Problem with Air Conditioning

[sandybill2]

Our home built in 2004--we purchased in Sept 2007. We have a Jasmine style home. While my husband was cleaning the air return ducts in the two spare bedrooms and the hallway outside them, he noticed there was no air movement. He went up into the attic to check and found that there is no duct work connecting those returns to the air conditioner. We had noticed the difference in air temperature in various parts of the house. This must be the reason. The installer was Sunshine Air Conditioning and the builder was Jeff Laws. Any suggestions as to where to start to get this problem corrected? We did have a house inspection prior to our purchase.

[Skip]

A lawyer's office.

Skip

[graciegirl]

NOT ME. You usually pay more for a lawyer than to hook up the duct work. I would call the man and tell him what happened and see what he says. If he doesn't fix it, tell the world about it. If he does fix it, tell the world about it.

[MikeH]

I'd call or visit Home Warranty Office and explain it to them. If there was never any duct work connecting those returns to the air conditioner they may take care of it. I have known Home Warranty to correct hidden items that weren't done correctly during construction long after the warranty expired. Loose nothing by talking to them. Would also talk with Sunshine AC and the builder before seeking legal help.

[bestmickey]

Would you please send me the name of the home inspector you used? I don't want to hire him when the time comes!

[REDCART]

SB2, There are vents on both sides of the bedroom door but I've been told that's to equalize the pressure and that they were never intended to deliver\return AC air. Could these be the ducts that you're referring to. Every home has them that I've seen. George

[Floridagal]

I would first call the Warranty Office. I called them on some problems I had and they came to fix them or they told me whom to call.

[samhass]

Sandybill, we also had Sunshine and Jeff Laws and had the HVAC system from hell. For a year I told them there were problems. They finally found them and they were major. We should PM each other.

[samhass]

Sandy, If you had a home inspector that you paid to inspect that house, you need to go back to him for some answers. That's what you paid him for.

Jeff Laws was the builders supervisor. Sunshine did finally (I hope) make our system right, but it took them many visits to do so. Baffles had been installed backwards (twice), one duct had a huge hole in it, water was pouring off the main A/c unit, wires were switched in the system. They said it had ghosts. In defense of Sunshine, they always came out and really tried to fix things.

[livsea2]

I agree. That home inspector needs answer some questions. You paid him to be your building expert. Maybe there's nothing wrong as someone suggested. But I would start with the home inspector. Just my 2 cents. :agree:

[sandybill2]

SB2, There are vents on both sides of the bedroom door but I've been told that's to equalize the pressure and that they were never intended to deliver\return AC air. Could these be the ducts that you're referring to. Every home has them that I've seen. George


I want to thank everyone for their responses. TOTV is a wonderful way to find answers to many questions. George you may be right about theses ducts--my husband thought this might be the case after "sleeping on it." However, it seems like a poor design and we do plan on calling tomorrow and asking the air conditioning people about it. When the doors to the bedrooms are closed it can get very warm in there. Again thanks for all your responses--we really appreciate them.

[Wandatime]

Jeff Laws was our builder. We bought in October of last year but couldn't do the builder walk through because right after purchasing our home my husband had major health problems. We finally got back down to TV and I called the warranty office. They called the builder and he called me within 24 hours. We just had our walk through with Mr. Laws this past week, a full eight months after purchase. We had a few issues, nothing major, and some even purely cosmetic. I found Mr. Laws exceptionally personable and more than willing to take care of all the items on our punch list. :pepper2:

[DangeloInspections]

Hello all. I cannot comment on this specific home, as I did not do the inspection referenced in this thread.
I would just like to comment that I, and I would assume most all other inspectors, always do the following;

1) Inspect the attic area, and check the different ductwork runs making sure they are connected and going where they are supposed to.

2) Take temperature readings of every register while the A/C or heat is running, to insure they are installed correctly and that the supply and return ductwork are not switched, etc.

In most homes it would be quite obvious if no ductwork was ever run to 2/3 areas of the home. When I am in the attic, I most always take plenty of pictures so homeowners know what it looks like up there.

Respectfully, Frank