Don’t Let The Dogs Out – While I’m saving Power

I like dogs, I just don’t like your big dogs.

by Don Ames

The appointment is for 9:30 am, I need to travel over to a neighboring community and I need to give people time to make themselves presentable. Once again, for a June day, the weather is depressing – cloudy with a threat of rain. The address is difficult to find - anytime an address is located on an old major highway, I can count on the address being difficult to find. This is no exception. After the third drive by, I think I have it cornered.

First impression, saving energy is a priority here, but is the home in good enough condition to to fix up?

I enter an old rustic rundown manufactured home park. I can only imagine what it used to look like. I think it used to actually be a motel as there are left over motel rooms near the highway that people appear to be living in. I’m sure it served the travelers well when the highway was the main route north and south. This highway and motel have not been the same since the interstate went through. In the back of the motel area, the owner has dumped in some single wides. By the number of tarps on the roofs, I can tell I am in for a challenge.

Nothing I like better than approaching a tarped single wide with a pit bull chained on the front porch. By my mental measurements, the chain is not nearly short enough. Maybe if I let the dog bark long enough, the owner will come and save me. Looks to me like I am either in for a dog bite or friendly muddy dog paw prints up and down my leg.

The homeowners have good reason for looking for help fixing up their home. One reason - the home really needs help and the other reason - they are adding to their family and would like a better environment. I feel good about the reason I am here. Helping people upgrade their home is always a good feeling.

It looks like they have had a number of windows replaced and it looks like each window was done by a different person who really didn’t know what they were doing. The windows, roof, and siding has leaked so bad so long that the walls and floor show areas of see-through moisture damage. See-through moisture damage is when you stand inside a home and see-through to the outside without the help of a door or window.

The home is heated by a series of plug-in electric space heaters. The homes heating ducts have been plugged off and the homes furnace removed. I mean, the furnace is gone. With the space heaters as the main heating source and considering all the natural ventilation, this home is a real waste of power.

The home really is not worth trying to fix up. It would be much better to remove this home and replace it with a home that is in better condition and then fix that home up. I have done this before, it’s a big  job and it takes the coordination of several agencies. Gives a real feeling of success when agencies work together and pull something off like this.

The best thing I can do here to save power is to tear the house down…it happens. Nice doggie, please stay down…….

See you tomorrow…but, I won’t leave the lights on for you…