LEWIS & SON HEATING AND AIR CONDITIONING

Lewis and Son was subcontracted by our general contractor to do the job of replacing the trunkline and the flexline with boots during major renovations of our crawlspace. The general contractor made all the arrangements, but I requested that we put back in new duct/trunkline materials since we were dealing with severe moisture and mold damage to the crawlspace and I didn't want to try and salvage and put back in the old lines that could have been damaged or harbor mold. My contractor agreed to pay for the cost of the labor for removal and replacement of the system and I would pay for the supplies. The work was completed and I was told all was well with the system. After about a year and a half I decided to have my HVAC unit serviced since it had been harder and harder to heat and cool my house. There always seemed to be a draft in the winter and my cooling costs were high. When the HVAC tech came to evaluate the unit he went into the crawlspace to check the lines and within 15 minutes he came out from under the house and stated that there was a major problem with the lines and that I needed to have a county inspector out asap to evaluate the work. The inspector came and failed the work that was done previously and stated that no permit had ever been filed for that job. There were old vents that had not be rehooked to the system and were not closed so that they were just opened to the crawlspace. The small return in the hallway was not attached to the unit and was left open to crawlspace as well. (These holes were all covered with vent covers and I guess I was too stupid to figure that out) I spoke with Chris Lewis, the original foreman, and he agreed to come back to reevaluate the work. When he came out he originally denied any wrong doing by himself or his crew. After crawling under the house and looking at the open holes in the floor and wall return he immediately became apologetic and said that these things never should have happened and they would obtain a permit with the county and fix the problems asap. The work was completed in a reasonable amount of time and passed inspection. My only complaint now is that since this work was completed we have had to fight the original general contractor for his work and in the process found out that the trunkline as well as most of the boots that I paid $2500 in materials to replace were the original materials that were salvaged and were never replaced with new! I don't necessarily feel that Lewis and Son was completely responsible for this, but in seeing how poor their work was I can bet they didn't care how bad the material may have been when they installed them in my house. What a sucker I must look like!!