Quotes on a radiant job

Robert O'Brien

much did you pay for this quote? I'm assuming nothing,so you got what you paid for. If you paid for this design, that time is completely unreasonable,you have every right to be ticked off.There is a tremendous amount of time involved in measuring and designing a system like this.The old saying"You can have it Cheap,Good or Fast,pick any two" applies.

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Joe_20

Quotes on a radiant job

I recently had a contractor come over to give me a quote on installing radiant heat in a currently forced air home...That was shortly after Christmas, at the end of January I called them to see how things were coming and was told about two more weeks...Well, two weeks passed and nothing....so I called again and didn't hear anything....So I called again and got a little "crappy" with the firm....
What is a reasonable time expectation for quoting? This place seems OK otherwise, but I'm concerned if I give them the job, they may never finish it....

Unknown

Waiting since Janurary seems a bit much. I try to get mine out within a couple weeks. I imagine you're nowhere near Hartford CT...

Contractor

With CAD files , a day or so on material alone. No way since January, that snot taking the time to do a good job thats taking your sweet time doing other jobs.

Mad Dog_2

Robert is correct.............................

If you aren't paying for a design, that is usually what you will get. If you did pay a fee, you are right to be miffed. Last year, we had some major personal losses that affected our normal business operations and time frames. A person we had been working on a design for were getting annoyed - justifiably-so. I think they were shocked but we returned the fee and gave them the design for free, just to smooth things over. Problems spring up...its how a company deals with it that seperates the best from the rest. Have you tried anyone from this site at Find A Professional? Mad Dog

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Glenn Sossin_2

Radiant Quote - whole house job

How did you come across this contractor ? Is he a RPA certified / member? I would strongly suggest you obtain atleast 2-3 quotes. It just ust makes good sense. I think a contractor, to be able to provide a proper estimate, needs to be part of a minimum 2 hour meeting / discussion about your job. You should be aksing questions- it's your home. Your designer should be asking alot more questions than you.

For example, are there college age kids? If so, it might make sense to zone off their bedroom so you can maintain a very low temp unitl they come home - why heat a room if no ones in it? If they're in school, use setback thermostats -again - why heat when theirs no one there? Conserve energy, conserve fuel, lower operating costs.

Are all the occupants adult / teenager so there is no one home during the day - out working? If so, you may want to consider zoning off rooms with setback thermostats.

If there is a housewife with children, you would probably want the childs roomed zoned off seperate from the other rooms so that it can have the temp mainatined all day for nap time. Keep the kitchen floor warm, alot of time is pent by housewives there during the day.

Typically, I usually zone every bedroom. You may have a teenage boy who likes his room cold at night while the daughter wants it nice and warm. What if someone is home sick? You would probably want to keep the heat on in their room, - even higher than normal maybe.

Are the clients grandparents? You might want to use a floor sensor in the family room floor to keep it warm where the grandkids are playing.

Maybe the wife likes to cook,- if so you may want a sensor in the kitchen floor - keep that comfy.

The heating system is often tied into the DWH system so there should be questions about the family make up. 3 teenage girls could stess your hotwater demands on a Friday night. Does the husband like to take long hot showers with body sprays ??

Are their eldery people - warm floors help circulation of the extremities. Is the first floor over an unheated crawl space or on a slab? Floor sensors might be in order.

Is the homeowner into technology ? He would probably like Tekmar Tn4. Is the homeowner into home automation? Accessing the heating system over the internet of interest? I am seeing more requests for hidden wall sensors with the stats located in some central location so there are no thermostats for the kids/guests to see, let alone touch. Depending on the products selected, you can control the whole house each room from a single display panel / thermostat.

It could be alot more complicated than you think. During the course of your meeting, you will get a feel for the competency of the contractor. See how well you interact with him. Unless you have specified from the start you are looking for a plain jane type system, questions like these should arise. If they don't, in my opinion, you don't have someone passionate about his work and interested in satisfying your needs.

If your waiting this long, there' a potential problem unless he is so busy, that he just can't get to you. It would seem that your not that important to him so I would be out looking for some other bids along with references and the last 3 jobs done. If there is some hesitation here, I'd start walking the other way.