The Nest Gets a Winter Coat... In July

There's a long story and a short story here. Kind of like a Choose Your Own Adventure novel...

First the short story:

The Nest got a winter coat this week! After a rocky road (see "long story" below), the weatherization job was finally completed. I had been in touch with Schuyler at EAI for a few weeks and she was fantastic. She was very patient and accommodating, I could tell she wanted the job-well-done as much as I did. Finally the big day came, and Andrew arrived with his crew right on time. 

We did a walkthrough of the house and found a handful of holes in the horse hair plaster leftover from the electrician's work. Andrew used a foam gun to quickly fill them so the insulation would stay put in the bays between the interior and exterior walls. 

They brought a truck with a huge hose, kind of like a dryer output hose, and bales of recycled newspaper. They removed panels of the vinyl siding and drilled holes in the old shingles. Then they aimed the cellulose into the holes and packed the walls. It was loud! 

The guys were here for two long hot days. That is tough work! They even did their best not to trample my flowers. It was a big crew, one of the guys was Andrew's brother! 

And now I'm looking forward to a cozy insulated winter... But first we intend to make the absolute MOST out of the precious New England Summer. 

Ok, now... The Long Story:

Remember way back when I had an energy audit with Next Step Living through the MassSave program? One of the benefits was the weatherization (insulation installation, say that three times fast) subsidy. But first I had to "remediate" the knob and tube electrical wiring. That took months. But I still held out hope that I could get the work completed before the very cold months. But then I discovered that my oven (or lack there of) was a barrier. So I got an oven (which was a saga in and of itself. Finally I was ready to book the project. When I called Next Step Living, they said they'd be happy to schedule the work, but it would have to wait till spring. Vinyl siding becomes more brittle in the cold and they didn't want to risk cracks. So, I got the date on the books. April 29. 

Next Step Living and Hanscom Credit Union helped me arrange the very attractive 0%APR for 7 years loan that is part of the MassSave program. And oddly, they required me to pay for the work in advance. Now, if this was any other contractor I would have scoffed, and offered a third on booking, a third at halfway done, and a third on completion, as is customary and smart for all involved. But since it was a government program, I shrugged and signed on the dotted line. Never again. 

I thought we were all set, and I patiently waited. I had to start paying off the loan the next month even though the work was in the distant future. But it was ok with me, the job was finally going to be done! (Eventually!) But then one Friday in March I got an automated voicemail from Next Step Living. I also got this email:

My jaw hit the floor. And I gave out a whimper. They went under. I was shocked! And then I called the number. A very nice person helped me get my name on some kind of "list" and let me know it would be taken care of. 

Then began months of back and forth. Finally the very professional, very cold "Matt" from The Legal Department at MassSave called.  He let me know that since Next Step had already cashed my check when they closed their doors there was nothing they could do. They suggested I contact a lawyer. 

Oh hell no. 

I called the front lines of the MassSave Program and "registered my displeasure". I called my real estate attorney, Nicole Stark, and she gave me a crash course in consumer law. She suggested I call the Attorney General. I did. I also called and emailed my town representative Sean Garballey. 

I reached out for help, found out how to take actions that were in my control, but also tried to relate to the situation neutrally, I only lost a few hours of sleep over it, and I tried to keep the faith that all would work out in the end. 

I'm not sure if it was one of my "strongly worded letters" that made the difference, but I have to believe it was one of those Horton Hears a Who situations.

They called again and let you know they were going to get the project funded. I called Schuyler to book right away. 

Finally!! The Nest got outfitted with a cozy, recycled newspaper winter coat!