Midwestern Midcentury

Modern Air

Yes, that's a mouse nest in an electrical box inside our 1985 vintage air conditioner.  This unit cools just the bedroom addition.  As you can see below, I will need to replace several wires before powering the unit up this year.

Thermostat Failure. NOT Cool!

What happens when a thermostat fails in July?  You can guess the answer.  Thermostats are easy to replace yourself...IF you pay close attention to what wires go where.

You can make and label a diagram.  Or, take a digital photo as I did.  If you do it right your new thermostat will have your home cooling system back on line in under 30 minutes.  I like the illuminated models.  As you can see, I have a little patching to do on the wall.

Hot Tub Deep Freeze

One of the first orders of business at our new Mid-Century Modern home?  Filling and firing up the hot tub in the greenhouse.

Not so fast!   No sooner did the water start going in that I noticed it was running out the bottom in to the floor drain!  What do I know about spas?  Maybe I forgot to turn off a drain valve or something.

Finally I decided the internal plumbing must be at fault and I called the folks at QCA Spas.  They flipped the tub over, discovered a cracked manifold (pic below), and repaired it in about 30 minutes.  Apparently, the internal plumbing wasn't emptied of water when the tub was closed for the season.  This is normally done with a wet vac.

Kudos to the previous owner for paying for the under $200 repair.  While the house came with no written guarantee, he had assured us the pool and spa were both in good working order.  It's very cool that he stood behind his word!