Hello I'm Rich Brown and this is my personal website and blog. I'm just your simple, average, down to earth, professional, out gay man and aspiring circuit boy, living in Phoenix, Arizona with a few things to say while trying to find my place among all the scary, conservative, religious nuts in this sick and twisted world.
Saturday, March 25, 2006
Out with the Old, In with the New!
WARNING! BORING HOMEOWNER POST AHEAD! Living in Arizona, the day comes when every proud homeowner has to deal the reality that their current central air unit just isn't going to make it another season. Our house was built in 1978 and our unit is still the original, which means not only does it barely work these days, but I can count on our monthly summer electric bill to never be less then $400 a month. The central air units here in Arizona not only provide air conditioning for those days over 100 degrees, but also provides heat for those frigid Arizona nights which frequently drop below 50 degrees (brrrr ... ok don't laugh you Canadians!)
So Justin and I had been thinking about getting a new central air unit this year but hadn't really given any serious consideration to this point. With the price of these things being at least $7k it's a pretty major investment. Well much to our surprise a new unit purchase came much sooner then we expected. No, our unit didn't break down, but we were presented with an opportunity we couldn't refuse. Mark and Andrea are in the same situation as us with an old and failing unit, and they decided to make an appointment with and A/C company to come to their home and give them a quote on a new unit and they graciously invited us over to see what the guy had to say, knowing that we too needed one.
Jake, the sales rep from American Home Maintenance, Inc. gave us all the information we needed, the most important being that now was the best time in Arizona to buy since prices always go up on April 1st, the unofficial start of summer and over 90 degree days here in Arizona. Mark and Andrea received a quote and immediately agreed to go ahead with the sale and installation. After finishing up their paperwork the sales rep agreed to head over to our house to give us a quote as well. I also immediately agreed to go ahead with the sale and installation. Final price, $8999. Ugh, that's almost as much as we spent on the pool remodel, but I figured it would be best to take advantage of the sale pricing and not have to worry about our unit breaking down this summer. We also get 10 year warranty on this puppy, so hello 10 years of worry free heating and air conditioning.
The guys came out at 8am today to do the installation ...
Our ugly, tired, old central air unit on the roof
Watch out, here comes the crane with the new unit, swing that thing right over the roof and trees!
There goes the old unit. Buh Bye old rusty piece of crap, you won't be missed!
Hello sleek, sexy new unit, we've been expecting you!
In at 8 and out at noon, the guys were very professional, quick and everything works great. Well that's about it for now. I told you it was going to be a boring homeowner post. I guess it's sort of like having kids with this house stuff, unless you're a homeowner you just can't appreciate the joy today brings for us. Well that's about it for now, I'm off to run some errands and do some shopping.
Man if it were 50 at night here in Massachusetts my windows would be open and I'd be sleeping without covers. We're lucky to get 40 during the day here.
The new unit looks really nice, and the 9000 "investment" might seem steep now, but will maybe take care of itself in electrical efficiency savings, not to mention the new comfort zone it will create to escape your hellish temps out there in AZ.
Have a great weekend Rich :)
|______________________________________________________________________ posted by The Persian @ Saturday, March 25, 2006 3:00:00 PM
WooHoo! Believe me I know how exciting it is to fix things up around the old homestead. Good for you guys, it's a tough bullet to bite financially but you'll never regret it.
You cracked me up with your "you Canadians" comment, but I know you're acclimated to the horrid heat. 50 degrees at night wouldn't be all that bad, I don't think I'd be turning my furnace on yet but I'd probably have to close the windows for my wussy hubby. LOL!
Have a great weekend Rich and Justin!
|______________________________________________________________________ posted by Jude @ Saturday, March 25, 2006 11:04:00 PM
As a homeowner in a hot climate who is living with an old unit --HOTTTT!!
|______________________________________________________________________ posted by Sorted Lives @ Monday, March 27, 2006 4:56:00 PM
HOLY CRAP! 9k? wow, they have gone up... I did mine 6 years ago, new furnace, new a/c, all new ducts for about 5500... I am NOT loking forward to doing this one, good thing it was new when I bought the house....
|______________________________________________________________________ posted by Krist @ Wednesday, March 29, 2006 11:37:00 AM
