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Just Leave It, No One Will Notice

When we hire people to do a job in our homes or really any where for that matter, we expect the job to be done right. Unfortunately there are some people or companies that seem they are not interested in providing good service. Or perhaps they may have a less than stellar employee. Whatever the reasons for low quality we have to be careful who we select to do a job.

pipe I recently did a pre-sale inspection for a husband and wife who by their own admission can not change a light bulb. Because they are not handy they rely heavily on service providers to do work around their home.

From an inspectors stand point the home was well cared for and maintained; new roof, updated kitchen and bath and a newer furnace.

When I got to the job of inspecting the furnace is when a problem became apparent. The homeowners stated the unit had been installed in 2005 by XYZ Company. They would be coming by tomorrow to service the unit for the first time since installation.

What?

The homeowners explained since they have a pellet stove, the furnace actually gets little use.

I asked them have they ever changed the furnace filter.

No was the answer. Where is it, they asked.

I said well it's right here on top of the unit. You just take off the cover and pull out the.....filter

The filter was not coming out without some dismantling of the air intake pipe. By dismantling I mean cutting and re-gluing.

This kind of stuff makes me crazy. You know the guys who put this in knew about the pipe and yet they left it in the way of the filter. I also believe they left it wrong because they knew the homeowners, who are very honest about themselves, would quite possibly never discover their goof.

My advice to the homeowners was to have the company fix the mistake when they come to service the furnace and I would demand the service and repair is free.

James Quarello
NRSB #8SS0022
JRV Home Inspection Services, LLC

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Posted by James Quarello - ASHI Certified CT Home Inspector on 10/28/2009 06:01 AM

Comments (16)

Furnace Filters in the ActiveRain Channel

heating systems, furnaces, furnace filters, wallingford connecticut ct home inspectors, wallingford connecticut ct home inspections, ashi certified

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16 Comments on Just Leave It, No One Will Notice

OCT

Jim, took me a minute before I could type as I was LAUGHING a bit too hard. Ghesh, amazing. And I am sure they paid a pretty penny to have that furnace installed. What were those guys thinking? Oh wait, they weren't! You just have to be so careful.

Oh my goodness, that is just plain wrong. Not just mechanically, but morally. I hate when someone takes advantage of a situation. Hope they get it taken care of successfully at no charge!

I always love it as well, when you have to dismantle the furnace, work around a, sometimes hot, vent pipe to change filters that are located inside the unit. Anytime I run into these, I always recommend upgrading by having a HVAC contractor fabricate a filter access on the exterior plenum to facilitate easy replacement. http://activerain.com/blogsview/709980/an-easy-homeowner-maintenance-tip-

James....what a terrible story.....this is what the judicial system is for.....it's just criminal that those people were taken advantage of.

Nice find Jim. That is something they are definitely going to want to take care. The ehating company should never have installed it that way, what a shame.

Who are these people who install equipment in such a shoddy fashion? Is it possible that any idiot with a wrench, hammer and a can of glue can pass himself off as an installation pro? Jeez!

Don't you just hate those magic self cleaning filters?:)

Two "BONEHEAD" awards (southern term) are appropriate in this case: One to the brainiacs who installed the unit, and the other one to the homeowners who had never changed their filter in five years - little use or not! Hilarious!