Was it me?

October Home

Today I got the phone call no home inspector likes to get. "There's no heat in the house you inspected yesterday. It must have been something you did."

Oh boy. I'm wondering, did I flip the service switch back on? Yes I did. I remember because after that the boiler fired up and I went to all the radiators and felt for heat. Then I turned the thermostats down.

"Well it must have been something you did because it was working before you got there."

So I go to the house and meet the "heating guy" who lectures that I should "never turn off the safety switch" and that I should "take some courses in heating before you mess with these things" and he shows me a relay switch that I busted because I turned off the safety switch and didn't "know how to turn it back on." and that when a safety switch is turned off "you have to call a technician to turn it back on."

Sigh. By this time I'm figuring I'm not talking to a heating guy. He admits he's "been in construction for 20 years." But the relay swich was bypassed by his "friend" who will replace it. Now there's heat so it must be my fault. I fork over an appology and $125 for the "friend's" service call.

Wetheads, could it have been something I did? Or was I at the wrong place at the wrong time?

Natural Gas Fueled HydroTherm Boiler, 100,000 BTU, Model # HI 125B, Wall vented power exhaust.

Respectfully, Arlene

Unknown

ummmm...

never mind....

Dale

Perhaps

Some equipment must be reset if the power supply is interrupted. Some times the reset is only turning the stat down and up again. Good lesson. If you touch heating equipment make sure it works as designed ,which is by control of the stat, before you leave. What you did was Good customer relations on your response, IMHO.

Steamhead

Doesn't sound like your fault

because the system was running after you turned it back on.

The switch you turned off was the one with the red plate marked "emergency switch", correct? Or the power switch by the boiler? Either way, you did the right thing by making sure it was working. The system should have started up and continued to work, the same as if there had been a power failure.

I don't agree that you need a technician to restart a residential boiler any time the power has been interrupted, as by turning the switch off then back on. If that were true, we'd all be running ragged after each power failure.

Sounds to me like they were looking for someone to blame.



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Glenn Harrison

Wrong place at the wrong time!

Sounds like you just happen to be lucky enough to touch a piece of equipment that had already been "rigged" by a "friend" and by doing your job as you normally would, they got caught and you wound up paying for it. My suggestion would have been to have your own technician come out with you to check this out after you were told what you were told, and him him confirm the original diagnosis, and that the saftey was bypassed. As much as it's good customer service, I don't think you shoud have had to pay for someone else's rigging. Most importantly, I hope you documented this situation and "friends" repair as an adendum to you inspection report so it doesn't come back and get you a second time.

Oh, I dont see where you did anything wrong, and I certainly don't see where shutting of the power to the unit would have tripped a properly running piece of equipment, and if it would, it would have done it when you were there, not the next day.

Just my 2¢ worth.

Glenn Harrison, Residential Service Techician

Althoff Industries, Crystal Lake, Illinois

Althoff Industies Link

Unknown

Hi Arlene

just got home and read your post.

I agree with Glenn and Steamhead I think they saw you coming.

There is nothing that I know of that would be affected to the point of needing a part replaced based on what you did. At the least as Dale pointed out it may have gone off on some sort of lockout which should have only required a resetting of the thermostat or power switch.

Before you let this happen again make them prove to you that you did something wrong. I am sure knowing you it was a case of wanting to do the right thing by your customer.

You might still asked to see the part that was replaced and have some one take a look at it. If you want ship it to me and I will take a look at it and give you my opinion. No Charge. Better yet you need to get to my classes so these folks can't fool you.

Do not feel bad we have all been through this kind of thing. We go in to do a job and then the next day they call and say we did something wrong. Scott Milne a while back had a post about soot on a job and he I think ended up paying even though he was not in the wrong. Sometimes it is just good business.

joel_14

welcome to the club

Happens all the time. I don't know if you did anything wrong but i can say we get blamed all the time for stuff. My favorites are when they call sometimes days or weeks later and expect you to fix it for free "because it must be your fault you where just here..." We have lots of houses with multiple systems and we'll fix one only to have an entirly seperate unit go down later and have people expect us to fix the other one. kind of like getting a new brake job on your car then going back a couple weeks later when the motor blows up and blaming the brake guy.

