Full points for informative webpage on what you can and can't do without a permit. Unfortunately, they missed the opportunity for extra credit - providing a way to contact them by email.
Update
Nope, I'm an idiot. It's right there on their front page, I just didn't see it. And they read and answer email, too! A+++
Here's another fun one - I had an agent I'd left a message this AM call me back and quote me a super low rate. (Lower than Amica's quote before they found out about the wiring and tank.)
I said: "...and you got in my message that there's knob and tube wiring and an underground tank?"
He said: "Underground tanks are no problem - they're really common in this area."
("Ok," I thought, "that's not super inconsistent with what some other companies have said, they're mostly having issues with the wiring.")
I said: "And the knob and tube wiring?"
He said: "What's that?"
I said: "Vintage 1920's wiring? Probably original to the house? Any problem with that?"
He said: "Umm. I'll have to call you back."
He hasn't.
The house has an underground oil tank. That's scheduled to change, since we don't want the headaches from the insurer and since the rules and regulations on tanks could change at any point, leaving us with a mess. But in the meantime, we had someone check out the tank today, and it's dry inside (contains no water, lotsa oil), so it's probably not leaking. That's good news, means we shouldn't have any mitigation/clean up issues when we get it removed.
The radon test on the house came back too high, so we're asking the sellers to do some radon mitigation or drop the price to cover the cost of us doing it. The good news is it's pretty cheap (under $2k) and the EPA says that the method that the contractor recommended almost always gets an 80-99% reduction in levels. The house is at 10 pCi/L and 4 pCi/L is the action level, so that should get it down no problem.
(Aside: Apparently radon mitigation normally runs $800-1200, but there's a big spot in the basement that is dirt, not concrete, so first they have to pour a concrete slab. Kudos to our realtor for getting an estimate on the price to fix it - I was going to ask for less.)
The radon stuff is interesting - apparently you can't just ventilate the house and deal with the problem - you get a chimney effect where the house sucks more radon out of the ground if you do. Instead, they do sub-slab depressurization, where they put some pipes under the basement slab and run a pipe up the above the roof, where there's a fan providing a little bit of suction. Radon goes up the pipe, instead of through cracks and into the house.
We both like this one.
Huh. How did I get logged in as Tim?? --Cathy
Pondering what to do with the kitchen - I mean, after we put holes in all the walls to rewire it, and maybe redo the plumbing while we have the holes... Should we go vintage?
There are more photos of Modi's new house in the photo album.
