A New Front Door

We applied for a Weatherization grant, and were able to get it.  The weatherization program came and assessed our home for ways they could make it more efficient.  We were able to get the windows resealed, more smoke/carbon monoxide detecters put in, energy efficient light bulbs throughout the house, weather stripping on the two back doors, a tune-up on our furnace/central air, and a new front door!  We were/are so excited!! :) :) :)  They called the morning they wanted to come and showed up around 11am.to begin working.  They got to work taking out the door, and ran into some industrial-strength glue that gave them a few problems.  They also couldn't plastic off the entryway because our house is so open that there wasn't anywhere to attach it that it would keep the cold air out and still give them room to work.  So, it got kind of chilly in the house.  I had to laugh that weatherization was there to make our home more efficient, but we had no front door and the cold air was pouring in while the furnace ran non-stop for several hours.  Not the most efficient day in our home. Lol It took longer than they were expecting and so they boarded up the front of the house and said they'd be back the next morning to finish the installation.  We had planned to run around our neighbor gifts for Family Home Evening that night, and the neighbors were teasing us and asking if we were going to put a keep out sign on there as well!  It was pretty funny!

The workers brought the new door inside before they left and propped it up where it was suppose to go.  They told me it was so it looked like I had a front door. Lol  They left us a few space heaters and went on their way.

The next morning they were back and installed the new front door.  They took out the little window next to the door and the new door doesn't have a window in it.  They aren't allowed to do anything decorative like that.  I didn't care.  All the window did was let in the heat in in the summer and the cold in during the winter.  The frame was broken around it, and the front door has been known to blow open as we sit on the couch if the wind blew hard enough.  The door frame was broken and you could see light all the way around it.  If it rained, water would come in under the door.  It was not good.  I was not at all sad to see it go!

 

This is what it looks like in and the new sheet rock up!  They did a fantastic job!  We can already tell a difference in the warmth of our home.  We have our thermostat set at 68 degrees, and for the first time since we've lived here we get too hot in our house in the wintertime.  We contemplated turning down the thermostat even further!

Here is how it looks on the outside without the window.  It used to be behind where Eli is sitting.  I was very impressed with how well they were able to match it to the rest of the house.  It still needs to be painted, but doesn't look half bad as it is.

They came back the next week to tune-up the furnace.  I was in and out all day long with practice for the school program and class parties before the break, etc.  When I came home the worker met me outside and said they had a little problem with the furnace.  He had spent all morning cleaning the furnace up--it looked really nice--and when he went to hook it back up and get it working, he said he touched two wires together that were suppose to be insulated and weren't and he fried the motherboard.  There was no fixing the furnace.  He said they could order a new motherboard but that it would take four or five days to get it in, and he couldn't leave us without heat for that long this time of year. So, he said someone was coming from Price with some space heaters for us, and they'd be back in the morning to replace it!  So, we got a new furnace as well.  We feel so blessed that these programs are in place to help us--and that we were able to qualify!  Thank you Weatherization--we can already feel a huge difference!