October Home

Thank you Wetheads

You've given me a lot to think about. I got a hold of the manual

http://www.hydrotherm.com/pdf/PV2-1100.pdf

and will look at that as well. You're right, Timmie, I SHOULD get a hold of that part. And you're right, Glenn, I've got to make sure the repair is documented. I'll think about your replies and think of what to do next.

Thanks for the reassurances.

Your Wethead Wannabe, Arlene

Mark Hunt

No way you caused this


If turning off power caused this problem then a simple power outage could have caused it as well. Was the power interupted at any point?

You are the sharpest home inspector I have ever met (Wetstock 1) and I would bet my last dollar that you did NOT cause this.

Mark H

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ed wallace

you are not at fault

you are not at fault the handy man was to blame not you

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Richard Miller_2

Idea...

Get us some pics of the "broken"part and post them here!

Joe_13

Get a work completed sheet

I would demand a written work order of what was done and submit it back to the home owner/seller/buyer stating that a saftey violation exsisted. The owner should pay. Wouldn't this be cause for a fine by the fire department or a city building inspector?

Earthfire

power off

If you turn off the breaker or the switch to a residential heating unit and the power is turned back on and the unit does not come back on after a preset time delay there is a defect in the heating equipment. Sounds to me like you have been ripped of by the home owner.If I was inspecting that building I would include a note that there may be other hidden "juryrigged "safety violations existing in the structure.

Rich_2

It seems to me you uncovered a defective part , you did your job, shouldn't have paid him a dime

Mad Dog

Arlene, you are a lady and a good business woman

That happens to us too. But, You really shouldn't be touching anything on the heating system - even a safety switch. Why? Is it because you need to be certified to flip a switch? NO! But once you touch it or were the last one there...you own it (in the ho's mind). As a home inspector, I don't expect you not to turn faucets and stuff, but if I were you, I would make the ho do the dirty work with switches and thermostats - you are merely observing. In many cases, the switches are old and ready to go, and you just happened to be the one who touched it. You didn't have to reimburse, but you did the right thing Mad Dog

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October Home

> That happens to us too. But, You really

> shouldn't be touching anything on the heating

> system - even a safety switch. Why? Is it because

> you need to be certified to flip a switch? NO!

> But once you touch it or were the last one

> there...you own it (in the ho's mind). As a home

> inspector, I don't expect you not to turn faucets

> and stuff, but if I were you, I would make the ho

> do the dirty work with switches and thermostats -

> you are merely observing. In many cases, the

> switches are old and ready to go, and you just

> happened to be the one who touched it. You didn't

> have to reimburse, but you did the right thing

> Mad Dog

>

> _A

> HREF="http://www.heatinghelp.com/getListed.cfm?id=

> 210&Step=30"_To Learn More About This Contractor,

> Click Here to Visit Their Ad in "Find A

> Contractor"_/A_

October Home

Mad Dog, Thank you

What a nice thing to say.

About the service switch, I *have* to turn it off. I have to see that it works and I have to do a visual inspection of the unit and must turn it off for my safety. Its expected.

I feel now, after reading these posts, that I encountered a "cost of doing business." Also, I received A LOT of useful advice. I thank you all. Getting a work order is a great idea. And, its in the best interest of my client.

What galled me more than the $, I think, was listening to that jerk lecture me when he didn't know what he was talking about. I'm humble and always willing to (and needing to)learn but it drives me crazy the way he spoke with such authority and superiority on the subject. It didn't take me long to make him admit he wasn't the "heating guy" he was pretending to be.

This particular client buys a lot of multi-family buildings, give me all her work and speaks well of me. I have to get over my anger and deal with this from the point of view of the safety of her tenants.

Your always learning home inspector, Arlene

Richard Miller_2

Arlene, you just gotta be

one of the best HI I ever met! Your attitude rocks!