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Having never experienced snow, my Father asked me during a visit home to West Africa in the late 80's what winter was like. I gave him the best description I could muster; I said "you see that refrigerator over there; it's like opening the freezer door, sticking your head inside, shutting the door and being trapped inside". His shudder of dread at the thought ended that conversation!
Yes, we're definitely in freezer mode here in West Michigan. The lockdown started a couple of days ago when cold winds began to bear down in a foreboding manner. This was soon followed by a steady downpour of the "cool white stuff", so much so that within 48 hours Grand Rapids was blanketed by nearly a foot of snow.
Schools, businesses and churches all shut down. The temperature has been so cold that even the salt is not melting the snow, hence more adventuresome escapades in the form of slippery and dangerous roadways which are sending even careful drivers skidding off into ditches and snowmobile riders power racing on residential streets.
*Pictures of snow and ice covered tree limbs taken from INSIDE my warm house.
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In the midst of all this, my furnace decided to take a mini-vacation. I noticed perceptible cooling in the house, but the thermostat still read 74 degrees...hey, I grew up in the tropics, what can I say. After a half an hour, I checked again and this time, the reality registered; I had set my thermostat for 74 degrees, but the actual temperature was 55 degrees and dropping. Several trips downstairs staring at the belly of the beast did not seem to make any difference...it was not coming on and that was that!
It seems that many folks in Grand Rapids were having this same experience as calls to furnace repair experts indicated they were all backed up and could not get to us for several hours. Finally, Heyboer Heating & Cooling a company that has serviced our furnaces before gave us the green light and indicated they would be there as soon as possible. Although 1 1/2 hours stretched to almost 3, we were nonetheless grateful.
Just before Mr. Heyboer arrived, the furnace mysteriously kicked in and began to blow hot air with all the appropriate pomp and gusto that normally signalled it was kicking into high gear. I decided not to cancel the service call; after all furnaces must not be allowed to decide to report to work only when they feel like it. After an initial inspection indicated that all systems were functioning as they should, Mr. Heyboer decided it would be prudent to do some investigation as to why the furnace had decided to leave us cooling so unceremoniously. My furnace had by now conveniently erased all electronic tracer signals of its earlier misbehavior and was humming merrily along as though my attestations to the contrary were obviously baseless.
Mr. Heyboer asked me where my furnace vent was located. He had already been on one icy roof today, and I don't think he relished climbing another one. Fortunately, my vent was located off the main floor, but as I have a walk-out basement, he still needed a ladder. I heard some banging outside and wondered what on earth he was doing. After about 15 minutes, he popped back inside and indicated that he had been breaking a block of ice inside my vent! Apparently, the vent had not been affixed very well or had come loose. Over time, the driving wind and blowing snow in combination with the warm air that was being released through the vent had created moisture which had frozen into solid ice and prevented the inflow of fresh air. This blockage of the air flow subsequently shut down the power switch of the furnace.
This type of situation does not occur very often, particularly in a house that has my sort of furnace, but my experienced repair man showed us how to prevent this in the future and walked me through some simple maintenance tests I could do to prevent some other common problems. I asked him Mr. Heyboer how long he had been repairing furnaces. He said he had been doing it for 35 years. During his 35 minutes at my home, I had learned about the proper care and maintenance of my furnace and its venting system and also some valuable tips about my hot water heater. His attention to detail, knowledge about his product, and ability to correct a situation which resolved my crisis made me more than happy to pay his fee.
As I sit in my warm house, understanding so much more about the inner working of my heating system, I think my experience today is not unlike what my clients expect in interactions with me. They appreciate hard work to successfully negotiate their transactions and know that I will take the time to protect their interests. They have learned to trust my knowledge and experience and know that I will educate them and pay attention to the details. I appreciated Mr. Heyboer telling me that this was a fluke which even a preventative maintenance appointment could not have prevented, but as I waived goodbye to Mr. Furnace Repair, we agreed that next year he'd be back for some (SPM) Scheduled Preventative Maintenance.
As the frigid air retreats to its appropriate domicile outside my house, my visit with Mr. Heyboer gives me some warm inspiration. I began to reflect on the benefits of scheduled care and maintenance. Am, I giving my clients the opportunity to come in periodically for Scheduled Preventative Maintenance? This service to my clients is something that I can incorporate into every closing packet and SCHEDULE into my calendar. I can see some key benefits to a consultation which checks the proper functioning of my clients' welfare in such key areas as their continued enjoyment of their home, the growth in their home's equity and the current state of the housing market in their neighborhoods. Plus perhaps they may be assisted by recommendations for quality contractors and service providers I've worked with. Thank you Mr. Furnace Inspector, your fee was worth every penny!
*Heyboer Heating & Cooling is a local company in the Grand Rapids area which provides quality advice and services for Heating & Air Conditioning. They are family owned and operated since 1935. Phone 616-454-0920
© Audu Real Estate 2007
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