How NOT to provide access to a furnace!

Glenn Harrison

House is about 10 years old, raised ranch style. Customer bought it brand new, and had a contractor come in and finish half the basement for extra bedrooms. This is a picture of the access the basement contractor provided from in one of the bedrooms. The slot is for changing the filter, and has a piece of trim to cover it. The sad part is the basement is wide open on the back side of the furnace so the furnace could have been rotated and this lame access wouldn't have been needed. Now he has to either rotate the furnace, or provide a full door for access.

I feel sorry for this guy, because the reason I was there was because he had had the original contractor out two months ago for no heat and decided he didn't trust them ( you'll see why in a second). The previous company spent six hours there, half of which on the phone to the boss for ideas. The pilot would lite but no main burner. First he tried a new gas valve, didn't work, then he tried bending the flame rod into the pilot flame, didn't work. Finally replaced the ignition module. The clincher is he put the wrong module in. This furnace had separate spark and sensor rods, and the module he put in was a one rod type so now it senses thru a small spark rod that was not designed for flame sensing. Finally got to a point where it couldn't sence thru the spark rod. What is the final problem, DIRTY PILOT ORIFACE! So I install a new correct style module, replace the flame sensor, clean the pilot assembly, and it fires like a champ. Customer even says that's the fastest it's lit and the strongest the pilot flame has looked in a long time. Then I give him the invoice, and he says that's about half of what the other comapny charged me (and I'm there on double time). They charge him for the full six hours, and all the parts they put in that he didn't need. Now the guy has been screwed by a heating and remodeling contractors. At least I know we have his business forever now.

Glenn Harrison, Residential Service Techician

Althoff Industries, Crystal Lake, Illinois

<a href="http://www.althoffind.com" target="_blank">Althoff Industies Link</a>

Patchogue Phil_8

Ingenuity?

And I'll bet the basement remodeler thought he was so clever with his access door and trim.

J.C.A.

C'mon Glenn,

You mean you can't "suck it in " and work in that space for a couple of minutes at a time ?

Doesn't it frost your cookies when there isn't even enough room to turn your head in the space you are supposed to repair things in ? Clearences ARE put right on the Model/Serial # tag . Do the builders think the manufacturer put them there to pass some code ? OF COURSE THEY DID ! The boob who passed the furnace for inspection (there was one .....right ?) should be the guy to repair it the first time it breaks . I bet the picture I saw wouldn't pass if he had to fit his sorry carcus in there .
You're a patient and fine man for doing this job without chewing the original contractor a new orifice for disposing of his bodily by-products. I'm seeing this more and more and it makes me upset . These people are spending their hard earned savings , and should get what they pay for . A heating unit put in , that cannot be serviced isn't what I would pay for . A contractor , trying to maximise space at the expence of cutting open a wall to fix a heater is not one I would do business with .

Unfortunately , we all have to deal with this more and more everyday , and we all hold our thoughts in , till we can come up with a solution that is a good fit for both us , and the owner . More often than not, the person who ends up making the most from these situations are lawyers, and that is APPALLING. Chris

sootmonkey

chain saw

me...hey buddy, i have a chain saw. him.....what else can we do? me....sawsall. end of subject.

Jeff Lawrence_11

remodeling?

A couple of points.

More than likely, the remodel job was not permitted. Most of the ones around here aren't. The homeowner really dosen't care because it costs him less.

Secondly, the remodeler, while he thought he was wise, did no one a favor. Who's going to get the bill for the wallboard repairs when the blower motor chokes and dies?

Steve Ebels

Brings to mind a sad but true.........

Tale regarding a heating contractor I know. This was some time ago in Grand Rapids Mich, before the days of code required combustion air. Probably wouldn't have helped here anyhow. The contractor (who was born and raised in this area) installed a new, natural draft furnace in the basement of a new home. Several years later the HO hired a carpenter to finish the basement. He promptly enclosed the furnace in a room of a little over 20 sq ft. and drywalled it. (You can see it coming can't you?) The furnace exhausted all the air in the little room and with no outside air provision, the chimney became a cold air return. One occupant died and one of the children suffered permanent brain damage. Guess who was sued and lost his business over this incident. (Hint, it wasn't the drywaller or the carpenter)

Glenn Harrison

Oh, I did suck it in:-)

I was able to get the furnace fixed, thank goodness to having longggg arms.

As far as that wall goes, it was put up after the house was inspected, sold , and occupied. The basement was unfinished as sold, then these bedrooms were done by a "contractor", which may have been a buddy on a weekend, or maybe the homeowner did it himself and felt to knuckleheaded to admit it to me. Either way I'm sure there was no permit, or inspection done. This is in a town that was originally summer cottages and is one of the Kings of half baked homeowner repairs, remoldelings and Saturday morning special side jobs. I think the county is actually in charge of permits and inspections, and there are so many contractors of one type or another living in the area that an inspector driving around coudn't tell who lives there and who works there.

Glenn Harrison, Residential Service Techician

Althoff Industries, Crystal Lake, Illinois

Althoff Industies Link

Glenn Harrison

Chain saw better be able to cut thru metal,

Because this is a metal stud wall ;-)