Install tech took advantage of us!

[hllywood14]

have been reading this forum for a few days and, over the weekend had a 2.1/2 ton split unit installed...orig I was to have a trunk line and about 6-7 runs for my 2nd story of 2 story house..we mainly live up here have gas downstairs...i was at work and the wife paid the install man before i got home..come to find out wasn't the best company....the man installed an air handler inside my closet..(thats ok no prob there)...1 air return under air handler about a 36x24 box under unit with a round hole cut in it....when I went into the attic I found a 30x30 box poorly insulated in an unconditioned space that had 6----6 inch runs from it... poor air in my far to runs...and all runs are 6 inch flex with most being over 10 feet and at least 2 of them are 30+ feet to the register....what is your advise as I will never have him in my house again.....what should I do to fix this without spending another XXXXX bucks as I thougt I was getting a good deal at XXXXX for a simple swap had an old central air unit in there.....

[Admin]

First, you need to read the rules of the site, no pricing.

I'm sure members will be telling you that you need to call a pro now to get it right.

[RyanHughes]

That is a pretty good deal. You can't expect great things such as new ductwork/sheetmetal work without paying the price for it. You got a typical "fly-by-night" install from what it sounds like. The best thing you can do now is call a contractor to come out and repair the system and bring it up to your standards. You could call the other company back and tell them that what you got was not what you were expecting, but that may not do much. What was written in the quote? What is the brand of the equipment?

[hllywood14]

didn't relize i was putting price in I was just in a big way of typing...frigidaire is the brand should be a matched system...both units are that brand anyway...tried calling the company back but the guy is never in..its a company that I am the tech, owner, and install guy...came as a recommened fellow..sure he was nice and gave a good quote but when the time came he ran..the quote was for a replacement...perform what ductwork was needed to bring exsisting duct work up to par..as it was before he pulled it all out in good shape and all metal...8 inch.....I think I got the shaft..but I am willing to invest a little more money and my own time to get it right..I have been thinking of a design that I think will work but would like a pro to let me know..I will be doing a sketchup drawing of my living space and the design I was thinking and post..but should I try to do this on my own or take a chance on another contractor that may try to get me again and say my system won't work...so far most of the house stays around 70-71F but will not go past 72 even when its 55 outside.....and it runs all day and night....has only shut off 1 time and it was 62 outside and 71 inside......please help me...

[marter]

post pics :)

theres really no where to begin, report him to the BBB (although you can forget bout getting your money back). Did you get hes contractor license number, it should be on the quote/bill you could get his license revoked, depending on the laws in your state

check to see if the hard box is sealed around the seams with a good mastic(if theres any at all) chances are none of the flex he ran is sealed and your probably putting out my cool air into the attic then in your rooms, if your return is square and the hole is round im sure your blocking off alot of the surface area, you could check for kinks in the flex, and feel for leaks, those runs seem to far without some kind of duct booster installed

theres alot that needs to be checked and fast, cause with that unit running all the time like you say. your power bill will be though the roof
it should be checked by another company (do some research first)

[hllywood14]

the bill and quote i have was on a bill pad that you can get from a place like SAM's or walmart or something..I thought it was just a basic quote thing but he billed my wife on it 2.....no number no contact information nothing..but he did leave some blank papers for me to fill out about my warranty...which I did and sent in...

[andserco]

Whats ur location?.....if the person will not call you back, see if the person that gave the lead on this guy can get ahold of him.....

[hllywood14]

I'm in southern West Virginia, here are some photos
http://img213.imageshack.us/img213/1201/1001365hv9.th.jpg (http://img213.imageshack.us/my.php?image=1001365hv9.jpg)
http://img213.imageshack.us/img213/5645/1001366rz9.th.jpg (http://img213.imageshack.us/my.php?image=1001366rz9.jpg)
http://img404.imageshack.us/img404/8550/1001368ey0.th.jpg (http://img404.imageshack.us/my.php?image=1001368ey0.jpg)
URL=http://img404.imageshack.us/my.php?image=1001371ie1.jpg]http://img404.imageshack.us/img404/4769/1001371ie1.th.jpg[/URL]
I will post more of the attic work and duct runs when I can crawl up there...

[andserco]

Thx for your locale, maybe a local guy on here could give you an onsite evaluation...

[crmont]

Man that image shack hosting site sucks. I got 5 popups and one of them won't close...:mad:

[beenthere]

Your system needs a lot of help.

Get another contractor. This one doesn't seem concerned about how well yours works.

[bmathews]

I think the money you thought you saved, you will now spend. See if the quote he gave you and the list of items to be done are written down. Without that, its he said she said. If he wrote down one thing and gave you another, perhaps small claims court. Of course I'm sure he has nothing to get and you can't get blood from a turnip. IMO, time to regroup and get a reputable guy out to fix it.

[tinknocker service tech]

uf there was apermit pulled like it should have been then call for inspection and the inspector will make sure he fixes it right

if not then call a new company and exspect to pay to have it ripped out and done right

[cbh04]

Return air holes definetely too small!

[bmathews]

[QUOTE=tinknocker service tech;1705515]uf there was apermit pulled like it should have been then call for inspection and the inspector will make sure he fixes it right

if not then call a new company and exspect to pay to have it ripped out and done right[/QUOTE

Where I'm at. A lot of places have nowhere to pull a permit. When one is pulled, whatever city really doesn't care that much about it, they just want the money. That is hardly the answer for anything. This guy is acting as an inspector, he doesn't like the job. Whether the inspector liked it or not, who cares. He already paid the dude. What is an inspector gonna do? Go to the guy's house and beat him up for the money?

