators started heating up again! It sucks that we had to shell out a lot of money to get the boiler working, but that's homeownership. I'm a little afraid to see what our BGE bill will be this month since we blasted space heaters for 5 days. We are hoping this fix will last until we are ready to install central AC/heat in our house. For now, I am just happy to have a warm home.
On Monday night, our heater wasn’t kicking in. David said it was an issue with the pilot light on our boiler. The sensor was either too dirty or old to register the flame from the pilot light. Since it didn't sense a flame, it shut down. This is a safety feature so that gas won't leak out. David tried to clean the sensor, but couldn't reach it, so he decided to remove it and unfortunately, the igniter broker.
David was able to temporarily fix it by duct tapping the igniter back together, but the tape would melt and we would be back to square one. That night we ran our space heater and planned to try to replace the piece the next day.
The fix was going to be more complicated then we originally thought. David drove around from store to store looking for a replacement igniter, but no store carried it. We would have to order it. In addition, we had an issue with the gas leaking out, so that would also need to be addressed. We would need some professional help, so we planned to have a family friend that works on HVAC systems come look at it the next day.
Again we slept with space heaters. Of course our heater would break on the coldest week of the year! Baltimore was experiencing record lows with sub-zero wind-chills. I mean it was colder here than it was in Alaska! Not only did we want to not freeze, but the bigger concern was that our pipes might burst. Pipes were bursting in houses that had heat, so we decided it would be best to shut our water off to minimize the damage if a pipe did burst. When we were home, we kept the water on upstairs so we could shower and use the bathroom, but at night and when we were at work, we shut the water off completely. I had David show me where the valve was to shut off the water so that I would be prepared in case anything ever happened.
We decided to give up on our first floor bathroom for the time being and shut off the water to this area at all times. This bathroom is an addition that was built on to the house and is not insulated well. Even on days when we run the heat, it is pretty cold back there. David hung a curtain in the hallway that leads to the bathroom to help keep the cold out. It got seriously cold back there….so cold that the toilet water ended up freezing!
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| Our bathroom and back hallway quarantined. |
We strategically placed our three space heaters near water sources to prevent pipes from freezing. We had a big one that we used on the first floor and two smaller ones upstairs. We had to run space heaters even when we were not home to prevent freezing. We placed them in the middle of the room so that it would be safe.
I can't complain too much because our house was pretty comfortable; the coldest it got was 59 degrees. At least we had electricity so we could run the heaters! We would move a space heater to the room we were hanging out in so that it was around 65 degrees. We also used lots of blankets, heating pads and put hot water in jars next to us (an old Merino heating solution).
We had our boiler looked at on Wednesday and then ordered the correct ignitor piece but it would be a few days before it could be fixed. It wasn't until Saturday afternoon that we were able to have the piece replaced. It took a couple of hours for the professionals to fix it because the gas was still leaking too much.
But alas they figured out a solution and our radiators started heating up again! It sucks that we had to shell out a lot of money to get the boiler working, but that's homeownership. I'm a little afraid to see what our BGE bill will be this month since we blasted space heaters for 5 days. We are hoping this fix will last until we are ready to install central AC/heat in our house. For now, I am just happy to have a warm home.
A few weeks after I had Caleb, I came down with a really bad fever. I don't remember very much, but I remember Mercy surrounding my feet in the bed with bottles full of hot water. That little detail you added made me smile.
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