Hiring Air Pro a heating contractor

Issues at hand: As a former contractor, I've hired a lot of subcontractors over the years. I not only understand their work, but I have the experience to do their work as well. So when I hire a contractor for my personal projects, I hire them the same as though they are working for my remodeling business: I do my homework, check references, and check their work.

My wife and I removed our dinosaur gas furnace after 20+ years. We also removed all the ductwork and reinstalled new rerouted ducts and floor registers. Basically, we got it to the point where it could be connected to a new air supply trunk, cold air return, and heating/air system.

To find a qualified heating contractor, I read the Yellow Pages and attended the spring and fall home and garden shows. I wanted a heating contractor who would work with me to create a system that could be incorporated into the unusual remodeling project underway at our home.

After reviewing the work and bids from at least five different contractors, I zeroed in on one. I had the contractor come to the house twice to make sure we were on the same page before I signed the contract.

The only thing not clear on the proposal was the plenum and the air supply trunk coming off of it. On the contractor's proposal dated February 27, 2007, under "Other (Description work below)," the contractor hand-wrote the following: "Duct System to be bid and done at another time. Price to be determined." I wrote a comment under his comment before I signed the proposal on July 6, 2007: "Duct System to be installed at the time of installation," and I also dated it: July 6, 2007.

Unfortunately, I was hurt two months prior to the Frigidaire gas furnace and cooling system installation so I had a friend help finish the last of the rough framing and ductwork. I had surgery the day before the installation, so the following day I did my best to watch the project in motion; however, I had a hard time concentrating because of the medication I was taking as well as the pain.

When I got outside to the heat pump installation, I saw that it had already been installed and was too close to the neighbor's fence. Unfortunately, the coolant lines and electrical had already been run. I asked about it after the fact, but at this point in the installation, it would have held up the entire project.

The furnace was installed so it didn't give me the space I needed to build a closet after I healed from the surgery. The electronic air cleaner was also installed in the opposite direction from what I would have liked. I wasn't asked about this until it was too late. Yes, the contractor said it would be an easy fix—and he would come back if necessary.

What I should have caught was the simple fact that the contractor was trying to get this system installed in only one day. I really became alarmed when I saw the installer cut duct openings in the installed plenum over the cooling coil. I even asked the installer if he normally did this, and his response was "yes." In all my years working around heating systems, I have never seen one of my subs cut in openings over the cooling coil.

Then I noticed the contractor studying the plenum to figure out his cutout for the humidifier which was wider than the plenum. I was really puzzled that there were already eight 6-inch outlets and now a humidifier on a small plenum that only measured 14 inches wide x 20 inches deep x 19 inches high. There wasn't anything left of the plenum after all the cutouts were made, and with all 6-inch pipes connected, the plenum looked like an octopus. I had the heating installer back once to cut a 6-inch outlet in a new location because the humidifier blocked at least 80 percent of the existing 6-inch outlet.

Now I had a big patch on the side of the plenum. I noticed there was something wrong with this particular ductwork because of the airflow coming from the floor register. I decided to remove the humidifier to see if something was blocking the outlet, and that's when I discovered the framework of the humidifier was blocking the outlet. Also, when I was doing the inspection, I discovered that the split system indoor coil installation instructions for the cooling coil were wet and stuck to the cooling coil.

Duct tape applied to all ductwork joints pretty much sums up the quality of the work. The system was not designed with a properly sized air supply trunk so it didn't work efficiently. It definitely was not a professional looking job!

I called the heating contractor a couple of times and actually spoke with him about coming back so we could go over a few things. He said he would call me after he finished an out-of-town project and returned to Spokane.

A few months later, in the beginning of November 2007, I decided to take matters into my own hands. I first hired a new heating contractor to move the heat pump closer to the house and out of the path of the bathroom window. About seven months later I had healed enough from my surgery to rework the heating system.

I hired the new heating contractor again to make a new and larger plenum along with a properly sized air supply trunk. While he was making these parts, I removed the ductwork; disconnected the gas line, electrical, humidifier, humidifier drainpipe, and plenum; removed the electronic air cleaner; and disconnected the cold air return.

I moved the cold air return forward by 15 inches and changed the direction of the electronic air cleaner and installed it up to the cold air return. Luckily, I had just enough coolant line to move the furnace forward 15 inches and reattach it to the other side of the electronic air cleaner.

The contactor returned with my ductwork. While he was there, I had him disconnect the coolant lines from the cooling coil so I could take it out of the system and clean out all the metal shavings that were starting to rust the cooling coil fins and other parts of the coil. At this time, he redirected the coolant lines so they would not be in the path of the planned closet. Once I got the cooling coil cleaned, a two-hour project, I reinstalled the unit so the heating contactor could finish soldering the coolant lines back up to the cooling coil.

This time before installing the plenum and air supply trunk, I precut all the cutouts before installing it onto the heating system. I installed dampers in each of the ducts and redid the humidifier drainpipe, gas line, and electrical system both to the furnace as well as to the heat pump.

