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Exceptional fireplace makeover for a fixer-upper and spending my day with the technicians

I love working on renovation and remodeling projects.

Through such jobs, I’ve met and made friends with more than one heating technician from the local heating company.

I love the magic they work on old and outdated heating equipment because we all love a functional and beautifully done HVAC installation. I’ve worked on many houses that needed a new heating device, but I loved the one with a fireplace that needed replacing. When we got to the house, it not only looked dirty, but it wasn’t lovely with the traditional brick style. My assistant thought it was a nice classic look, but there’s no way we were keeping it. However, The HVAC professional agreed that it did need a makeover to something more modern. We couldn’t simply do heating repair and move on, so we bought new equipment from the heating dealership. We were also handling the furnace, which the homeowner wanted replaced with an electric heater, which the heating specialist corrected to the heat pump. That also meant buying more than one thermostat for the two devices. The plan was to remove the bricks and make a tile finish with a non-existent glass cover. The heating maintenance and installation technician was going to handle the removal of the old unit and install the new heater, then leave the tiling work to the building team. Yes, I have a lot of people to work with. Unlike other projects, I stayed around for the project because I wanted to see how the changes would be implemented. I had the vision and a mood board for what we were aiming for, and I wanted to see the transition happen. I learned a bit more about fireplaces and chimneys from the olden days and what had damaged them.

 

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Restoring the old fireplace in our home that had never worked since we moved in

We often had to abandon plans because while the house was warm enough, it would differ from sharing and reading stories by the fireplace

When we closed the deal for our house, we forgot to inspect the HVAC installation fully. The brick-walled gas fireplace couldn’t start since we moved in. We tried to have an HVAC professional work on it, but he told us it was a more complex repair than we thought. Given our finances, we postponed it until we could afford full heating repair. So we spent three years only wishing to use it but making do with the furnace that kept the rest of the house used. When we were finally ready to restore the heating device, we wanted the gas feature removed and replaced with an electric heater installation. It would be cleaner, and we wouldn’t worry as much about heating maintenance. The heating technician had already shown us several heating equipment types similar to what we wanted, and we’d picked the most affordable because, despite being cheap, it still had a programmable thermostat. The heating company had given us a chance to buy the equipment in installments, but given our mortgage payments, it was best that we save and buy it at full price. The heating specialist handled the removal of the old gas features, cleaned up the area, and started installation for the electric components we’d bought from the local heating dealership. I was excited about the project because it would make family time much more fun in the winter. We often had to abandon plans because while the house was warm enough, it would differ from sharing and reading stories by the fireplace. I had to find a good reason why my son couldn’t roast marshmallows on the unit, though, and he didn’t like it.

 

Geo heat pump

Dream house! Hosted by a friend whose house has a fireplace in the bedroom

I have been to comfortable homes with impressive heating equipment, but my friend’s house has a fireplace in the bedroom.

  • It was perfect.

I had gone over for a week just before New Year’s because we had plans to make the crossover together, and my house had furnace issues, so I couldn’t host the event. I was due for heating repair when I got home because I wanted a new HVAC installation done at my house, and the heating technician told me that the post-holiday season was the best for installation. Spending time in the house with an efficient and working heating device felt like my wishes were coming to life. We didn’t have to keep adding wood to the fire because it was fitted with a modern electric heater regulated using a thermostat. She’d bought the house mainly because she’d fallen in love with how comfortable it looked. An HVAC professional had inspected how everything worked before she moved in, so all her fears that everything was too good to be true were cleared. It reminded me how much I’d neglected my own HVAC because I kept forgetting the routine heating maintenance despite knowing the equipment was old and needed constant servicing. I was already paying for my sins. I had already picked replacement equipment with the help of the heating specialist handling repairs. Still, my friend’s house almost made me feel like calling my local town heating company to ask if they could get me something similar for my bedroom too. I knew it was impossible to do because I had no space for it, but a girl could wish. Maybe next time I think about home, I’ll have the heating dealership expert help me find my perfectly heated house.

