My Thoughts

A summary of my daily thoughts.

Wednesday, September 27, 2006

Repair Day

The GE service technician just left. As I suspected, he gave me the
same answer that my neighbors have received that the cabinet is not
deep enough to move the dishwasher back so that the controls are not
exposed when the dishwasher door is closed as specified in the GE
installation guide. You would think kitchen cabinet depth would be
standard. He worked on the top rack and improved it somewhat, but it
does not roll back and forth without hitting a spot that requires an
extra push. He answered some questions about my other GE appliances. I
asked him if I was restricted to Sears service on the GE refrigerator
that I purchased from Sears. He said I could call Sears or GE. I asked
him if GE offered an extended warranty on the refrigerator. He said I
could buy the GE extended warranty. I asked him the cost. It is $74
per year versus $159 per year from Sears, and I have until just before
the one-year warranty expires to sign up. Sears has a sliding price
scale where the price increases the longer you wait to sign up. I
need to check and find if there are differences in the coverage
between the two plans. I was really glad I talked to GE.

Meagan brought the man in to patch the wall texturing where the
cabinet was moved up over the refrigerator space. It is a small spot
but would show if a smaller refrigerator was ever used.

Later in the morning the painter came to do touch up around the house.
He caulked under the bathroom window and painted. I am very satisfied
with his work. He fixed a bad place in the front door frame so that I
cannot tell where it was. Another man came and filled the gap at the
side of the garage door frame with mortar. It is a big improvement
over the way it was. Meagan went to Home Depot and bought a thick foam
tape and put a strip of the foam tape on the flapper on the range vent
that keeps banging when the wind blows. I think that may be much
better than the little pads she tried first.

The technician from the company that installed the HAC system just
left. He was from Lumberton, Texas, which has grown to the point that
it is now a suburb of Beaumont. He understood my concerns about the
air return duct. He had a much taller ladder than I have. He held it
steady while I climbed up and stuck my head up in the return vent and
I got a much better look at the part of the return duct that is not
over the filter opening. I can say it is well sealed. Then he went up
in the attic, and I went up there, too. Before I had just poked my
head up in the attic. I got up in the attic and walked around and
looked at the ducts and insulation. I have to say this is the best
insulation job of any house I have lived in over the years. The wooden
part that surrounds the air return duct that is not over the opening
is buried in the blown-in insulation. My heating and cooling bills
compared to my neighbors will be the ultimate indicator of a problem,
but I am feeling much better about the situation than I previously
did.

My poor neighbor twisted her ankle in one of the holes in her
backyard. That almost happened to me when I stepped into a hole in the
backyard. I had put the hole on my list of items for the 21 day walk
through. Meagan said someone would be around later this afternoon to
fill that hole and some others she found..

I have to give Pulte credit in that they have responded to my concerns
regarding the house. I still think they need to tighten up their
checklists to catch more of these items before the homeowner finds
them. People reading this blog probably think I have major problems. I
have encountered problems, but they are not as bad as what I have had
to contend with in previous new homes. I still long for the day when a
new home can be purchased that is as defect free as an Acura
automobile. When I got my first Acura, it was absolutely amazing to
have such a perfect car after having to contend with lengthy lists of
new car bugs in the GM cars I had previously owned. I think what I am
trying to say is: "the devil is in the details."

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home

[print version]
Visit www.dailysudoku.com for more puzzles, solutions, hints, books and other resources.