HVAC Service and Inspection - Roof Replacement Issue. I want to give a shout out to One Hour Heating and Air Conditioning for having immediate availability and responding to our critical issue.
We had our roof replaced in early November. When the weather turned cold recently and we were running the furnace early in the morning we observed a dripping sound (1 drip every 30 seconds or so) coming from the area of one of the can lights in our vaulted ceiling in our master bedroom. There was also evidence of a small water leak around the rim of the can light, and I observed exhaust vapors escaping on the roof from underneath the roof jack flashing for the furnace flue. Clearly not normal.
Over the course of several days in dealing with the roofing contractor, they suggested I have an inspection done of my furnace and flue system by a qualified HVAC contractor. To their credit, they checked around and found that One Hour had immediate availability. The tech from One Hour inspected the furnace and found it to be operating normally. He then went up onto the roof with me (even though, he informed me later, he has a fear of heights) where we removed the vent cap from the furnace flue and using a flashlight looked down into it and observed wood studs and sheet metal! The upper part of the flue was not connected to the lower part and furnace exhaust gasses were escaping to a space on the interior of the house.
The One Hour technician wrote up a very detailed inspection report underscoring the danger of CO poisoning, which I then sent immediately to the roofing contractor. They sent a crew out a couple of hour later, removed some shingles and the roof jack and found that the upper part of the flue indeed had not been properly re-connected to the lower part of the flue when they completed the roofing job.
The bottom line is - when you have your roof replaced it would be a good idea to have an HVAC company inspect your furnace flue to ensure it has not been damaged or dislodged during the roof build. Neither the roofing company's QC inspection nor the City's inspector caught this potential fatal problem. I paid about $100 to One Hour for this inspection, a small fraction of the cost of the roof. What they found in the inspection potentially saved my and my wife's lives.
Kudos to One Hour tech Justin D. for helping find the problem and then thoroughly documenting it in his report.
The above described problem may be an issue particular to homes with vaulted ceilings and furnace in the basement. If your home has an attic space below the roof you should be able to inspect the furnace flue in the attic to ensure it was not damaged or displaced during a roof replacement.
And, of course, if you don't already have one, get a Carbon Monoxide detector and test it regularly.
- Kevin WellerGolden, CO
A big shout out to Rob from One Hour for fixing my hot water problems. He was very professional and his expertise is much appreciated. I highly recommend One Hour.
I want to acknowledge Jasmine Stiggers for being so professional, available and consciousness when servicing my furnace. She will be the technician I request for all future Heating and Air Conditioning needs!! Thanks for being the BA that you are J!
