Asbestos contractor removed ducts and didn't replace them
Title says it all. We had 3 companies come out, unfortunately went with the cheapest. The house was built in 1942 and used to havea coal burner so we have those big giant unsightly registers/boots lol. The new furnace was a custom job, or uncontracted because the unisulated plenum is too short, 4 round ducts come out of the top, with an extra unsealed duct hole that i just found out about, and two ducts on the sides. 2 instances of 1 duct going to a boot that supplies 2 separate rooms; another discussion another day lol.
He said usually they use 2 man crews but my project was small and the co-owner came to do the work himself because my appointment was delayed a week because his truck broke down.
First he didn't ask how old the house was. He didn't go upstairs to look at any of the boots/registers, just assessed from the basement. He said it should only take a few hours. The first day he came over and unbeknownst to me, he was moving all my furniture by himself. He never asked me to move furniture (there wasn't much but he had to move it all to one side of the room. I would have moved the furniture if he asked me to, i just thought he'd tarp it off because there was plenty of room to wrok. Or i would have helped him move it if he asked me, i was home all day. He traped off the sections and put his air thing in and then he left to do another appointment. It took him 5 hours
The next day he gets there and says it should only take about 45 mins. 2 hours later, with lots of banging muttering and grumbling. i heard the vacuum turn on just as i was heading out the door to pick up my roommate from work. My partner is home but doesn/t know anything about this stuff. The guy says to him, "The asbestos was so caked on the ducts i had to remove them completely. The cost didn't include installing new ducts."
My partner paid him and he left. When i got home i was obviously livid. And instead of doing the right thing and calling the guy back, i was in full panic mode because the house is 55 degrees and dropping. I went to home depot and picked up some ductwork. I was going to redo the whole thing because i wanted it to be right. Somehow he got the asbestoss off the boots without removing them from the wall.
So just in case i got my gloves and respirator and starting chiseling out the plaster and removed them all. I then started undoing the ducts from the plenum. Just as i was going to start removing the plenum i found loose asbestos paper still on top. I don't know if it's from before or after he came and i don't know if any got into the unit.
So now I'm removing myself from this job. What do i do? Do i call him? Call a lawyer? Either or both?
Comments (10)
sktn77a
3 years agolast modified: 3 years ago
mtvhike
3 years agoRelated Discussions
Asbestos Wrapped Air Ducts
Comments (3)You don't say where you live, but if you live some place with extreme temperatures in the summer or winter, in addition to ridding your home of asbestos, you'll probably get much more efficient heating and cooling if you replace your existing duct work with modern, insulated and properly-sized ducting. And, since old ducting is notorious for leaking, you can solve that problem, too. New ducting also makes it an easy matter to add, move or enlarge registers, which can improve heating and cooling. Only licensed and certified contractors are allowed to remove asbestos, and you'll need special permits for both the removal and disposal, but the contractor should take care of that for you. Once the work begins, it goes very quickly, and is usually done within a day, including any clean-up. These guys are specialists, and know how to get the job done safely and efficiently. You won't miss your old ducting, but you'll be much happier with modern insulated duct work that doesn't leak. Properly-sized and insulated ducting will likely reduce noise from your HVAC system, too....See MoreImpact of asbestos ducts/furnace age on sale price?
Comments (16)As a buyer, I wouldn't pay more, but I might go away from the deal if asbestos was found. Unfortunately I wasn't always that informed. As a buyer in the similar situation we did end up buying the house:) The sellers removed the ducts where asbestos was initially found (asbestos wasn't intact) at their expense. Just to get a peace of mind, we went with a full asbestos inspection. We didn't get a peace of mind though-there was asbestos everywhere, walls, floors, and we knew we were going to mess with the house, remodel etc. Why we still bought the house escapes me..:) We know we would have to disclose it if we buy then sell..unlike our sellers who presumably didn't know. The moment we got the results from the lab, the city got them too. We almost went out of the escrow. At the last moment, we didn't. There was something special about this house. And I obviously wasn't thinking right..it was a sad and crazy year for us, we were in a hurry due to family circumstances, we were looking for a very specific location, etc, etc.. (Little did I know. Now I can safely say that even if we were looking for a house for another year-we'd still find ourselves in a new place faster.) After long and painful consideration we went for a full abatement. In our case-meaning we had to gut the house. There's been a year and a half for us paying two mortgages in Southern CA, tending to and financing the remodel, and whatnot. Sometimes it seems to me I am still alive and sane just to tell this story LOL Get rid of whatever you have to and can afford. Asbestos and remodel are not going together very well. If it's covered, fine; I wouldn't take the risks if it is going to be disturbed, whether is going to be me personally remodeling, or somebody else. Now, I'll say something a bit contradictory, but: If you feel uncomfortable with all the asbestos removal, maybe it's better not to check deeper into it. We take different decisions based on information we have; and while it's usually important to know things, sometimes ignorance is a bliss. But even in this case I'd take all the extra precautions when remodeling-wet the surfaces, work in a mask, etc. And if you have kids-keep them away from the work zone as much as possible. I must add that we did have recent death from asbestosis in the family, and it couldn't but influence us. Maybe other buyers will be less fussy than we were, not giving much significance to the fact, coming with different experiences or lack thereof. I wouldn't pay more for a new furnace, but it definitely would make my inclination to buy a house stronger, if I had such inclination in the first place. PS I just read the commentary to the end and saw it's an old discussion with a new question, albeit similar. Sorry! Hope my long rant might still be useful though...See MoreContractor removed asbestos tiles w/o my knowledge
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3onthetree
3 years agoshaggyfox44
3 years agomike_home
3 years agoshaggyfox44
3 years agoDid you read it at all? Or my response? He's a co-owner of a disaster remediation company, they don't specialize in anything else lol.
Everyone i seem to know keeps asking, so i'm sure some of you are wondering why i chose to have it removed rather than encapsulate.
For some reason i can't upload more than one photo but this here is the ceiling above my furnace, and stretches 5 feet, goes above the steal I-beam and connects to a rectangular trunk with a hole cut out the top of it spanning 2 joists, The trunk was resting against the joists with asbestos sealing the gaps, asbestos paper or wrap all over the surrounding wood, swinging, blowing and probably flying lol.shaggyfox44
3 years agolast modified: 3 years ago
PROCoolAir Inc.
3 years ago
mike_home