"Harry Muscle" wrote in message
oups.com...
I've been doing some research in preparation for next year when I will
be replacing my gas furnace and a lot of people seem to mention that
the make of the furnace doesn't matter as much as the quality of the
installation ... but what exactly does that mean?

The furnance comes preassembled from the factory more or less so it's
not like the contractor is building the thing. How can a poor
installation ruin a good furnace? What makes it a poor installation?
Are we talking about the preparation part of the installation, like
getting the correct size (BTUs), proper chimney size, correct vent
sizes, etc. ... or are those persons refering specifically to the
installation part ... what can go wrong during that part?

Installation generally means two or three guys more interested in getting
off work than anything else. This means they'll take whatever shortcuts
they can and not really care about what they might do to your house, either
cosmetically or functionally.

We replaced our furnace and A/C a couple of years ago with similar units and
if I wasn't home and asking questions I would have had some pretty ugly
hackery done to my house, including fresh air vents where I didn't want
them, wiring where I didn't want it and a water heater moved(!) where I
didn't want it. All of what they would have done was for their convenience
in getting in and out as fast as possible.

As far as the specific equipment goes, generally that's decided pretty
easily by the sales guy who checks what you have and how well it works vs.
what he wants to replace it with. I agree that it's pretty largely a
drop-in replacement, but *how* its dropped in is what matters.

I'm sure there are some installers that are good as gold, but based on what
other homeowners in my area have complained about, I think they're rare.
Business, as usual, relies on volume and speed.