susque70
New Member
I'm a home owner that received a very unpleasant call while vacationing in Yellowstone from our dog sitter informing us that our downstairs bedroom ceiling had collapsed. repairs needed to the plaster ceiling, two plaster walls and hardwoods in need of refinishing. i am grateful the damage wasn't worse and also that it didn't cave in on my 81 year-old mother who spent the night there before our flight to Montana!
Root cause was a PVC pipe that became unglued. First on the scene, the water remediation company, indicated the condensate pipe had never been glued. we then invited the installing company, the adjuster and the remediation company to come to our house to discuss what happened and why. the hvac company sent a tech and my husband went with him to inspect the pipe. they both saw that there had been glue on the pipe but it had become unsealed. my husband also said it looked very sloppy... that there looked like there had been glue all over the place.
the mitibuishi mini-split was installed four years ago and we had routine maintenance this spring. we installed it because our master bed room is in the finished part of the attic (1942 cape cod - pretty common in the part of town we live in - lots of these houses and lots of living spaces in these type of attics), that would get pretty hot. the pipe is in the unfinished part of the attic. there is cellulose insulation, some spray insulation as well, but I would say that it likely gets pretty hot in there and pretty cold in there.
the HVAC company (known to be reputable) so far is taking no responsibility, although we are not sure if the owner is even aware, since all we've been able to do is talk to the service manager, who has not been too helpful. We asked the tech himself how he would have installed this in his own home, and he said he would have insulated the pipe and changed the angle. and then handed us a bill to fix!!!! I think the tech was just doing what the service manager told him to do and I don't think we have it writing what he said to us.
I am not handy at all, but based on my own research, this seems a highly unusual failure. I also researched our state residential building codes and they seem to indicate to me that the pipe should have been insulated, given the attic conditions. and/or the seal failed because of an improper applied glue to begin with. the fact the tech told us he would change the pipe angle also indicates there were some plumbing codes also violated. by a licensed, bonded and insured company that is known to be $$$.
our adjuster isn't being too helpful (onsite, he told me whatever the HVAC company said, and I had to remind him it was the installing company and he said "oohhhhhhh... and started taking lots of note), but our agent is and already told us there is likely liability and subrogation proceedings likely.
This loss will be covered except for our $2500 deductible and the likely $1000 to redo in a manner that would prevent this from happening again. Any advice on how to approach the company owner on this? and any information to confirm or deny what we believe is likely a very flawed install welcome.
Root cause was a PVC pipe that became unglued. First on the scene, the water remediation company, indicated the condensate pipe had never been glued. we then invited the installing company, the adjuster and the remediation company to come to our house to discuss what happened and why. the hvac company sent a tech and my husband went with him to inspect the pipe. they both saw that there had been glue on the pipe but it had become unsealed. my husband also said it looked very sloppy... that there looked like there had been glue all over the place.
the mitibuishi mini-split was installed four years ago and we had routine maintenance this spring. we installed it because our master bed room is in the finished part of the attic (1942 cape cod - pretty common in the part of town we live in - lots of these houses and lots of living spaces in these type of attics), that would get pretty hot. the pipe is in the unfinished part of the attic. there is cellulose insulation, some spray insulation as well, but I would say that it likely gets pretty hot in there and pretty cold in there.
the HVAC company (known to be reputable) so far is taking no responsibility, although we are not sure if the owner is even aware, since all we've been able to do is talk to the service manager, who has not been too helpful. We asked the tech himself how he would have installed this in his own home, and he said he would have insulated the pipe and changed the angle. and then handed us a bill to fix!!!! I think the tech was just doing what the service manager told him to do and I don't think we have it writing what he said to us.
I am not handy at all, but based on my own research, this seems a highly unusual failure. I also researched our state residential building codes and they seem to indicate to me that the pipe should have been insulated, given the attic conditions. and/or the seal failed because of an improper applied glue to begin with. the fact the tech told us he would change the pipe angle also indicates there were some plumbing codes also violated. by a licensed, bonded and insured company that is known to be $$$.
our adjuster isn't being too helpful (onsite, he told me whatever the HVAC company said, and I had to remind him it was the installing company and he said "oohhhhhhh... and started taking lots of note), but our agent is and already told us there is likely liability and subrogation proceedings likely.
This loss will be covered except for our $2500 deductible and the likely $1000 to redo in a manner that would prevent this from happening again. Any advice on how to approach the company owner on this? and any information to confirm or deny what we believe is likely a very flawed install welcome.
and potentially the pipe angle is bad. i'm guessing folks do work against code all the time, even good companies.. but when it comes to damages, I guess this is what we have to go back to.
