More adventures with home ownership:
The company that services the furnace in my Portland house turned it off because they detected a gas leak, then indicated the whole thing needs to be replaced.
When Gabriel asked for a quote, they replied that they could not install a new appliance because they did not do the “original duct work.”
Huh? It is possible – even probable – that the “original” work dates back to the year the house was built. Uh, 1910 or so? Certainly not more recently than the 60’s, when the place started the long slide toward dereliction.
I’ve owned it since 1996 and during that entire time I have never done any sort of repairs or improvements whatsoever (aside from having the stolen cars towed away). I’ve certainly never done anything with the ducts. In fact, I didn’t even have a thermostat when I lived on the premises!
Gabriel has all the maintenance records to prove that the company who turned it off are the only people who have touched the blasted thing this century, but that does not seem to be sufficient.
Logically, shouldn’t it be possible to just call up a company and get a furnace installed? I’m often thwarted by capitalism, but this whole thing just seems ridiculous.
There are five or six competent adults in the states working on figuring out a solution, and I’m sure that it will be fine in the end, but I’m frustrated that I am too far away to help…. and meanwhile, Gabriel is cold.