Is this a normal setup?

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Onslaughs

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Jan 28, 2017
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Hello

I just wanted to bounce this off the forum, not sure if I am being unreasonable with the HVAC installer.

He swapped out an 1984 Rheem unit for me with this Goodman unit. But the new pad sits on top of the old pad and some bricks. I was wondering if this is an acceptable setup, as aesthetically it is absolutely awful? Will house inspectors give me trouble over this when I go to sell this house? The installer insists that this setup is stable, and that I won't have any trouble.

The quote was for a complete AC changeout, not itemized. Should I insist on a setting up the pad directly on the ground?

Thank you for your feedback

2020-07-25 15.17.50.jpg
 
oldognewtrick said:
I wouldn't accept it, nor should you. Always look a job over before you or anyone reading this gives a installer of any service final payment.
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Thank you oldognewtrick. Are there any codes or installation manuals or best practices I can point to? Otherwise it's just my word against his...
 
The unit must sit level. He was obviously lazy, and the end result shows his poor workmanship. Maybe send him a picture of this, and ask if he would be satisfied is someone did this at his house? At this point, don't get mean, just be sympathetic and ask when he can do to make the appearance better. Worst case, you coud get the area level and either drop that platform onto the ground, or use bricks around the perimeter to keep the unit raised up a few inches.
 
The end resting on just a few bricks will settle and sink, rapidly.

This is a lazy and goofy base pad.

However, the old concrete pad was obviously tilted and sagged, so any contract should have clearly specified “remove and replace old pad with sound, level new pad.”
You should have checked for that.

And if the new pad is hollow underneath, it will sink unless placed on a shaped and level bed of crushed gravel mix, several inches thick.

You can also cut rigid foam insulation sheets to just fit inside the outside edge, as a firm base under the pad.
 
It looks to me like you went for the lowest bidder. Weather you did or not, that is what it looks like. I would not accept that and would withhold final payment until they fix it. It would have taken them no more than 20 minutes to use a shovel and flatten that area. Now it will take them hours to fix it properly.

There is no code that I know of but it is a trip hazard and I’m pretty sure your insurance company would have an opinion about it if they found out.

If you don’t mind I would like to borrow this photo to post on the “wall of shame” thread at a Pro members only forum. They will get a kick out of this! It’s sad that people out there do this, and I hate to see this happen to people. This is NOT normal install practice and should be brought to the employers attention.
 
pjones said:
It looks to me like you went for the lowest bidder. Weather you did or not, that is what it looks like.
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I just want to clarify that I’m not belittling you for picking the contractor that you did. Nobody should do work like that unless you specifically specify it to be done. My point was that their quality was of the lowest standards and should not be assumed to be normal. If you didn’t pick the lowest quote then it only makes the case even worse.

I hope you can get them to return so they can correct it at their expense. I wouldn’t want my kids to play around it for safety concerns, and I wouldn’t want my grandparents walking around it either for the same concerns.

They have unnecessarily taken up additional square footage of your yard and have destined it to potential damage from environmental reasons, and if it moves when people step on the paver then that will accelerate damage to the line set. Consider even if people don’t step on it then the snow load will cause it to shift and cause the same effect as kids playing around it or stepping on it.
 
Old thread, but wanted to close the loop on this. I called the contractor, and asked to make this sturdier and to look better, and he came back, put stone underneath, and made it better. Not spectacular, but better. Thanks, everyone, for your input on this. Here is the pic.
 

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Onslaughs said:
Old thread, but wanted to close the loop on this. I called the contractor, and asked to make this sturdier and to look better, and he came back, put stone underneath, and made it better. Not spectacular, but better. Thanks, everyone, for your input on this. Here is the pic.
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We appreciate the follow up. You would be amazed at how many don’t take the time out of their day to do that after we’ve taken the time out of our day to help them. Thank you!

I can’t help but laugh at their solution, I would have expected they move the cement paver that is sticking up since they should have moved it in the first place. I don’t believe they could look at that and not see the concern you had.

If you are happy with the install then that is all that matters. But if you are not happy then don’t be afraid to call them back to fix it again. I don’t think you should worry about making them angry. You would probably be better off finding a new contractor to preform any maintenance and repairs when considering that is what their install looks like even after their second attempt to fix it.

It’s probably not going to break anything unless it settles, and it looks like they didn’t move it to tamp down the rocks underneath so it might settle over time. That wouldn’t be a big issue normally if they piped it right (they may have) but you have one corner that will hang up and cause it to tilt when it settles so it may live it’s life slanted.

Personally I wouldn’t be happy with it but I can be hard to please.

As you said, it’s not spectacular, but it’s better.
 
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It does look better. Did the installer suggest to you that you man need to spray the sides of the AC unit with a hose to clean it? It's going to suck when the leaves fall into it, but there isn't much that can be done about it (other than installing it away from the tree or cutting the tree down). I had a similar situation, little oak tree right next to the unit that kept dropping leaves into it. A storm finally took the tree out & thankfully it fell away from the house & AC unit, but it did take out part of the fence.
While trees are nice & provide shade, ones that close to the house can cause problems over time. As they grow wider they will encroach on the eaves.
 
Onslaughs said:
Hello

I just wanted to bounce this off the forum, not sure if I am being unreasonable with the HVAC installer.

He swapped out an 1984 Rheem unit for me with this Goodman unit. But the new pad sits on top of the old pad and some bricks. I was wondering if this is an acceptable setup, as aesthetically it is absolutely awful? Will house inspectors give me trouble over this when I go to sell this house? The installer insists that this setup is stable, and that I won't have any trouble.

The quote was for a complete AC changeout, not itemized. Should I insist on a setting up the pad directly on the ground?

Thank you for your feedback

View attachment 24140
Click to expand...
Tell that hack to redo that mess its sitting on,how about a picture of the rest of the install?
 
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