Air purification help

Participating in the recruitment if ne heating technicians

The heating company where I work was looking for a new HVAC professional.

The previous one had left because she was relocating to a different place.

My boss invited me to the interviews because I am a heating technician in the same company. However, I have not been working for long. I was to contribute some questions for the interviewee. I have been heading several HVAC installation and heater maintenance jobs over the past few years. Some of the questions I prepared included the types of furnaces available. I also added a question about what the duties of a heating specialist are regarding providing indoor comfort to their customers. Most novice techs neglect the subject of regulators, including the popular wireless thermostats. They needed to be made aware of the problems of a regulator or how to fix them. The interviews went great, and I enjoyed seeing how much the interviewees knew about the heating repair. The company deals with electric heaters, their sale, installation, and maintenance. Therefore there were multiple questions regarding such heating devices. A young man with a ponytail came in and was looking to fill the position. He knew much about heating equipment and outlined a list of energy-saving tips he would share with his customers if he joined our heating dealership. He had only been in the trade for a couple of months. He wrapped up the interview session by showing his skill in installing quality HEPA filters and outlining various things that would cause a fireplace not to light. We shortlisted three that would go to the final round as we assessed the interviewees. The final round involved showing their customer service skills. I was excited to be part of the process and could not wait to welcome my new colleague.

Commercial AC

Half an hour of space heating

The weather is so nice right now as we enter the middle of May.

Back home in the States where my family is, the weather has already turned the corner and it is really hot and humid there, they tell me.

I like the weather here much better because the real heat doesn’t come in till the end of June and when September hits it cools off very quickly, giving us just about two months of the nasty heat before it leaves and cools down again. Back home it is really hot for like five months straight where air conditioning is a necessity all day and night. Here I can basically use a fan up until the beginning of July, which saves me a lot of money on my power bills as well. So anyway, I am going to write for half an hour more about climate control systems and whatnot before I take a slow ride down to the shore and eat my morning breakfast. It is about 68F out right now at 10 or so in the morning and will warm up today to about 74F max, which to me is the perfect temperature with low humidity. I may go to the local contractor today to see if they have any HVAC systems or filters for sale and grab something. If nothing is on sale then I will just hang out there for a while and talk with my friend a bit to pass the time. I may also go visit this local business and grab a cup of coffee there.

 

Quality AC service

Ready for my electric heating pad

I was a standup comic performing in dingy clubs with no climate control, but I left that circuit a few years ago because I just wasn’t feeling it anymore

My back was really sore a few days ago but now it is loosening up and starting to feel good again. I think I either pulled it or it was hurting from stress, but now it is getting better and I will be able to play some music tomorrow with my band with little ado. I just need to rest up today so that tomorrow I have more energy and can play drums and sing once again and get the band moving ahead like it has been the past year or so. I bought a sound system from an HVAC tech and have been playing in this band steadily the past year, recording 24 songs in the process, some of which are really good songs that I listen to over and over. We are both cooling reps and work part time at the local business and then the rest of the time is spent working on the band or just doing our own things and living life. We will probably never be big and famous but that really doesn’t matter to me anymore, I am more concerned with just making some good songs and having fun in the band playing music together. I was a standup comic performing in dingy clubs with no climate control, but I left that circuit a few years ago because I just wasn’t feeling it anymore. It is more fun working with other musicians than being on a stage all alone trying to win over tough crowds. I now play in swanky bars with fireplaces and other air conditioned clubs in the summer.
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Life is good with clean ductwork

