Brandon McCombs wrote:
Hello,

If you look back over the last week or 2 you'll see I had posts
regarding problems with my new A/C and furnace that were installed a few
months before I bought a 40 year old house.

It turns out that all the problems I had with the A/C and furnace were
all a result of the HVAC guys not knowing what they were doing. I have
now confirmed it rather than it being a hunch.

Besides the fact that the HVAC guys didn't test the A/C when they
installed it (I don't care if it was Fall/Winter, you still test), they
hooked up the condensate line for the A/C (from the furnace) into the
*output* line of my sump pump. I have 2 lines, both are output, from my
sump pump which are used for varying water depths. They hooked up the
condensate line to the output line that is used as the backup to the
primary one. So when the water got too high for the primary pump to
handle it the secondary pump kicked in and pumped the water out.

Unfortunately water was then pumped into the condensate line thus
blocking it and possibly forcing water into the furnace. Condensation
would back up inside the furnace when I would run the A/C. This happened
twice and I called the HVAC guy twice to try to figure out what was
going on (2nd time caused the circuit board to be fried). He blamed it
on the sump pump not working at all. After the 3rd time of having water
drip from places it shouldn't drip from and forming a large puddle, I
called the people who installed the pump. Upon seeing how the pipes were
running they immediately knew the problem and proceeded to re-route the
condensate line directly into the sump well rather than into an output
line. Luckily they didn't charge me.

Now my A/C works w/o making water go everywhere after some time running.
However since it took a while to diagnose the problem I've had water in
the finished area of my basement at least twice. I have minor
discoloration in the paint on the opposite side of the wall that is
about 6 inches from the one side of the furnace. The discoloration goes
up about 2 feet from the baseboard. On that same wall, there has been
mold growing on the baseboard as well as the wall itself. On the side of
that wall that faces the utility room you can see mold on the 2x4 that
runs along the floor that all the wall studs connect into. I've been
treating the finished side of the wall with bleach/water to get rid of
the mold on the baseboard and painted wall but it is not gone yet. THe
carpet was also wet. Luckily the carpet seems to be doing okay. I have
yet to get the mold to stop coming back but I'm working on it. In the
meantime, the water/bleach combo has removed some paint from my
baseboards on two walls so they will need repainted and possibly treated
to ensure the mold doesn't come back.

After that long winded explanation, the question I have is whether
anyone is liable for the water and mold problems? Is the HVAC company
liable or the home inspector or no one?

The home inspector is someone I had inspect a home I almost purchased
last year but after his report I passed on it. The sellers of my house
used the same inspector and he inspected this house when they bought it
and offered to come back for me at no charge. I agreed but he only did
spot-checks when he was here for me because the sellers had installed
all new equipment and addressed the major issues with the house.
However, he missed the A/C problem and also the incorrect connection of
the furnace condensate line to the sump pump. Had I remembered the A/C
wasn't here when he inspected it the first time I would have made sure
he inspected it.

I have yet to call the HVAC company to let them know that it was their
fault for all my problems. It was only Friday that the sump pump guys
were here to fix everything. I'm dying to tell the HVAC company though
that it was their fault the entire time. I'm not going to call them
though until I determine whether they could be held liable for my
mold/water problems because I'd bring that up in the same conversation.

What do you guys think? Sorry for any extraneous information.

thanks
Brandon

Have you consulted an attorney? That should be one of the
first things you do now.

TDD