On Tue, 5 Jul 2011 16:26:35 -0700 (PDT), "
wrote:
:On Jul 4, 12:46*pm, "DGDevin" wrote:
: "Dan Musicant" *wrote in message
:
: ...
:
: I get an unsolicited call around a month ago and it's a woman who says
: they are with a program that might install a heater in my house
: (Berkeley, CA).
:
: Take a pass. *There is always another deal around the corner, and anyone who
: says you need to sign right now should cause you concern. *You should get
: quotes from at least two other contractors, and you should ask for the
: numbers of several customers you can talk to about their experiences with
: this company. *From what you posted here this company smells fishy to me, at
: the very least they're trying to over-charge you.
:
:Nobody commented on this gem:
:
:" Without bothering to go up into the attic or
:have a close look to see if ducting is possible from the crawl space
:to
:the 2nd floor, he decides it's not feasible (he may be right in that,
:but I'm not at all sure), he tells me if I want other than heat
:rising
:up the stairwells I need that 2nd heater in the attic. "
:
:That alone is enough to cross this company off your list. A real,
:honest,
rofessional company would have looked over the entire house BEFORE
:writing any proposal. To just start quoting installing a second
:furnace in
: an a attic without even looking at it is a sure sign of a shyster.
:To size
:the systems correctly they also need to know the true size of the
:house,
:what kind of insulation, window types and numbers, etc.
On Tue, 5 Jul 2011 16:26:35 -0700 (PDT), in alt.home.repair you wrote:
:On Jul 4, 12:46*pm, "DGDevin" wrote:
: "Dan Musicant" *wrote in message
:
: ...
:
: I get an unsolicited call around a month ago and it's a woman who says
: they are with a program that might install a heater in my house
: (Berkeley, CA).
:
: Take a pass. *There is always another deal around the corner, and anyone who
: says you need to sign right now should cause you concern. *You should get
: quotes from at least two other contractors, and you should ask for the
: numbers of several customers you can talk to about their experiences with
: this company. *From what you posted here this company smells fishy to me, at
: the very least they're trying to over-charge you.
:
:Nobody commented on this gem:
:
:" Without bothering to go up into the attic or
:have a close look to see if ducting is possible from the crawl space
:to
:the 2nd floor, he decides it's not feasible (he may be right in that,
:but I'm not at all sure), he tells me if I want other than heat
:rising
:up the stairwells I need that 2nd heater in the attic. "
:
:That alone is enough to cross this company off your list. A real,
:honest,
rofessional company would have looked over the entire house BEFORE
:writing any proposal. To just start quoting installing a second
:furnace in
: an a attic without even looking at it is a sure sign of a shyster.
:To size
:the systems correctly they also need to know the true size of the
:house,
:what kind of insulation, window types and numbers, etc.
Thank you very much for this post. More than any other it confirms my
suspicions. I was looking at the whole thing through rose colored
glasses.
I might even install my own system (maybe with help). I had a long talk
with a friend over the phone this afternoon. He's installed two heating
systems himself, one in a home he bought, fixed up and sold and the
other in a property he co-owns and rents. He told me to work up
dimensions for my rooms. volumes for each room, a plan, visit Home Depot
and look at their heating systems, possibly look online for used
furnaces, etc.
In any case, I think it would be smart to get several quotes from local
contractors. My friend tells me that with the economy being what it is,
I will likely get some pretty low quotes.
Dan
Email: dmusicant at pacbell dot net