The heat pump electrical passed the electrical inspection, but I didn't agree with either the inspector or the heating contractor. You see, the original contractor who installed the heating system tied back into existing unused range wire that was in the same area as the new furnace system. The old range used #8 wire which requires two 40-amp breakers. He tied the heat pump #10 wire to the #8 and put it into a junction box. At the electrical panel box he tied two #10 pigtails to the #8 wires, then he hooked the #10 wires to two 30-amp breakers. This is definitely a big no-no!

Once I completed the entire system, I had the new contractor come back to construct a cold air return boot to finish the top of the cold air ductwork where the floor intake grill is installed. The original contractor used the floor joist space by stapling foil backing into place to tie the cold air return to the floor joist space. While this is common practice in the industry, I had an unusual opening at the beginning of the cold air ductwork which required the trunk to be completed with a custom-made floor intake grill boot.

Now I have a properly sized furnace and can install my planned closets. I sent the heating contactor a letter and a bill to complete this project in September of 2008. The bill was for materials and the new heating contractor's time, not mine. He wrote back to say that he didn't remember any of my phone calls—how convenient!—and he said I had signed off on the job—which I did when I made the final payment.

I decided at this point to write customer service at Frididaire Heating and Cooling (Nordyne) to let them know how an HVAC contractor installed their product. I also wanted to see if they would extend the warranty on the cooling coil because of the rust created from the metal shavings.

In December 2008 customer service replied that as the equipment manufacturer, they provide an extended part warranty. It is their intent to honor that warranty through their local Frigidaire distributor (Thrifty Supply). If I feel that because of my experience with the installing contractor I prefer to use an alternate, then appropriate arrangements could be made through the Spokane distributor. The local contractors are independent service agents who are customers of the distributor and carry no licensing from Nordyne. While Nordyne was in no position to become involved in a "who promised what" dispute, they forwarded on my correspondence to the folks at Thrifty for their edification.

What wasn't clear from the Nordyne's letter was if they would cover the cooling coil up to and beyond the original warranty. I wrote them again in January 2009 outlining these concerns:

1. What do you mean by "extended part warranty"?
2. Thrifty Supply is a supply house, not a heating contactor, so how can they get involved with our furnace installed by a local heating contactor?

To date I have not heard from Nordyne or, for that matter, from Thrifty Supply.

1. So would I recommend a Frigidaire Heating and Cooling System? Based on the system's performance once the system was reinstalled with the proper air supply in place—"Yes!"
2. Would I recommend Nordyne/Frigidaire Heating and Cooling based on customer service? "No!"
3. Would I recommend Air Pro of Spokane? The son who now runs the company does not share the same values, approach to customer relations, and pride as his father who used to run the company. Based on my professional experience as a former remodeling contactor—I don't think Air Pro has the professional pride in quality work the company once held. The company was also too quick to complete the project rather than take the time to design and correctly install an efficient heating and cooling system. Looking back on the experience, I should have postponed the project following my surgery until I felt better and was more alert. Only because I have experience in the field was I able to take what the contractor did and correct the system so it was efficient and properly installed. So, based on my experience working with the company and what I learned after the fact—my answer would be "No!"

As far as the coil, I still don't know where I stand with the manufacturer's warranty. I believe Thrifty Supply, the distributor of Nordyne/Frigidaire products, needs to be abreast of the quality of work Air Pro does in the Inland Northwest.

Lessons learned: The problem with working with most contractors is that you have to rely on their expertise. Hiring a heating contractor can be a pleasant or an unpleasant experience. No matter how much homework you do, there is the possibility the project will not go as planned.

Here's what I learned after I hired Air Pro, a heating contactor of Spokane:

1. When it came to the air supply trunk and ductwork, there should have been a drawing of the system so we were both on the same page.
2. Once this was established, then this part could be bid out so it became part of the contract.
3. We should have established a realistic time frame for project completion—I believe this project should have taken 1 1/2 to 2 days, not one day.
4. I should have postponed the project until a time when I could be more attentive rather than immediately after surgery.
5. When a certain phase of the project was not going the way it should have, I should have stopped the project until the contractor and I could review the installation.
6. Once the first cutout was being made in the plenum over the cooling coil, I should have stopped the work.
7. I should have stopped the work once duct tape was used to seal ductwork joints.
8. One valuable lesson I learned was that I thought a heating contractor was an authorized installer for the product he sells and installs. This is not the case as Nordyne pointed out in their letter to me: "The local contactors are independent service agents who are customers of the distributor and carry no licensing from Nordyne." The bottom line is that contacting the manufacturer may not yield any satisfaction, as my case demonstrates. I still don't know where I stand with them or with Thrifty Supply, the distributor of Nordyne/Frigidaire products. And there is the possibility that my cooling coil may prematurely fail before the warranty runs out because of a contractor's neglect of quality workmanship!

A lot of us don't have the luxury to stay home and oversee a project, so it's important to do the homework and educate yourself so you understand the project and the different phases involved in it. You need to be the inspector for your own project. Even as an expert in the field, I got stung when hiring a professional contractor—it could happen to you too!

If you have had a bad experience with any type of contactor and were able to get things corrected to your satisfaction, I would like to hear from you. Send us an email with your story and lessons learned!

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