I’m still not 100% yet after getting really ill with the flu last week. A lot of people in my town have had it recently and I was one of the chosen ones as well. My symptoms are pretty much all gone but my energy level is still not back to where it was before I came down with the thing. I guess I need a few more days to get my energy back so I am trying to take it easy a bit more than normal so my body can recover and be totally healthy again. Climate control keeps me comfy in my flat as I get my work done and the music I am listening to keeps me calm and focused. Today is just a normal day for me as I do my work online and go teach my yoga student later this afternoon. I will clean my washable HEPA filter later and my life will pretty much be back on track again after a week of basically sleeping all the time in my little air conditioned room. I will keep doing my cold sea dips each morning, which I also did last week when I was sick except for two days when I was really bedridden with a fever and body aches. I think cooling down in the sea is good for the body, even when you are sick, but shouldn’t be done when you have a burning fever like I had. Now I am feeling much better and I am happy that my body is strong and can recover from sicknesses like the one I had.

 

 

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Plugging away with heated floors

It is 10 in the morning now and I am going to write for one more hour and then go hit the sea for a bit.

I have a normal day today and will be working on and off at home for the next three or so hours before heading over to a student’s flat on my street to teach yoga.

I have a good life in this small beach town and am so happy I don’t have to hop in my car anymore and battle that traffic on the way to work on the other side of town. Cooling equipment is what I write about most of the time and it is so nice being able to work from the comfort of my little air conditioned office while listening to some peaceful music. I used to have a stressful engineering job with reports and meetings each week, all for about the same type of lifestyle that I am living now but with a lot more stress. I was a local contractor for 10 years after leaving that office job, which came with its own set of challenges having to climb on rooftops all of the time. I used to paint HVAC systems on rooftops to keep them from rusting and I had to haul around heavy ladders and drive my work truck all the time to do estimates for future HVAC customers. That job is now a thing of the past as well and now I can work at my own pace and I don’t have to drive anymore in rush hour traffic.

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Lucky to have an air purifier

I saved my heating system work money for many years and made an untimely bet on a stock that is now going to have to sit for a year or two before it gets back up to the value I bought it for, which is fine with me because I just have to let the money sit and it will be good again

I live in a nice flat and it costs me about $700 a month to live here with one other lady, whom I don’t see that often because she is working a lot. It is a spacious three bedroom two bathroom flat in the center of a small town located right on the Mediterranean Sea. My buddy from the States is going to be moving in with me in about two months and my rent will go down to $550 because he is going to pay a bit more and take the big room that I am in. My heating supplier job covers my rent and spending money and then I teach some yoga and volleyball each week to cover my food. I put away a few hundred each month for savings and have some investments that will be worth a good chunk of money one day. I saved my heating system work money for many years and made an untimely bet on a stock that is now going to have to sit for a year or two before it gets back up to the value I bought it for, which is fine with me because I just have to let the money sit and it will be good again. I make enough each month working for the local business to cover my bills and luckily I don’t have to touch that money and can just let it sit and appreciate over time. I should have waited till now to buy but I was antsy and pulled the trigger a year too soon.

 

Furnace filter

Grateful for heating and cooling corp

My poor high school buddy got hooked on drugs pretty badly and now they say he has lost all of his teeth.

My friends saw him a year ago and my one friend said he cried when they met because the guy used to be a really handsome kid but ended up going down the wrong path in life and ruining his life.

I’ve messaged him many times on Facebook with no reply, in fact when I scroll through our previous messages he hasn’t responded to me since 2019. I guess he is in his air conditioned flat staring at the ceiling or just numbing himself with TV all day and I wish I could just go give him a hug, and maybe change his HEPA filter which probably hasn’t been changed in years. They say he is a pizza delivery guy now and is more or less homeless except for little stints in dingy apartments or short trips to the local jail. I am grateful I became an HVAC worker and not followed in his footsteps like his other good friend did. I guess I will probably never see him again and it reminds me to really be grateful for being healthy and fairly happy too. I have a nice climate controlled flat, a good flatmate, two really cool and loving cats, and a job that keeps it all together. Sometimes you need to step back and zoom out and look at your life to see what you have so that you can appreciate it all. I wish you the best in life.

 

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