Crumbling down

Yesterday, I got home from work and thought "man, I forgot how cold the tile floors get in the winter".

Then I sat around for a while, and decided to check the thermostat. It was 11.5 C. The thermostat was set at 19. I could hear the furnace working, but there was no heat coming out of the vents.

I turned the heat off and on. No luck.

I went downstairs and turned the switch on and off. No luck.

I called the furnace company, and was debating whether to have them come out after hours. I checked the thermostats again. It was 12 C. That was odd, but I attributed it to the fact that I'd just finished cooking. I decided it could wait until morning.

I went to take the garbage out, and couldn't get the back door open - the knob turned, but the door wouldn't open. I initially thought the door had swelled enough to stick, but after a few minutes, I realized that the handle was turning, but it wasn't actually doing anything. 

I went and got a screwdriver so I could take the handle off. I got the inside knob off, then walked around the house to take the outside handle off. The problem was that I couldn't get the middle of the knob - the part that holds it in the door - wasn't moving. I stuffed a rag in the open hole for insulation and went to bed.

When I got up, it was 10 C. I called right away, and was told someone would be here between 10 and noon. He got here a little after 10' and it was 9.5 C. (If the house loses heat at that rate, I figure it broke no later than Monday.)

It took him a little while to figure out that the problem was a blocked vent - it was keeping the fan from blowing air onto an sensor. He pulled out a piece of wire and got the vent open.

It still didn't work.

He went outside to check the gas meter - walking all around the house, because the back doorknob was just a rag-stuffed hole - then came in and turned the switch off and on again. This time it worked.

The house started heating up, and there was much rejoicing - especially since it was under warranty.

Tonight, I took another stab at the doorknob. It took three screwdrivers, a pliers, and a mallet, but I finally got the door open. After that, it didn't take long to get the old knob out and the new one in.

Now there just the floor-flooding dishwasher to deal with.

(The sad part is that I was fine without heat overnight, but if it had been the Internet that was broken, I wouldn't have been so calm.)