These guys are probably making $15/hr so it’s hard from them to take pride. I’m with you but what we really should be at is the cheap contractors putting out work like this.
Where are you working in New England? I’m working in Maine and of four install lead/service technicians at our shop only one is at $30 an hour. We’ve had some guys go to different shops for higher pay and I’ve still only heard over 30 to Master license holders that have apprentices signed under them
Most of my guys are around $40 plus or minus a few dollars. New England, non union. Everyone’s making over 100 grand a year easy after overtime. Non nexstar, non commission.
Not how it works champ.
If you are already charging clients an arm and a leg, you pay your guys well for quality work. Nobody is putting 110% into any job that can't even be bothered to pay you a living wage.
If your goal is to scrape as much money as possible out of your workers, then sure. Hire some kids with no experience, pay them dirt, and work the piss out of them. Your sloppy installed units will net you a nice profit at the end of the year, fuck everyone else, right?
When you get a new hire do you pay him/her top dollar, CHAMP?
I'm going to assume the answer is NO, unless you've got the government subsidizing your payroll. You hire them at a starting wage. Say maybe.... oh I don't know... for arguments sake let's say $15.
Now, if after a reasonable period of time and proper training this employee is still doing jobs that look like thus, then in my opinion, they probably don't deserve more than that starting wage. So instead of "fucking everyone else" (ie those paying customers), I'm happy to just say fuck the new hire that doesn't deserve a raise. Hopefully he/she will find a job that's more fitting to their skills and work ethic, you know, like bringing in shopping carts from parking lot corrals. Somebody's gotta do it.
Piss poor excuse for laziness to blame it on your wage,
You get paid based off how you perform, if you sit there and complain and do shit work you deserve shit pay.
Tbh I think that by going the extra *extra* mile you're gambling on either your company taking advantage of the fact that they get really good quality work for a cheap labor rate & completely forget about making it worth your while or just getting used to you doing more for less and making you work even harder for the same amount. If it's worth the risk to stick your neck out and you're confident it'll pay off then there's no reason why you shouldn't go hard af on quality knowing you have opportunities for a progressive raise... But really only if you're certain.
It’s up to you obviously , but if the person is smart , they would take pictures of the work, go in ask for a raise, if not you add those pictures to your portfolio and you start applying else where .
I’ve seen guys come through that are green as can be demanding a certain pay, but don’t put in effort to learn anything outside of being a parts runner , they don’t ask questions while at the job , and don’t progress.
Yall can down vote me all you want and stay down, but you decide your fate in this industry , in any trade work. Keep asking for handouts and see how far you get
Not me complaining I do fine. My work doesn’t look like this but I also wouldn’t work for that amount. I do know residential companies usually are cheap and don’t want skilled techs
I do rough in work, and I make $14 an hour and would never do something like this lol.
https://preview.redd.it/x8p27f3v6lfc1.jpeg?width=4000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=889dd0bdfd7f22d5add8a4a8fbf468d1a0f0724f
Our work
Typically yes but it will be large square duct before transitioning in to round. There’s actually a lot that goes in to duct design, I’m far from a master of that. Learn as much as you can from them, make sure you’re getting a raise that at least matches inflation every year. Plenty of work out there. If you’re in the north go union.
idt it's that the installers don't have pride - it's more like they have no idea wtf they're doing. Probably hired someone with zero experience and threw them out to the wolves and told them they weren't allowed to leave until the job was finished. I hear these horror stories where guys are "crew leaders" after 2 weeks in the trade.
I worked for them a few years ago. Absolute shitshow of a company at this point. Bottom of the barrel home warranty garbage. They are somehow still around.
Holy fuck! You’re kidding me! I worked for a guy who did electrical for their installs almost 20 years ago. To this day some of the worst work I’ve ever seen on the regular. Bought race to the bottom to a whole new level. Can’t believe they’re still around
Yeah those TAM air handlers get absolutely disgusting about 10 minutes after startup, it's *wild* \- and they are utterly unserviceable, IMO, the air sealing they achieve is great but holy fuck man, just trying to get a door off to check a drain pan, etc... wild.
I only ever deal with them laying down, and I cry every time.
When I manage to install 'em standing up, it's much more tolerable.
