W.O.S. (Wall of Shame) Episode 4

Texas continues to experience explosive growth. So much so that the the balance of power in the US House of Representatives may shift due to the influx of the population from other places into the Lone Star State. As I constantly tell my clients who are buying new construction; “It’s boom time in Texas & there just isn’t enough skilled labor to go around to perform the workmanship one would expect. They don’t know what they don’t know.” That is why you want a third party inspection. It may be done, but is it done right?

Just yesterday I did a final walk inspection where the heat pump did not work (the condenser did not kick on). Apparently the thermostat was not wired correctly since the emergency heat mode worked fine (elements inside the air handler); however when switching to auxiliary mode, the emergency mode continued to run. I suppose the home could have been intended to have electric heat & the wrong thermostat was installed for a myriad of reasons. However, the condenser did have a reversing valve which led me to suspect the wiring. This isn’t surprising in light of the aforementioned lack of skilled labor & the subject of this latest W.O.S. installment.

In the photo above, the arrow points to the return plenum. All of the return duct work from the return air intakes attach here and the air is pulled through the HVAC equipment (fan, coil, etc.) to the left of the plenum components into the air handler. So the flow is actually right to left in the photo. In the circled area on top of the air handler is an arrow pointed in the opposite (wrong) direction of air flow & whoever installed the filter dutifully did so according to the arrow on the equipment. So we have the blind leading the blind.

This isn’t rocket science. The building managers & superintendents aren’t going to catch everything & that’s why you need a thorough inspection by a qualified third party inspector.

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