Buy the furnace or conditioner over the net or from ebay and save thousands!!! Most of the 'professionals' posting here have less than a grade 6 ed (the current american average) and need momma to dress em in the morning. Do it yourself, its safe, simple and easy to follow, then post here and tell the nasty sewer rat 'professionals' to go screw the one that dressed them.
Yeah, right and be sure you pick a internet company that will be around a long time because that Goodman you buy off the internet is NOT warranted by Goodman. They do NOT warrant internet sales. Happy buying..............idiot! Bubba
There is a reason that states are clamping down on DIY mechanical installs. There is a reason that no maker of any unit that I am aware of, will warranty an installed unit that was not installed by a licenced, and insured contractor.. The DIY folks, god bless em, are on that road to hell paved with good intent...and thats not a slam folks...that is a fact. You put ten guys together, and you might get one to four installs thats totally screwed, but they overshadow the fact that the others were ok, or even really good.
From Goodmans own warranty sheet....
Neither warranty applies to, and no warranty is offered by Goodman
on, any product ordered over the Internet.
Regardless of time of registration, the warranty period begins on the
date of the original installation. If that date cannot be verified, the
warranty period begins three months after the month of manufacture
(indicated by the first four digits of the serial number (yymm)).
As its only responsibility, and your only remedy, Goodman will furnish
(i) a replacement part, without charge for the part only, to replace any
part that is found to be defective due to workmanship or materials
under normal use and maintenance, or (ii) for a heat exchanger that
is covered by the lifetime warranty and that fails in the first 10 years,
a new, equivalent furnace. For warranty credit, the defective part
must be returned to a Goodman heating and air conditioning products
distributor by a state certified or licensed contractor.
I tended to agree. A licensed installer should properly size the unit and make sure the installation is safe. The only problem is finding a good installer. My installer hung the damper upside down. I read the manual and fixed it. He had the heat in zone 1 controlled by a thermostat in zone two. I asked for all the bedrooms to be on one separate zone. He said it couldn't be done and put them on a zone with the living room. After showing him where to cut the pipes and reconnect them, he agreed it could be down. No I didn't hire him, the former homeowner did as a condition of the buying contract. My point? A good licensed plumber is worth it but a license is no gaurantee that they know what they are doing. Not all DYIer are brainless.
I agree with you completely. In the construction trades it's getting harder to find "legitimate" contractors who will even bother with a $5K job. What are people supposed to do when they ask for estimates from four or five companies and _none_ of them respond? Plan-B usually involves the next tier of tradesmen, guys who look shady, act shady, and probably can't be trusted around small children or barn yard animals.
After you meet with a few of them, and listen to their obvious ignorant sales pitches, what's Plan-C? That's right, you look at doing it yourself. I know HVAC people are adamantly opposed to internet equipment sales, but it's their own policies and lack of competent techs that are driving people in that direction. I say they should embrace the change that's bound to happen. Whether they like it or not, DIY HVAC is here and it will only become more prevalent.
"Tim Killian" wrote
Fixing DIYers work keeps most HVAC people in business....
Aint that the truth. Now....dont get me wrong, seen some that were fine. But most are just plain crazy. Got some new pics Im going to add to the updated website this week, as soon as we get ready to get back online. 25 feet of flex that only needed to go literaly 4 feet...undersized return...open return...gack..
Now..one thing that was stated..that about DIY HVAC will be more prevalent..thats wrong. With the new 13SEER ruling, DIY installers will find that after teh units are in, they dont even come close to performing correctly, and this will go for profesionally installed units too, that the company didnt take the time to properly train their installers. Anyone in the business knows that DIY stuff is what fortunes are made of, and in some states, big hefty fines to the homeowners too. Its crazy when you go see some of the shit we have, all sold from one of three places, and when you have to go in and pull permits, and the inspections office looks at you and goes...you gonna pull permits for the install? and you say..no...im fixing the install, and you find out that there were no permits pulled, the homeowner just got slapped with a $500 or more fine, and thats on top of the repair fees.....do it right and its cheaper, thats for sure...
Now...the trend in our area is to shun those companies that will sell to non licenced persons. Used to have 4 or 5 here that would sell to anyone, but I know for a fact one shut down last year due to the loss of the professional business.
"CBHVAC" wrote
But you can't buy flex in anything shorter that 25 feet!!!
;-]
OH DAMN..you mean you can CUT it?? LOLOLOL
Estimates? Free? Why? A good estimate is done by sending someone out and going over your home top to bottom. Then the homeowners are interviewed to see what they want and what they expect of a system. Then a load calculation is performed and even a manual D if needed. Then all of this info needs to be presented to you. Minimum.... 3 hrs. Why should 3, 5 or 10 diff companies come out and do that for free? I dont anymore. Way too costly. If you purchase from me then that cost gets subtracted from your total system price. You're running into problems because you are looking for the cheapest. You want cheap, they cut corners. For the record, I was against all this internet equipment. Now Ive found its made more money in repairs. I check every piece of equipment with my supplier before I quote warranty repairs. Usually, you get no warranty if I didnt install it. You want a warranty? Go find the guy now out of business that installed it for $100 and a case of beer on the weekend. Bubba
How about no estimates -- as in "We're booked solid 'till next Summer," or, as happened to my wife, laughter when she asked the salesman for a list of references. Some contractors act like they're doing ME a big favor by even talking on the phone! Again, pardon the hell out of me for asking you to do your job.
You HVAC wizards had better enjoy these days in the tall grass. One day the economy might not be as rosy, and those subdivisions keeping your backlog full might stop going up. Revenge is gonna be sweet when the salesmen have to start cold-calling and the techs start scrapping for overtime. I hope you all remember the haughty 'tudes you carried around
-- I will.
"Tim Killian" wrote
This time of the year I guess that can happen. Right now, if you call my company, we MIGHT be able to squeeze you in this week. If you have NO heat, we will get you in TODAY. You just have to wait for an estimate.
I AM a saleman now and I don't see that being a problem. We do VERY LITTLE in new construction. I don't know why. Sounds like good money. We've been through tough times before. We always survive. Never had to lay anyone off and our guys get a raise every year (though some have been small in the past). Tough times will weed out the wannabes and the fly-by-nights.
Going strong since 1928.....
If they are booked solid till next summer,................they arent. Translation is "We dont want your business (for whatever reason)" Move on and find someone that does want your business. Laughter when you asked for references.....................? Again, you found a company that wants nothing to do with you. Was it the same company? Again..........MOVE ON. If you asked for references from me, I couldnt get them for you fast enough. Id be pleased to "show you my wares" as would any professional company. I too dont do subdivisions or any new home work. I dont enjoy working for free. It is way too competitive in my area to do that type work so I choose not to.................in other words...........I MOVED ON. You need to yank that chip off your shoulder and look for a professional company.............maybe one that you've found from your friends, co-workers or relatives that are happy with the company they use? Bubba
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