In this video, Joshua Griffin shares some problems that HVAC systems have that pulling a permit and having a city or county inspector inspect the system would not catch these problems. Most of these issues are caused by the installation of the heating and air system. And issues with the heating and air system are sometimes not realized until years later. Having a city inspector inspect the system is a good idea for safety issues and making sure everything is up to code, but still does not completely alleviate poor installation practices.
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Chapters
0:00 Intro: City inspectors and avoiding issues
0:29 HVAC issues and inspections
1:34 Poor installation practices
2:11 3 real-world issues
2:44 Brazing
3:25 Air Flow
3:55 Refrigerant levels
4:33 Outro: Find a good contractor
#hvac #mechanicalpermit #cityinspector

I Had a viewer the other night ask me a question, essentially asking will having a city or county inspector going behind the heating and air company pulling a permit making sure that everything is up to code? Will that avoid some of the problems that we hear homeowners face when the system is not installed properly and we talked about how the system will obviously be up to code if the city inspector is looking things over, making sure everything's up to snuff. But one of the things we talked about is a scenario where you hire maybe the cheapest contractor or a lower end contractor and how just because you have an inspector coming behind them does not necessarily mean you're avoiding all the issues having that system inspected afterwards, right? The scenario becomes I Went with maybe a lower end company, but I'm doing everything right. Aside from that, I'm pulling permits I'm getting it inspected and they're going to tell me if something is wrong. What? I had to explain to this View Viewer is that doesn't necessarily mean that you're avoiding all issues.

Yes, you're having an inspected the inspector is going to in a lot of cases make sure that everything's up to code and everything's safe and such, but it doesn't necessarily help you avoid some of the installation issues that we see lower end or unprofessional contractors do causing these breakdowns or premature failures with a lot of heating and air systems. Inspections are great to have. They're going to make sure everything is safe and up to code, but they aren't going to always catch poor installation practices. I Did a whole series of videos talking about some of the things that companies do when it's poorly installed, bad installation practices, and a whole series right here.

If you go, watch that and we go through all of these scenarios of how systems might be a higher end system. You might be doing everything right, buying a good Heating and Air brand or system, but some of the poor installation practices by some of these contractors that make these systems have the issues that we see today. But I thought in this video I would go a little deeper than that and give you three real world examples: three things that even an inspector would not be able to tell if these things were done correctly. So again, you've got the system installed.

You get the inspector look it over. But even though they're looking it over, these three things could have been done wrong and the inspector never know it just by looking at that system. So let's dive into this: three things that could be done wrong that an inspector would never know. Number One: if that contractor were to braise without nitrogen or simply braze incorrectly In general, now, an inspector might be able to look at their braising and say, well, that looks sloppy or not, but they'll never really know if that system was braised with nitrogen.

They did everything to avoid the oxidation and things that we see when brazing is done incorrectly. There's really no way for them to know unless the system is malfunctioning if other things were done, such as the vacuum being pulled and refrigerant being checked, and all the other things that should be done upon an install or startup to make sure that system is operating correctly. Number two: setting the airflow correctly, and again, this is another one of those things that if an inspector were to look at that system, unless that system is malfunctioning or something is visibly wrong, they'll never really know if the static pressures were checked, the airflow was set properly, they took the capacity and the ductwork and everything, and made sure that everything was correct upon startup, and there's just no way for the inspector to know again unless it's malfunctioning that all that was done correctly. And then finally, number three, making sure that that refrigerant is checked, and it is perfect that they checked it with a good, maybe a sub, cool or superheat measurement depending on the type of setup, making sure that if it's an inverter system that it was put in charging mode again, if the system's operating okay, there's no way to really know for that inspector to really know that that system was installed properly.
A lot of these problems don't rear their head their ugly head until years later, when it's obvious to the repair company when they're trying to make a repair to that system that things were not done correctly upon installation. So that's why. I Always tell folks it's extremely important to find a good installation contractor. Maybe it's not always best to go with the cheapest bid.

Maybe it's better to look at the reputation of the companies, some of their work they've done before and what other customers are saying about that company before you make that final decision on who you're going to spend money with. For a lot of folks, this is a big investment. They need to make sure that they're going with a good company, so that way long term they don't have issues. Let me know your thoughts.

Are there any other problems or bad installation practices that an inspector would not be able to tell or pick up when they do their inspection? Love to hear about that comment down below. Thanks for watching Hit that subscribe button. We'll see you next time.

9 thoughts on “City inspectors miss this!”
  1. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars stephen lee says:

    My main thing is is when installers donโ€™t use pipe dope on the PVC and it leaks I get service calls for that all the time

  2. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Makeitcold says:

    In 17 years in this trade i have never once seen the inspector even turn a new system on.๐Ÿ˜‚ they just look at the gas and drain lines, make sure it wont fall over in my area.

  3. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars SqueakyHinge says:

    An inspectors job is to make sure the installation is up to the codes that are representative of that area including anything within a national code like the NEC. This reduces the chance of fires, electrocution, combustion and equipment/parts dropping on people as a simple definition. It does not necessarily include that the equipment was installed correctly. One call I received was on a pool system heat pump that had not worked properly in 10 years. After a 10 minute inspection I found that the heat exchanger had the supply/return line backwards. It was installed that way with inspection approval and the system had had at least three other companies looking at it before me. I also found a gas furnace installed upside down. And on another home I found the evaporator installed backwards along with the factory drain pan on the top of the coil and not below the evaporator where it belonged. I could go on and on.

  4. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Garth Clark says:

    Wrong HVAC sizing, wrong sized ducting, bad locations for returns, Correct wiring practices, long term craftsmanship such as correct brazing methods, correct vacuums, correct charge and on and on. A city inspector is really a health and safety nazi who won't bother with much of anything else.

  5. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars MJ M says:

    how do we find a good hvac contractor? we bought a new build and have an undersized unit for our size home..

  6. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Brady72 says:

    Can you use rigid foam board insulation for inner duct insulation?

  7. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars bob boscarato says:

    Joshua you made great points for the homeowners out there. I was working on my non-contracting HVACR license yesterday and last night we got hit with with heavy thunderstorms; luckily we were spared the hen's egg size hail. Have a nice day.- Service area Orleans??

  8. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Uncle fester says:

    Dont rely on inspectors to catch problems. After building houses for many years I can tell you every inspector that comes to the job only does a quick look over, and HVAC never had any red tags on our jobs.

  9. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Mr Tonge says:

    Great video thanks for all the help Are you in Kanata ?

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