We Buy Houses in Kansas City . . . the Octopus in the Basement

This is a home we purchased back in 2002 or 2003, the records are a bit sketchy. And try as we might, we just can’t remember the details. As we look at the photos of this Kansas City house we do note all the stickers in the windows, which tells us it was a bank-owned home. And then we found it, the “octopus” in the basement.

So what do we mean by an octopus? Well the furnaces of a very long time ago, looked like a giant octopus.

These old-time heating units were gravity furnaces. These antiquated furnaces were installed from the late 1800s to the 1950s. They had the big old barrel where the fuel-fed the fire – either coal in the original models or gas as they were converted. Then it had all these tubes or tentacles that went across the basement to open vents and it relied on gravity and the way warm air rises to heat the house through the ductwork. Not fuel efficient by any means, but hey fuel was cheap.

Then to add pain to the misery, all those tentacles were wrapped in asbestos to insulate the entire contraption. And while asbestos was used extensively back then, we now know that breathing in fibers from asbestos can and will kill you. So if you have one of these giant monstrosities in your house, leave that white stuff alone. Do not touch it and hire a qualified professional to remove it.

If you have a home that you need to sell and it has an octopus in the basement, give us a call. We have bought several houses like this and know how to take care of the problem.

---