Chimney Problems
ETA: I have called West Hartford Public Works, because they helped pay for home repairs before. My social worker, who is a lovely man, is doing some double-checking on the company and is sending the guy who DID do my chimney a couple of years ago out to check on the state of the chimney. The social worker, however, feels that they were con artists. (Which is embarrassing, if true, because I would feel like a bloody idiot--but if they are, then there is a good chance that the chimney is NOT collapsing, in which case, hallelujah.)
I just had the chimney sweeps in, because they were having a twenty-dollars-off special today. I wish I'd said no.
Bottom line: the chimney is falling apart. It's cracked down the middle, it's missing bricks here and mortar there, and the holes are pouring water and snow into the furnace...which is EVER so helpful. It could fall through the roof at any moment.
It would cost about $2,700 to get it repaired.
I don't have it.
I had a very hard time trying to explain this to the sweeps, who thought that I was negotiating.
"We could do a patch job. $2,100."
"But I don't have it."
"Well, we could just replace the mortar. It would only take a few hours and would cost $1600--"
"But I don't have it."
The chimney undoubtedly has to be repaired. I get that. I do. But where am I going to get the money?
To put this in perspective, $2,700 is two-and-a-half months of disability checks...and that's if I don't pay any other bills during that time. Which I have to do, as I have to have electricity for the pump, Internet for business and personal contacts, food and so on.
It's utterly, utterly impossible.
I hate my life.
I think this is why I tend to read fantasy and urban fantasy rather than realistic contemporaries. Both forms of fantasy feature protagonists who, no matter how poor they are, have power. And if they run up against an insoluble problem, it's for a reason--like trying to save the world. They're not just getting smacked in the face by the universe because the universe feels like it.
This entry was originally posted at http://gehayi.dreamwidth.org/450390.html. Please comment there using OpenID.
I just had the chimney sweeps in, because they were having a twenty-dollars-off special today. I wish I'd said no.
Bottom line: the chimney is falling apart. It's cracked down the middle, it's missing bricks here and mortar there, and the holes are pouring water and snow into the furnace...which is EVER so helpful. It could fall through the roof at any moment.
It would cost about $2,700 to get it repaired.
I don't have it.
I had a very hard time trying to explain this to the sweeps, who thought that I was negotiating.
"We could do a patch job. $2,100."
"But I don't have it."
"Well, we could just replace the mortar. It would only take a few hours and would cost $1600--"
"But I don't have it."
The chimney undoubtedly has to be repaired. I get that. I do. But where am I going to get the money?
To put this in perspective, $2,700 is two-and-a-half months of disability checks...and that's if I don't pay any other bills during that time. Which I have to do, as I have to have electricity for the pump, Internet for business and personal contacts, food and so on.
It's utterly, utterly impossible.
I hate my life.
I think this is why I tend to read fantasy and urban fantasy rather than realistic contemporaries. Both forms of fantasy feature protagonists who, no matter how poor they are, have power. And if they run up against an insoluble problem, it's for a reason--like trying to save the world. They're not just getting smacked in the face by the universe because the universe feels like it.
This entry was originally posted at http://gehayi.dreamwidth.org/450390.html. Please comment there using OpenID.