TL DR version:
Not sure who is at fault for our HVAC exhaust pipe venting into our walls (roofer or HVAC company), but major water/mold damage. Do we hire attorney or let our homeowners insurance fight this for us?
We had an HVAC unit replaced in August. It was our first story unit, and is supposed to vent up through our walls and out the roof. We had our roof replaced in November. At some point, the vent separated and vented directly into our walls instead of up through the pipe and out the roof. Carbon Monoxide poisoning was a serious risk, but luckily we caught this in time.
Our roofer is saying they couldn’t have done this and the HVAC company says they are only responsible to connect to existing piping, which they did. However, the pipe wasn’t connected 15” above where they connected the pipes (separation of 1st and 2nd floor and 2nd floor pipe behind a wall).
The steam started separating our walls and leaking out the soffit at roof/attic, which is when we noticed last week. We cut into the wall last week and the HVAC people repair the pipe “free of charge so that it’s running safely” which is great, but also seemingly an admission of guilt.
Do we contact our homeowners insurance or an attorney to go after roofer or HVAC? The water damage may be extensive as there are signs of the back of the house shifting as well as structural wood rot. Hard when neither company wants to raise hand and hard to prove either responsible.
Not sure who is at fault for our HVAC exhaust pipe venting into our walls (roofer or HVAC company), but major water/mold damage. Do we hire attorney or let our homeowners insurance fight this for us?
We had an HVAC unit replaced in August. It was our first story unit, and is supposed to vent up through our walls and out the roof. We had our roof replaced in November. At some point, the vent separated and vented directly into our walls instead of up through the pipe and out the roof. Carbon Monoxide poisoning was a serious risk, but luckily we caught this in time.
Our roofer is saying they couldn’t have done this and the HVAC company says they are only responsible to connect to existing piping, which they did. However, the pipe wasn’t connected 15” above where they connected the pipes (separation of 1st and 2nd floor and 2nd floor pipe behind a wall).
The steam started separating our walls and leaking out the soffit at roof/attic, which is when we noticed last week. We cut into the wall last week and the HVAC people repair the pipe “free of charge so that it’s running safely” which is great, but also seemingly an admission of guilt.
Do we contact our homeowners insurance or an attorney to go after roofer or HVAC? The water damage may be extensive as there are signs of the back of the house shifting as well as structural wood rot. Hard when neither company wants to raise hand and hard to prove either responsible.