installed by a alarm comany

mat200 said:

This is why I started to do more DIY jobs... if I can learn to do a better job from watching youtube videos, there are some whose work ethics are lacking.

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A few caveats here:
-There are some contractors who are capable of doing a much better job, they just can't afford to at the price they bid the job.
-There are a lot of really awful youtube videos that are really how-not-to-do videos. Unfortunately people who most need videos on how to do things the right way seem to have the hardest time finding them (ahh... the joys of personalized search results). Watching multiple videos is the best suggestion I have.

tangent said:

A few caveats here:
-There are some contractors who are capable of doing a much better job, they just can't afford to at the price they bid the job.
-There are a lot of really awful youtube videos that are really how-not-to-do videos. Unfortunately people who most need videos on how to do things the right way seem to have the hardest time finding them (ahh... the joys of personalized search results). Watching multiple videos is the best suggestion I have.

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Indeed - there's about a 50% failure rate iirc for contractors doing tiled showers - and it took watching numerous youtube videos and reading reports of failures from inspectors to get a real understanding of what it really takes to do a tiled shower correctly.

There are a lot of good contractors out there but having a license only means they know the answers and how to take and pass a test. It doesn't mean they are honest, dependable or capable. The certifications likely mean they KNOW how to do it and do it correctly, there are no guarantees they will. Your best option when choosing any type of contractor or licensed/certified installer is ask for references. If they balk at providing them, you should balk at hiring them.

My reasoning? Read on.....

A state-licensed contractor (in CA no less) could easily have killed my entire family with CO poisoning in '92 when he replaced a 12 year old gas-fired central HVAC unit. Because of a 360 sq. foot addition we chose a larger unit and it was correctly determined that a larger intake grill in the hallway was needed for the cold air return. While I was at work, the contractor dropped the old grill, sawed a larger rectangle in the sheetrock, cut the sheet metal out in the cold air return plenum, and tacked on a larger grill. In the process the idiot never re-formed or added sheet metal to the plenum so only air outside the closet and walls would be pulled in; it was also pulling air out of the closet, air which was furnished for natural gas combustion. Because the closet air was warm, the return air was not cool, heat was not removed from the exchanger so the closet temp rose and a safety thermo-disc thermostat would open the low voltage controls and shut off the gas because it thought the fan had frozen. More important, the cold air return plenum was pulling combustion air away from the flames, making the flames more yellow because of decreased oxygen which, in turn, increased the carbon monoxide. This carbon monoxide was being pushed throughout the house.

I found all this out when the thermo-disc kept opening up the control voltage and I pulled the return air grill off, looking for a reason and found how he butchered it and how the cold air return air got linked directly with the combustion air in the closet. He wanted to save so money and not do any sheet metal work. The lazy bastard even left all the sheetrock pieces and dust and debris that he cut out lie in the bottom of the cold air return plenum so the dust would be circulated through the house as well.

Needless to say, it's no small miracle that I am not penning this post from some California prison.

Are there good, licensed contractors out there? Sure! But having JUST the license means nothing to me. Nada. Zip.
I also want to see your workmanship, your work record and see and hear first hand the satisfaction of the owners where you have worked before.

@TonyR I'm a bit of canary when it comes to carbon monoxide. I seem to get a headache at much lower level of CO than most people. Knowing this, anytime I get a particular type of headache I get people around me to safety / increase fresh air. I've also given or lent carbon monoxide detectors to friends with furnaces/heaters that seem sketchy or if I notice I feel crappy anytime I go to their place. Every single detector I gave or lent someone eventually detected carbon monoxide.

When I was in high school I encountered a carbon monoxide detector at an apartment my sister was moving in to with a cut power cord and the alarm bells went off regarding potential CO and I repaired the cord. That detector never alarmed again but a few weeks later I found and shut off the source of the CO.

Thankfully, my state now has a law that requires landlords and homes that are sold to have carbon monoxide detectors.
FYI: the type of sensor used in most CO detectors has to be replaced every 7-10 years to remain effective.

If you don't have a Carbon Monoxide Detector buy one, if it's older than 7 years buy another.

tangent said:

@TonyR If you don't have a Carbon Monoxide Detector buy one, if it's older than 7 years buy another.

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You are so right.

Ironically, I purchased 2 new 10-year smoke detectors and 2 new 10 year CO detectors just 2 weeks ago at HD! I replaced the two 8 year old smokes last week and plan on putting in the 2 CO's this week.

The CO's aren't replacements, they're a new install. For the first 8 years we had one 22K BTU, fan-assisted propane fireplace heater in the LR. Then 4 years ago I put in a 10K BTU, fan-assisted propane fireplace heater in the master BR. Last year I installed a 5K blue flame propane wall heater in the master bath. Even though all 3 have an ODS (Oxygen Depletion Sensor) I decided it would be good to be redundant in that area so I got the 2 CO detectors. One will go in the MBR, the other in the LR.

I don't feel one can be too careful around gas, either propane or natural. Heck, my 28 ft. travel trailer I parted with in 2016 had a smoke, a CO and a propane leak detector!

Brings back memories in the 80's of being part of a two man crew with a methane detector, one staying up and one being lowered down into the sump well of a storm water pump station below freeway overpasses....the county I worked for not only maintained traffic signals, airport beacon/runway lighting, building/facility electrical but also 8 storm water pump stations. So yeah...I'm with you on that canary thing.

Wow that's a hack job.... We never take payment until the job is complete and the client is happy.
She never should have paid upfront.
Dusty old hardware? wow.
Everything about what he's done is a joke.
Sorry she went through this but yes small claims court is worth it. My boss took a guy to small claims after we installed and he never paid. It took like 6 months and my boss still lost a couple thousand dollars but it was the principle at that point. and $55 a month? I hate alarm companies that do contracts. our customers pay for the equipment and UL cellular monitoring is 22.50 including fire. After 2 years it still amazes me what other companies are charging.

I hope things work out for her.

I'll be the first to admit, I'm not licensed in my state to do CCTV. I mainly do it for my employer where I'm covered, but every once in a blue moon word will get around about me knowing how to do cameras and a small business will ask me to install cameras for them. I'm always hesitant about doing it and always inform the owners I'm not licensed to do it outside of my employer. Either way, I still end up doing it.

While I'm not a pro at it, and certainly don't do a pro job or charge a pro price -- but that is an embarrassment. I'd be sick to my stomach if I ever performed a job like that. I care too much about my reputation and name to ever do something like that. How anybody would do such a hack job, I'll never understand that.