We bought our house in 2002. It was built in 1986/7 so it would be about 20 years old at this time. To say we have issues with the house would be an understatement. Yesterday, while cleaning up my desk (for all of you that know me, you know this was a MAJOR task!) I found the home warranty information. I have had it, but I have never read it...sound familiar to anyone? I do this all the time with my electronic stuff where I just play with it until I figure out how it works. So, I digress. I found by reading this gem of a book that we have a few things that are covered that I didn't know were covered! Hooray! The electrical system and the plumbing.
The electrical system...hmmm...where do I begin? For a long time I blamed all the weird stuff that happened with light fixtures, sockets, and switches on the fact that I believed the builders used the cheapest stuff they could find. Thus all of those items didn't work properly. At some point I bought a UPS for my computer and I noticed that it would tell me when there were surges or spikes and that they seemed to happening often...without my ever having realized it of course. Mental note to self, it was odd. I also started noticing that some of the outlets seemed "broken". By broken I mean they either don't work at all, only about half of the outlet works, or it works sometimes. I noticed this happening in the kitchen, the dining room, and in the den occasionally. Mental note to self, it was odd. Recently, we started noticing a popping sound when we would turn on the light in the master bath. Note to self, it was odd. Next came the phantom in the boys' bathroom. You would turn on the light and magically while Nathan was in the shower, it would turn itself off. Now I know what you might be thinking, and no it was not Randy and I playing tricks on him...thought it is tempting. Note to self, it was odd. A week or so ago, I went into the downstairs bath, turned on the switch and presto...nothing happened. I switched off and on a few times to no avail and almost gave up when presto...the light came on. Note to self...odd. As I was talking to Randy's mother last night it occurred to me another oddity: All of the bulbs in the two front porch lights had burned out, except for ONE, all at the same time. Again, I have always thought it was the fixtures being cheap because the bulbs would burn out so quickly. You have to realize that I am not an electricity expert, so I don't really think twice or add all of this up until last night when Michelle told me I should have it looked at before there was a fire in the house. I put in for someone to come look at the wiring and lo and behold they called me today and are coming out! It will be interesting to see what the guy says. Keep your fingers crossed that it is something that is easily fixable...though with our track record I fear the worst.
I think I will wait to call the plumber! Does a house just suddenly fall apart at 20 years old? All I can think about right now is that movie with Shelly Long and Tom Hanks called The Money Pit. Ever seen it?
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We have our own "money pit" going on here in Dallas. We get that popping sound from one of our lights, too. . .hmmm
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