Question: We have lived in our home for more than 30 years.
About 13 years ago, we decided to have you inspect our home because
we were getting ready to retire and wanted to make all the
necessary repairs.
One of the major items on your inspection list was that our
ductwork in the crawl space was rusted in two and needed to be
replaced. We hired and paid a local heating contractor more than
$6,000 to do the work.
You inspected our home again this year and told us the ducts
were never repaired and that the work performed was shoddy and
unnecessary. Can you please tell our story so that others will not
be taken advantage of?
Answer: I will be glad to tell your tale.
You have a simple two-story home with a furnace located in the
garage near the first-floor rooms. If you had a basement with a
furnace, I can understand wanting to change the duct system.
Your heating contractor added what is called a zoned duct system
where the flow of air through the ducts can be turned off or on to
the first and second floors as needed. You have two thermostats,
one on the first floor and one on the second.
This is a very expensive attempt to properly condition the home,
when all that was needed was to repair the gaping hole in the
supply and return ducts.
The ductwork added by the contractor was within 2 feet of the
damaged duct and the cold air blowing out had cooled the crawl
space well below that of the first and second floors. In addition,
the contractor did not seal the ducts at the joints and seams and
one duct extension had come loose and a hole that had been cut
further along the duct was open because the taped-on cover had come
loose.
Now, after 13 years what are your options?
Contact the contractor's company to see if they are still in
business and tell them the original problem was never repaired. In
my opinion, an honest contractor would make things right, but if
they resist I would contact an attorney. Get a legal opinion on
your options before making the repairs.
