Contractors (04-07-10)

I got a call from the weatherization contractor, who told me that when his assistant went under the house, he distinctively smelled an odor of gas. He said it would be a good idea for me to call the gas company. So I called them, and a truck was in a driveway within five minutes of my call. I swear, the guy had to be parked down the street waiting for the call!

The guy from the gas company was a tall old guy with a German accent. No matter how I mentioned growing up a mere 20 miles from the nearest German border, and how much I love German food, he just acted gruff and unfriendly.
When he entered the house, he gave me a weird look and said that he’d been here before. When I pressed him for details, he was vague, though…just like the guy who came to install the phone line who, once he volunteered that he had been here before, refused to say anything else… I am starting to feel that I bought the (cursed) house of a sorceress.

In any case, this big guy claimed there was a possible gas leak at the furnace to floor junction, but since he didn’t anymore than waive his wand over the furnace pipes, I don't know what to think. He didn't go under the house either. I knew he wouldn’t the minute I saw him: he was, ahem, lumbering and pot-bellied; I couldn’t imagine him fitting in the crawlspace without getting stuck. He just gave me a card with the gas company logo on which he had checked a box saying that “the problem needs to be addressed,” to call the number printed on the card to get a referral for a contractor who would fix the leak.

Weatherization underway (04-06-10)

The Energy Trust-approved contractor’s assistant came by today. He checked the insulation in the attic, and then he went under the house. I could picture it like a horror show down there, with bunches of spider nests loaded with eggs ready to hatch right over his head...