Seattle — A new shipment of fans arrived at Stoneway Hardware Tuesday morning like a cool breeze on a hot day. Monday's record-breaking heat led customers to snag every last fan in the store. The guys at Stoneway hope this shipment lasts the rest of the summer, because they say this early heat wave will make fans hard to find. "The supply chain has a pretty good lag, and when it's hot all across the West Coast everybody runs out," said Jerry Smith. "That's why we bought so many. Because a week can make all the difference and there won't be any to buy the next week."
Bob Toepfer was the first customer to get his hands on the new shipment. "Got a couple fans because my kids have been burning up in the hot attic bedroom," said Toepfer. When asked if this heat wave makes him consider air conditioning he said no. "We just sweat it out, we don't really feel we need it."
Not everyone feels that way. Many air conditioning contractors were too busy to even do a quick interview on Tuesday. Richie Grant of AirPros Energy squeezed in a gas station meeting in between jobs. "I ended up working till 8 at night last night doing an install in a 120-degree attic," said Grant, who is busy with new installs and repairs. "It'll be crazy for the next few weeks, then it'll taper off and steady out and should be busy all the way through till September."
If you just can't take the heat and you want to install air conditioning, Grant says it'll cost between $4,000 and $5,000 for a 2,000-square-foot house. When you compare that to $15 for a fan you can understand why people like Toepfer choose to tough it out.
KIRO