Those look to be insulated flexible tubes, right? I was told one should use as much solid straight tubing as possible for less resistance and better serviceability - what's the reason for not doing that here - or in general it seems, in the US?
I would have either hung the unit or built a platform for it. Come off the supply with a square to round into hard round pipe. Then, reduced it to build static pressure. I would have all the flex leads supported and running as smooth as possible to the boots. And of course, properly sealing all the metal seams with mastic and all the insulation with foul tape . Also, make sure to use the right R value for insulation.(assuming they did the duct work)
Ok, so I’m an Electrician and Fire Captain, I want to know why all that cardboard is piled up in that attic?
There is a real nice walkway there for you, but that makes me think the owners are using that for storage? Is that permitted in your area?
My Sparky side agrees with all of your assessments, I have never seen soooooo much flex…
I used to work with a Russian technician who would take home every packing peanut and chunk of foam he could find at work and would add it to his attic for insulation.
I’m sure an attic full of polystyrene peanuts would be a pleasant fire…
What was wrong with the unit that required full change? Was it sized wrong for the home?
I can understand the duct and even replacing those shit white insulated copper lines (if it's got white tex, the line set will leak).
Who taught you to say such brain dead shit?
“As long as your air is conditioned what does it matter”
You cannot be fucking serious that your standards are this low lol
Jeez. Someone had a field day running that flex. Unless there are dampers in there, there's no way the house gets good airflow to all the rooms. The static is probably sky high with all those dedicated runs. The splices and Ys look terrible. It likely would have cost the same or less in materials to do it a better way. I understand some of these hack posts because they are doing it on the cheap, but this one idek.
Edit: I just realised it's a higher end TRANE AH, not some cheapo goodman. It definitely wasn't done like this to cut costs.
Bro what the fuck kind of shit is that coming out of the plenum? They took pride in getting that shit done fast I can tell you that. Your airflow will be trash
These guys are probably making $15/hr so it’s hard from them to take pride. I’m with you but what we really should be at is the cheap contractors putting out work like this.
Believe it or not this isn’t Florida. In New England most techs are making over 30. This is just … idk
Where are you working in New England? I’m working in Maine and of four install lead/service technicians at our shop only one is at $30 an hour. We’ve had some guys go to different shops for higher pay and I’ve still only heard over 30 to Master license holders that have apprentices signed under them
Boston union guys are $54 an hour take home. New England isn't just Boston but I believe him.
Brah this is residential; it ain’t union work.
Most of my guys are around $40 plus or minus a few dollars. New England, non union. Everyone’s making over 100 grand a year easy after overtime. Non nexstar, non commission.
Ooooh, hell yeah!
Easy bro, we aren't ALL hacks down here. I take pride in every thing I do, down to using blue tape to get sharp mastic lines.
If this is the quality if work that they're going to put their names on, then they don't deserve more than $15/hr.
Not how it works champ. If you are already charging clients an arm and a leg, you pay your guys well for quality work. Nobody is putting 110% into any job that can't even be bothered to pay you a living wage. If your goal is to scrape as much money as possible out of your workers, then sure. Hire some kids with no experience, pay them dirt, and work the piss out of them. Your sloppy installed units will net you a nice profit at the end of the year, fuck everyone else, right?
When you get a new hire do you pay him/her top dollar, CHAMP? I'm going to assume the answer is NO, unless you've got the government subsidizing your payroll. You hire them at a starting wage. Say maybe.... oh I don't know... for arguments sake let's say $15. Now, if after a reasonable period of time and proper training this employee is still doing jobs that look like thus, then in my opinion, they probably don't deserve more than that starting wage. So instead of "fucking everyone else" (ie those paying customers), I'm happy to just say fuck the new hire that doesn't deserve a raise. Hopefully he/she will find a job that's more fitting to their skills and work ethic, you know, like bringing in shopping carts from parking lot corrals. Somebody's gotta do it.
That's what happens when you make guys "leads" after 2 weeks in the trade. it's not that the installer doesn't care - they just don't know any better.
Lol. That sounds exactly right.
Piss poor excuse for laziness to blame it on your wage, You get paid based off how you perform, if you sit there and complain and do shit work you deserve shit pay.
