True Tales: An EnergyWorks Examination, Pt. 6

Tomorrow is the moment of truth. The electrician comes to run a test to determine whether he can remediate just the knob and tube wiring in my attic or whether my whole house needs to be rewired.  The answer to this question will determine my attic’s fate and my comfort level over the next several months.  If he can remediate the wiring, then I can have my attic insulated.  If not, I can’t afford to rewire the whole house, and I’ll be doomed to another summer of sweaty second floor temperatures.  Obviously, tomorrow’s a big day.

It’s been a while since the last EnergyWorks update, and in that time there’s been a lot of back and forth between me and my chosen contractor, Mark Group.  My oh-so-patient sales rep at the Mark Group, Abby Feinstein, is possibly my new best friend given how often I talk to her.  Seriously though, she’s been great, and she’s really helped guide me through the process of getting the work done and paying for it. 

The length of time it’s taken to move forward on the work is partially due to the fact that I need to have the electrical remediation work done first, and if you remember from Part 5, I had to replace my water heater, too.  Thanks to a very handy fiancé, the water heater work has been completed, and it only cost a little more than the price for the actually equipment ($298 for the water heater, $100 for extra supplies and a couple hundred dollars for said fiancé). 

The upside to all of this taking so long is that, in the meantime, AFC First Financial has done away with their point system for energy conservation measures, making it easier for homeowners to qualify for low-interest loans for energy efficiency work.  This was a big concern for me because I was unsure that I would be able to have enough work done on my house to qualify for the loan, especially if it turned out that I wouldn’t be able to insulate the attic because of the knob and tube wiring.

So it’s all coming together quite nicely.  To paraphrase Milhouse Van Houten, “Everything’s coming up Wittchen!”  Here’s how it’s shaking out.

The estimate from the Mark Group came back at $3,152.35, and that includes insulating the attic, air sealing the entire house (including the basement), insulating my hot water pipes and wrapping the water heater with an insulating blanket.  In my old, leaky house, air sealing is no easy task, so the estimate looked pretty good to me.  Unfortunately, that estimate didn’t include the electrical work, which comes in at a cool $1,500.

The good news is that the electrical remediation work can be covered by the loan; the bad news is that it can’t exceed 25% of the total project cost.  Unfortunately that means I’ll be out of pocket a little more than $300 for the electrical work, but I figure that will be offset by the $300 I should get back from the EnergyWorks program by having at least $1000 of work completed on my house.

So keep your fingers crossed for me.  It’s already starting to get hot upstairs.