Last summer, my husband and I finally got around to tackling some home remodeling.
Our house is nearly two hundred years old, and the walls and ceilings were still the ancient plaster.
They were badly cracked and crumbling, and lacked insulation. We tore everything down to the bare studs, allowing us to update the electrical wiring, make some replacements to the plumbing, and greatly improve the thermal envelope. We then put up drywall, mudded and sanded the seams, and painted everything. The project took us approximately six weeks, and created a huge mess. There was tons of dust and debris. Because of this, we deliberately chose to handle the renovations during the month of July. Although the house was hot and sticky, we were able to open the windows for ventilation. We knew better than to attempt to run the air conditioning with so many contaminants flying around in the air. Our goal was to tighten up the house, eliminate needless energy waste and significantly reduce the workload of the air conditioner and furnace. We hoped that our project would result in a more comfortable home and lower monthly heating and cooling costs. My husband and I were eager to finish, clean up and finally start the air conditioner. We were delighted when the air conditioner cooled down the house very quickly. However, within a few hours, the cooling system suddenly quit. We could not get it running again. When we called an HVAC contractor for repair, he found the inner workings terribly clogged with construction debris and dust. We should have covered the supply and return vents to prevent the dirt and pollutants from getting inside the system.