John Grabowski wrote:

"Brandon McCombs" wrote in message
g.com...
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.


*Move on and get over it. Home inspectors are not qualified to check
every aspect of a home's construction. Some are not qualified period.
You would have been better off calling in the different trades to have a
look.

If you owe the HVAC company let them fight for their money. If not then

I was using the guy who had installed the unit and he wasn't charging me
for anything at all yet, especially since the first visit he knew was
due to his guys not properly finishing the job.

call it an educational expense. You will never use them again, you will
bad mouth them at every opportunity, and they will never get a
recommendation from you. If it will make you feel better write them a
letter telling them so. Include the bill from the sump pump guy and ask

The sump pump guy didn't charge me anything either. So far the only
thing I'll be out will be the money it takes to repaint some baseboards
and the wall. It could get as ugly as removing drywall and studs though
and replacing them before I paint. That's assuming I can fix the mold
issue on my own.

for reimbursement. Say you want them to pay for mold remediation.

Yes you can find an attorney who will take your money upfront and drag
it out for months or years and in the end you still won't have
satisfaction.

I don't think the job warrants paying for an attorney. I guess I'll call
the HVAC company and let them know what the problem was and base the
rest of my conversation on what they say. I'm expecting to have to chalk
it up to the woes of home ownership. The people who have been involved
were not of my choosing so it wasn't like I made bad choices. They were
all hired by the sellers of the house to do the work.

As far as the last person's statements regarding testing in the winter,
maybe there are limitations to when you can test an AC unit. Either way
though the guys didn't finish the job (testing the AC would have only
proven that to them) and I wasn't told they would have to come back. I
could have been out much more if the circuit board fried from the
incorrect routing of the condensate line hadn't been covered under warranty.

thanks for all the input.