Just go hire somebody else to fix it and don't pay until after you like it and NEVER pay the whole job upfront. Maybe a % to get materials, that keeps everybody's iron in the fire to get the job done. That says you don't have confidence in your work if you want it all upfront.

[tinknocker service tech]

[quote=tinknocker service tech;1705515]uf there was apermit pulled like it should have been then call for inspection and the inspector will make sure he fixes it right

if not then call a new company and exspect to pay to have it ripped out and done right[/QUOTE

Where I'm at. A lot of places have nowhere to pull a permit. When one is pulled, whatever city really doesn't care that much about it, they just want the money. That is hardly the answer for anything. This guy is acting as an inspector, he doesn't like the job. Whether the inspector liked it or not, who cares. He already paid the dude. What is an inspector gonna do? Go to the guy's house and beat him up for the money?

Just go hire somebody else to fix it and don't pay until after you like it and NEVER pay the whole job upfront. Maybe a % to get materials, that keeps everybody's iron in the fire to get the job done. That says you don't have confidence in your work if you want it all upfront.

sorry to hear you dont have inspectors
now arround here if the job fails inspection you are given a certain amout of time to do whatever is needed to pass or you will recieve heavy fines for noncompliance. This the reason for my question to the op. You are also reqired to give a load calc along with the pirmit app or it is knock down before you even start. It is hard to get away with a job like this here in jersey

i also said bring in a new contractor to do what ever is needed to do the job correctly. He can then go to court and get his money back from the first guy
it would be a lot easer if the first guy was noncompliance on the permit to get his money. permits i agree is all about the money but at the same time they are also for the most part to protect the homeowner from jobs like what you see in the pictures JMHO

[tuckerin]

What the hay, get yourself some cardboard and 8" flex duct, anything you do will be an improvement, you just might have been bottom fishing for price and got what you wanted..Maybe some pro in your area will feel some compassion and keep the air handler and rplace the rest..

[hllywood14]

do you think there is anything I can do to help fix things? other than hire another...I will post some picts of the ductwork.....If I can't fic thigs I will search for someone else to fix it up.....I hope this doesn't run more than antoher grand or so..

[troyorr]

How did the tech take advantage of your wife? What did the contract you signed state in detail the work and materials?

[marter]

am i the only one who read the title of this thread and thought of something totally unrelated to the subject matter inside :cool:

[mcginkleschmidt]

am i the only one who read the title of this thread and thought of something totally unrelated to the subject matter inside :cool:

In fact that was the first thought that came to mind and I thought some Neanderthal tech had exceeded the bounds of propriety. But after getting into the meat of the subject, I almost blushed for thinking such thoughts. LOL

[Wild]

do you think there is anything I can do to help fix things? other than hire another...I will post some picts of the ductwork.....If I can't fic thigs I will search for someone else to fix it up.....I hope this doesn't run more than antoher grand or so..

Nope nothing you can do to fix it. That duct system needs to be taken down and then start from scratch. There are a few things you could do that would improve it but you still wouldn’t get any decent performance out of it, so don’t waste any more time and money in trying to make this existing duct system work. This isn’t a DIY site so even if I wanted to give you bad advice on how to “improve” that flex duct octopus in your attic I wouldn’t be able to.

Try to research companies in your area and then have the best two or three come out and give you estimates. Then tell us what they proposed to do and we’ll be able to help you identify which contractor will be your best bet.

Can’t comment on price either but let me put it this way don’t get your hopes up. ;)

Feel bad for you and your wife, hope you guys have better luck with this next contractor.



P.S. You don’t need to post pictures of the attic I already know what a octopus looks like. :D
Unfortunately all to well. :(

[Wild]

am i the only one who read the title of this thread and thought of something totally unrelated to the subject matter inside :cool:

They both got taken advantage of. I think Hollywood14 just wanted his thread to get attention hence the title. What a disappointment though I was hoping to read something juicy. :D

[jasond1011]

sounds to me like you got exactly what you paid for. a cheap budget half butt job . lucky he didn't take the wife home with him . why weren't you home to do mans work and ask questions? why didn't you get an itemized bid on what he would be doing? why didn't you get three bids and choose the least or second least bid? why didn't the inspector of the job you permitted find any problems and have it rejected and make him come back and fix it for free?

[HeyBob]

We can't tell you how to fix it either. You need top call another contractor or get the original one back.

NO DIY HELP!

[HeyBob]

Oh yea.........new title also! :D

[t527ed]

Oh yea.........new title also! :D



old title drew more attention..............:D

[marter]

old title drew more attention..............:D

im sure you could find some nice movies on that subject matter

:D:cool:;)

[HeyBob]

old title drew more attention..............:D


Yes it did........any title I run across like that get's POOFED! :cool:

[Twilly]

Yea, when Twilli read it at first Twilli thought he got caught again

[HeyBob]

Yea, when Twilli read it at first Twilli thought he got caught again


:D:D

[RoBoTeq]

The thread starter's not having a proper email addy has me a bit concerned as to the validity of this situation. There is no way for us to really know that this is not a botched DIY job that the DIYer is trying to get free advice on how to correct.

The job was done on a weekend that hubby was working. That alone makes me wonder about the installer being an actual contractor.

Seems that by the original thread title, everyone involved just may have got what they each bargained for. I'd say the little lady made out the best though.

[Twilly]

The girls all say "God I hope Twilli comes back soon"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZlrAh4P3nHQ

[Twilly]

Twilli says he loves her.....and Twilli does want her.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L10MS5dFLRI&feature=related

[Twilly]

Twilli can't break the rules by telling you how to fix your system, but Twilli can tell you How to Make a Broken Heart..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KlcJ7Y0DcmE&feature=related

[Wild]

Wild think Twilli should audition for Young and the Restless.