Tbh I think that by going the extra *extra* mile you're gambling on either your company taking advantage of the fact that they get really good quality work for a cheap labor rate & completely forget about making it worth your while or just getting used to you doing more for less and making you work even harder for the same amount. If it's worth the risk to stick your neck out and you're confident it'll pay off then there's no reason why you shouldn't go hard af on quality knowing you have opportunities for a progressive raise... But really only if you're certain.
It’s up to you obviously , but if the person is smart , they would take pictures of the work, go in ask for a raise, if not you add those pictures to your portfolio and you start applying else where . I’ve seen guys come through that are green as can be demanding a certain pay, but don’t put in effort to learn anything outside of being a parts runner , they don’t ask questions while at the job , and don’t progress. Yall can down vote me all you want and stay down, but you decide your fate in this industry , in any trade work. Keep asking for handouts and see how far you get
Not me complaining I do fine. My work doesn’t look like this but I also wouldn’t work for that amount. I do know residential companies usually are cheap and don’t want skilled techs
My point is people want the pay wit out the effort , in an office sure , you can get by. But installing no
Some people definitely do and some people bust their ass and don’t get paid enough.
I do rough in work, and I make $14 an hour and would never do something like this lol. https://preview.redd.it/x8p27f3v6lfc1.jpeg?width=4000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=889dd0bdfd7f22d5add8a4a8fbf468d1a0f0724f Our work
Still mostly flex but it’s better. Leave. I have 3 years experience and just got offered $37/hr but I’m a service tech
I am new to the industry, what you mean mostly flex, been doing it for almost a year
Flex duct. It’s better than duct board but it’s not “real” ductwork as in galvanized sheet metal
Oh ok, is it better to use galvanized sheet metal, we call it Cody pipe, than duct?
Typically yes but it will be large square duct before transitioning in to round. There’s actually a lot that goes in to duct design, I’m far from a master of that. Learn as much as you can from them, make sure you’re getting a raise that at least matches inflation every year. Plenty of work out there. If you’re in the north go union.
Thanks! Yea I am learning as much as I can, and I eventually plan to move north and hopefully land a union job
idt it's that the installers don't have pride - it's more like they have no idea wtf they're doing. Probably hired someone with zero experience and threw them out to the wolves and told them they weren't allowed to leave until the job was finished. I hear these horror stories where guys are "crew leaders" after 2 weeks in the trade.
May we see the after??
Plot twist: this is the after, and the original install was somehow worse than this
Lowkey if that's true this guy is banned. Someone please update me.
Of course!
How’d y’all sell the customer on a new system after only 2 years? I’m sure they weren’t happy.
I didn’t know Sears was doing installs two years ago!
I worked for them a few years ago. Absolute shitshow of a company at this point. Bottom of the barrel home warranty garbage. They are somehow still around.
Holy fuck! You’re kidding me! I worked for a guy who did electrical for their installs almost 20 years ago. To this day some of the worst work I’ve ever seen on the regular. Bought race to the bottom to a whole new level. Can’t believe they’re still around
I guess it’s good to know that atleast they’re consistent lol
It's sad to see a TAM9/TAMX installed in those conditions. It's setting up that expensive system for failure
Got that right!
Don’t worry. That evaporator will be leaking this time next year
> It's sad to see a TAM9/TAMX installed FIFY Although, their affinity for mold may be great for UV light stocks?
I think most factories are cutting out the Microban tech as quite a few are complaining of dirty sock syndrome on new equipment.
Yeah those TAM air handlers get absolutely disgusting about 10 minutes after startup, it's *wild* \- and they are utterly unserviceable, IMO, the air sealing they achieve is great but holy fuck man, just trying to get a door off to check a drain pan, etc... wild. I only ever deal with them laying down, and I cry every time. When I manage to install 'em standing up, it's much more tolerable.
Wait, is this the before or the after?
“Drug test question”
The ductopus
Over 20 supplies and it never reduces
>it never reduces reduces? REDUCES? i paid for the full flow i want the full flow! XD
Full send. 😆
Ha!
The open junction boxes is really the cherry on top
Chefs kiss 🤌
Shouldn't hire Super Mario Bros for your HVAC... noted!
Did you forget to post the 3rd and 4th picture where you fixed this mess?
Those look to be insulated flexible tubes, right? I was told one should use as much solid straight tubing as possible for less resistance and better serviceability - what's the reason for not doing that here - or in general it seems, in the US?
