Posts Tagged ‘Contractors’

Putting Off Home Repairs

January 12th, 2011

Ever homeowners has this list, and everything on it never seems to get done. It’s the home repair”to do” list, and instead of picking up our tools and getting to work, we use excuse after excuse to justify not completing the job. Well, today we are going to expose those excuses for what they really are, and hopefully motivate you to finally cross at least a few projects off of that growing list. Some of the most popular excuses that we all use include:

  • “I don’t know how to fix it”
  • “I didn’t know I had a problem!”
  • “It’s really not that big of a deal!”
  • “I will do it next weekend!”
  • “I don’t know who to call for help!”
  • “It will cost too much!”
  • “I don’t have time to fix it!” » Read more: Putting Off Home Repairs

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Posted in Contractors, Home Repairs, Home Services, Money Saving

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Protect Yourself from Furnace Repair Scams

January 10th, 2011

Successful scam artists are some of the best actors in town. They are equipped with the props and costumes that a legitimate company would have, and their performance is very convincing. Thousands of homeowners fall victim to their act, and end up handing over hundreds and sometimes thousands of dollars for services that are illegitimate. The furnace repair industry has its fair share of fraudsters just like any other, but when homeowners know how to protect themselves from their scams, they lose their ability turn a profit. That is why we should all take note of these 3 common furnace repair scams before we have our furnaces serviced this winter season.

  • Scam #1: Demanding Upfront Payment- A common scam that many illegitimate contractors will use involves convincing the homeowner to pay in full for services before they are performed. The serviceman may tell you that he needs a certain amount of money right when he walks in the door, and then after tinkering around with the furnace, demand payment for repairs before actually fixing anything. Once payment is received, the serviceman will pretend that they have to order a part or come back later to finish the work. After the serviceman leaves, he is never heard from again. » Read more: Protect Yourself from Furnace Repair Scams

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Posted in Consumer Protection, Contractors, Furnace, Money Saving

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Air Leaks: Search, Locate, and Seal

December 21st, 2010

As the weather turns colder every day, the symptoms of air leaks in your home may begin to show. Temperature fluctuations and longer furnace run times are just a couple of the symptoms that may be costing you your comfort and extra money on your monthly energy bills. We try our bests to seal up our homes as air tight as possible, but still air can leak in from almost anywhere in the home. You may not think that a couple little air leaks are a big problem, but those leaks could be costing you more than you think. These are some common problems caused by air leaks:

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Posted in Go Green, Home Repairs, Home Services, Insulation, Money Saving

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Prevent Attic Insulation Scams in Your Home!

November 9th, 2010

Homeowners have long been weary when looking for a contractor to perform any services in their home, and unfortunately, there is more bad news. Attic insulation services now join duct cleanings and home repairs as a source of fraud in this industry. Adding attic insulation to a home that has old or poor amounts of insulation can save the homeowner big bucks on their energy bills and take a load off of the furnace and air conditioner. With these benefits, it makes sense that thousands of people have this service performed every year. But, if you are considering using this service in your home, you must be on the lookout for the fraudulent schemes that illegitimate attic insulation companies have come up with to maximize profit and minimize services. » Read more: Prevent Attic Insulation Scams in Your Home!

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Posted in Consumer Protection, Home Improvements, Home Services, Insulation, Money Saving

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Weed Out the Scam Artists

October 18th, 2010

Hiring a contractor for any home repair job can be a challenging process. If you hire the first person you come across without doing any research, you may end up with major problems on your hands. Home repairs small and large can be very costly, and the last thing you want to do it waste your hard earned cash or cause damage to your home. So, how do you sort out the good guys from the bad guys? The bad guys can put on a pretty convincing act, but if you know what to look out for you will be able to easily tell the difference.

Contractors who are looking to take your money and run are not much different from con artists. They play the part of a legitimate business up until it’s time to get paid. When choosing a contractor, you cannot choose based on your perception of someone’s character. The contractors that are the most successful are the charismatic type of people who can convince anyone to believe nearly anything they say. There is a way to see through this mask. Here are a few tests that you can give your contractor to see if he is worth hiring: » Read more: Weed Out the Scam Artists

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Posted in Consumer Protection, Contractors, Information, Money Saving

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Quick Checks before You Call a Tech

October 14th, 2010

What would you do in this situation? You wake up one cold winter morning and find that your furnace went out in the middle of night. You know very little about HVAC equipment so the first thing you do is call a service technician to come out to your home, and you agree to pay, at the very least, a service charge for his travel time and initial diagnosis. The technician arrives and within five minutes finds out that a breaker was tripped. He flips the breaker back on, collects the service fee, and leaves your home.

Chances are you would be pretty upset, but don’t take it out on the technician! Take this as a chance to learn from your mistake. If only you had made a few simple checks, you could have avoided calling a technician. There are some easy checks that any homeowner can make when there is a problem with the furnace or air conditioner before calling an HVAC company for repairs. » Read more: Quick Checks before You Call a Tech

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Posted in Air Conditioning, Consumer Protection, Contractors, Furnace, Heating

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What you should ask your Furnace and Air Duct Cleaning Technician before allowing them into your home

October 6th, 2010

Q. How often should I have my furnace and ductwork cleaned and inspected?

In the Furnace and Air Duct Cleaning industry, a reputable company will help you decide how often, based on your families health concerns, environment, pet dander, remodeling projects and personal preference. Hire a company that doesn’t try to mislead you or use other “scare tactics” but prefers to establish a long term, trusting relationship with you, regardless of what your needs may be.

Q. Will you have the equipment needed to properly clean my system when you arrive?

A. Hire a company with a fleet of service vehicles each supplied equipment and enough hoses and lines to be able to thoroughly clean all your ductwork. Avoid hiring a company that uses inexpensive, portable equipment and is unable to reach all the components of your heating and cooling system. » Read more: What you should ask your Furnace and Air Duct Cleaning Technician before allowing them into your home

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Posted in Air Conditioning, Air Quality, Consumer Protection, Duct Cleaning, Heating, Information

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Flex Duct Disaster

September 1st, 2010

Many homeowners pay little to no attention to their duct work, but if you have flex duct in your home, it probably deserves a good inspection, because it could be costing you hundreds of dollars annually not to! Flex duct is a type of duct work that consists of wire, plastic, and insulation. It is very flexible, ergo the name “flex duct”, and has been used by thousands of contractors as a cheap and easy way to install duct work in a home.  The problem lies in the installation of flex duct. Unless your contractor really knew what he was doing, odds are it was installed improperly.  Improper installation of flex duct can lead to poor airflow, and it may be chocking your HVAC systems.

Big Problem #1

The first major problem with flex duct is  air friction. Flex duct creates more air friction than any other type of duct work even if it is installed properly. Unfortunately, this problem only gets worse when it is installed improperly. Many contractors assume that, because flex duct work is so bendable, it is ok to bend it around tight corners.  Just because it is capable of doing something, it doesn’t mean that it should.  Bends and kinks in the duct work increases the air friction which decreases air flow into the various rooms of the house. » Read more: Flex Duct Disaster

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Posted in Air Conditioning, Consumer Protection, Contractors, Heating, Money Saving

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