polight
06-30-2006, 10:08 AM
I'm sure someone will have an opinion on this. I recently had a Lennox 2T HP installed. I kept my existing Carrier Gas furnace as it's a Duel Fuel installation. When it was part way through I stopped them because I realized that they were not going to replace the plenum to match the coil, but were going to build an adaptor as shown in the illustration below. They said that the bid didn't include replacing the plenum, and that this is a proper install. They then said if I wanted the plenum replaced it would be another $500.00! I felt like I was being held up, so I told them to install it as they were and I would deal with it later.
http://home.centurytel.net/layton//house/Heat Pump/Install.jpg
Well, a Lennox rep is coming out on the 6th and I'll voice my complaints to him. I just feel as though it should have been bid with the plenum sized to the coil. This installation may work and it will heat and cool fine, which is what the contractor kept saying, but I KNOW that it won't work as efficiently as it would if the flow of air down through the coil was not partially blocked by the floor as it is now. Had it been mentioned as an extra cost for the install, I probably would have had no problem paying it up front. And I have no problem with the rest of the installation. They did a very good job and it looks great. I'm upset because I thought I was signing a bid for them to install it correctly.
An analogy I think fits is this: You go to a garage because your brake lights don't work. He estimates $100.00 to fix it. You come back and he's wired a switch to sit under your brake pedal. You complain and he says, "What's the problem here. This will work fine. You didn't say you wanted it fixed to factory specs. That'll be another $50.00 to do it that way." How long would that guy be in business?
Let me know what you think of this as an install. Would you have given the homeowner an option to replace the plenum or included it in your bid?
http://home.centurytel.net/layton//house/Heat Pump/Install.jpg
Well, a Lennox rep is coming out on the 6th and I'll voice my complaints to him. I just feel as though it should have been bid with the plenum sized to the coil. This installation may work and it will heat and cool fine, which is what the contractor kept saying, but I KNOW that it won't work as efficiently as it would if the flow of air down through the coil was not partially blocked by the floor as it is now. Had it been mentioned as an extra cost for the install, I probably would have had no problem paying it up front. And I have no problem with the rest of the installation. They did a very good job and it looks great. I'm upset because I thought I was signing a bid for them to install it correctly.
An analogy I think fits is this: You go to a garage because your brake lights don't work. He estimates $100.00 to fix it. You come back and he's wired a switch to sit under your brake pedal. You complain and he says, "What's the problem here. This will work fine. You didn't say you wanted it fixed to factory specs. That'll be another $50.00 to do it that way." How long would that guy be in business?
Let me know what you think of this as an install. Would you have given the homeowner an option to replace the plenum or included it in your bid?