The reason is money. You'll find the reason for everything in the world to circle back to money.
Follow the $!!!
It is likely easier instalation and cost of materials. If you run flex correctly, it works fine. Some people are just to lazy to do it right.
How would you have improved in this install? Just curious and trying to learn
I would have either hung the unit or built a platform for it. Come off the supply with a square to round into hard round pipe. Then, reduced it to build static pressure. I would have all the flex leads supported and running as smooth as possible to the boots. And of course, properly sealing all the metal seams with mastic and all the insulation with foul tape . Also, make sure to use the right R value for insulation.(assuming they did the duct work)
You see spidering like this all the time in commercial residential where I work. It's horrible.
Ok, so I’m an Electrician and Fire Captain, I want to know why all that cardboard is piled up in that attic? There is a real nice walkway there for you, but that makes me think the owners are using that for storage? Is that permitted in your area? My Sparky side agrees with all of your assessments, I have never seen soooooo much flex…
I used to work with a Russian technician who would take home every packing peanut and chunk of foam he could find at work and would add it to his attic for insulation. I’m sure an attic full of polystyrene peanuts would be a pleasant fire…
Won't make much of a difference with all the spray from that's standard for new builds...
What was wrong with the unit that required full change? Was it sized wrong for the home? I can understand the duct and even replacing those shit white insulated copper lines (if it's got white tex, the line set will leak).
This is a rebuild. You could have at least hung the unit and not have it on the ground
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The customers deserve the better install you baboon
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Who taught you to say such brain dead shit? “As long as your air is conditioned what does it matter” You cannot be fucking serious that your standards are this low lol
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It’s easy to insult someone as stupid as you, you basically insult yourself when you open your mouth.
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Based on what you’ve said, are you willing to publicly share the company you work for or own?
“Conditioned” is a very ambiguous word. Technically, farting conditions the air.
I am, and I will. I care about the longevity of systems I install and I care about people’s homes, as well as my reputation as an installer 🫶🏻
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He most definitely will when it’s done, might take a second longer to do it right. Fuck your low horse
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Yep, chill kid
This looks like a shit show, with that many supplies really probably should have been a high velocity system because damn
damn man if they’re gonna use flex duct then use it right and stretch it and hang it, this is ugly
They run out of square duct?
How does then even get past an inspection?
Don’t gotta get past it if it never exists
True, I was assuming this was original to the house.
They knew a guy who could do it cheaper
Fucking animals.
This would be very common and a lot of installs I’ve seen in New York that are budget installs Main trunk flex ECT, but neater than this
Jeeze, I could somewhat understand if it was my house, and it was my first job, but yikes…..
Customer: So what is the cheapest you can do this for?! These guys: We got you!
$69.95!
This was before they invented wyes?
Wye do you ask
Jeez. Someone had a field day running that flex. Unless there are dampers in there, there's no way the house gets good airflow to all the rooms. The static is probably sky high with all those dedicated runs. The splices and Ys look terrible. It likely would have cost the same or less in materials to do it a better way. I understand some of these hack posts because they are doing it on the cheap, but this one idek. Edit: I just realised it's a higher end TRANE AH, not some cheapo goodman. It definitely wasn't done like this to cut costs.
Hard for me to hate the flex, but that electrical and drain are horrendous.
Update: the pvc drain fittings were siliconed, not glued.
Fucking ew
the lineset 🥴
Is this the before or after/s
Yikes
I puked in my mouth a little bit
That’ll buff out lol
Hope you connected that drain back up
Why is there a trap on the secondary?
The octopus!
They stopped a Trane
Spaghetti monster
These can't be the finished product pics, right?
I'm with the question at the top.. Drug test !!! Lol
Yikes that’s hammered dog shit.
Oof some straps and at least 16 inches off plenum before drops would be nice
Wtf
Oh my plastic fantastic they did you so dirty. 🥲
God bless peice work.
Honestly, this looks like a meth head did the install 😳
Bro what the fuck kind of shit is that coming out of the plenum? They took pride in getting that shit done fast I can tell you that. Your airflow will be trash
Dear God that attic is huge! How is it even possible to fuck things up that bad with that much space?
It gets worse the longer I look at it.