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Ever Wonder Where Did the Money Go?

The Installation
Last month I told about the local HVAC companies that came to give me estimates for a replacement furnace and central AC.  Once again, 3 out of the 4 companies had a problem giving me estimates for the new equipment.  This month I'll tell you about the installation from the homeowner's point of view. I'll stick just to the highlights to save space.

After evaluating the estimates we decided to go with the most highly recommended local company.  The decision was based on the recommendations and the equipment quoted.  I would have preferred equipment from another manufacturer, but my perceived quality of the installation and service outweighed the equipment manufacturer (high efficiency furnace (94+) and high SEER AC (14)). 

I called the company and, after a short wait for the scheduler, was able to set up the installation date about 2 weeks from the date of the call.  They told me that it would take 3 days and that they would be here at 7:30 AM each day.  I had hoped that they would call to remind me of the appointment a day or two before as many professionals do, but they did not call.

Over the weekend before the installation, we cleared the area in and around the existing equipment so they could get to work without any problems. The Monday of the appointment came and we were ready at 7:30. Around 9:00 AM I looked out my front door and saw three trucks parked haphazardly in front of my house.  Three technicians were standing in the street drinking coffee and talking.  After about 10 minutes, one of them came to the front door to let me know that they were there.

They came in and we reviewed what we had and what they were going to do.  They were reluctant to give me any details of how the installation would progress.  I pressed them to review what they planned to do since one of the estimators had told us that we could not install a high efficiency system because of venting problems.  I didn't want to have them tear out my current system if they could not install the new high efficiency system.

The direct venting of the furnace was immediately recognized as the key factor.  After about 20 minutes of conversation among themselves, they could not decide where to vent.  The leading candidate was two 3" PVC lines that would run through the finished section of the basement.  They we not really clear on the length of the run allowed and made several calls to the office to discuss it.  After I told them about the ideas that the salesman had had regarding the vent, they finally decided to do the venting without passing through the living space. 

It was apparent that the only information they had about the job was the short, hand written estimate that the salesman had given to me.  No thought had been given to the job other than to be sure that they had the correct equipment.  They wasted about 45 minutes for 3 men in this planning phase.  At this point I was disappointed in their disorganization, but at least they sounded like they had done this type of job before.

They began to bring their tools into the house and spread a mat from the back door all the way to the furnace room.  This is a great idea, but the condition of the mat left something to be desired.  It was covered with metal and wood shavings, reeked of heating oil, and was generally filthy.  Every time I walked on it, I had to wipe my feet on a rug before I would walk into the rest of my house.  After they pulled the mat up, we noticed the oil stain on our stairway that had seeped from the mat.

I understand that this is a small thing, but a bad implementation of a good idea is no benefit.  On the second morning they stood the mats up in our kitchen and out dropped a pile of trash on the floor.  That's when they realized they needed to clean the mat.  So, they took it out into my driveway and shook it out. After they left, I had to go out and clean up the sheet metal screws they had dropped.

For the most part the installation was uneventful.  The furnace, coil, and condenser were put in place as expected.  The condensate pump was installed, and the venting was completed.  Being a normal consumer, I'll focus on the things that don't look so good. Here's a quick list of the minor problems:

• The pre-insulated lines between the coils and the condenser were slightly damaged because they didn't take the time to enlarge the existing hole in the foundation.  "Fixed" by covering the torn insulation with black tape. Two minutes with a hammer & chisel would have yielded a neater installation and would have been easier for them to install.
• Forgetting to close the secondary intake and exhaust ports before demonstrating the unit. I thought the unit was going to lift off. The tech did not seem to notice the huge noise.
• Trying to install a replacement thermostat that was the same make and model as the one already in place.  What's the benefit in that?
• Using a few hundred feet of tape to seal the old plenum to the new coil. Definitely not a professional look.

So, in all I got a system that will probably work well for many years.  This company will not be getting a recommendation from us when our neighbors ask who did our work.  They just were not impressive in the quality of their work, or their respect for my home.

The lack of proper training and execution can be illustrated with this example. As they were finishing the run though of how the system works, I asked if there was a manual for the furnace.  After 5 minutes, they realized that it was still packed inside the running furnace.  After they left, I opened the manual and immediately found the table for calculating the proper vent size and distances. Proper training and procedures would easily eliminate this type of problem.

What can we learn from this? 

1. Be professional!  Don't start off by being late and then taking your coffee break in front of the house. 
2. Treat my home with respect.  Leave it as clean as you found it. 
3. Be prepared.  At least know the basic technical details of the equipment like how to calculate the vent sizing and run distances. Calling the shop for help on basic installation questions does not inspire confidence.
4. Do the job right.  If you need to use a roll of tape, you probably need to make a new transition piece that actually fits.

Tune in Next Month for our conclusions about the whole process - the good and the bad.