In my house! My furnace is broken!!! It's only 3 years old. The guy came to fix it and needs to order a new part. I hope they can fix it today because it is supposed to be -6 degrees tonight. it would suck if the pipes froze. At least my mother in law and mom live near by so we could stay at either one of their houses for the night, if they don't get it fixed. ARGGGHH!!

By Fraggle on Friday, January 9, 2004 - 02:03 pm:

Oh no-I hope you can get it fixed today. Do you have any other heat source in your house to keep the pipes from freezing? We have a kerosene heater for our basement for emergencies like this.

By Mommyathome on Friday, January 9, 2004 - 02:07 pm:

Oh no! What a bad time for that to happen. We had a pipe outside break 2 days ago. It flooded part of the basement. It has been so dang cold. Fortunately, the pipe was above ground, not underground, so it was quickly fixed.

By Marg on Friday, January 9, 2004 - 02:12 pm:

I hope they do get it fixed today, how about we send you some warm e-hugs?

I'm glad you have relatives nearby to stay with!

I'm thinking spring!

By Bellajoe on Friday, January 9, 2004 - 02:21 pm:

oh no! The guy just called back and said he can't get the part till MONDAY!!!!! that's pretty far away when you are freezing your you know what off!! We don't have any space heaters in the house, but i imagine we will be taking a trip to Lowes or something to get one pretty soon. This is just really frustrating. My poor 3 yr old son came into our bedroom this morning and he was freezing, he said "mommy, i 'm so coooold!"

By Tonya on Friday, January 9, 2004 - 02:26 pm:

Can't they find the part through an emergency store or something. i mean in this weahter no one can be without heat for 3 days!!

By Marg on Friday, January 9, 2004 - 02:33 pm:

Oh Patti, I agree with Tonya, or at least overnight to get it tomorrow!

By Bellajoe on Friday, January 9, 2004 - 02:37 pm:

No kidding. My dh just came home with a guy he knows from work...maybe he can do something for us.

You'd think they would have all these parts on hand during the winter months!

By Colette on Friday, January 9, 2004 - 03:36 pm:

keep the faucets running so the pipes don't freeze! it was -7 this morning when I got up and now it's all the way up to 5.

By Ginny~moderator on Friday, January 9, 2004 - 04:40 pm:

You absolutely have to keep the water running. In the lowest faucet in the house - usually basement - turn on the cold water and let it run at about pencil thickness or a little less. As long as water is running it will not freeze. If you are staying elsewhere over the weekend, you might want to turn off the water for your toilets, flush the toilets so the tank and bowls are empty. Think also about turning off your water heater.

If the repairs are being done by the people who installed the furnace, check your warranty. Many warranties cover at least some part of the equipment for significantly more than one year. And you're right - it is absurd to not have the part until Monday. The distributor ought to be able to ship it FEDEX or UPS Saturday delivery.

By Bellajoe on Friday, January 9, 2004 - 09:25 pm:

Thank you for your helpful tips Ginny. But the house is warm again YEAAA!!

My dh works for a construction company and got one of their guys to come to the house. He called around and found the part and my dh went and got it and installed it. It's nice and toasty in here again!

Thanks for all your pity.... It's nice to know people care!
((hugs to you all))....i'm so happy it warm again!

By Gammiejoan on Friday, January 9, 2004 - 09:40 pm:

Great news, Patti! I know that it's nice to have family who will take you in for a few days but even nicer to be able to stay home.

By Ginny~moderator on Saturday, January 10, 2004 - 06:49 am:

I'm so pleased for you. I hate being cold more than anything else, and truly hate winter.

Bellajoe, if you have a contract with the first company that came out or they are the people who installed your heating system and you have a warranty, I would definitely send them a letter (a) complaining about such terrible service - no part until Monday on such a terribly cold weekend, (b) if there is a warranty, asking them to pay for the part and anything you paid for labor to have the repair made, and (c) letting them know that you will certainly let others know of your experience.

So lucky your hubby works where he does and someone could deal with it. I had a similar experience many many years ago, when my boys were quite young, and for two days we all slept in the living room using the fireplace for heat.

BTW, when it gets really really cold outside and we are anticipating temperatures below 15 or even below zero overnight, I always keep a faucet running somewhere just to make sure the pipes don't freeze, especially the supply pipes running from the main water line to the house. I've known that to happen where the temperatures were low enough for the ground to freeze down to where the pipes are buried.