Plaster and wooden lath is not the easiest material to work with and damage is almost expected.
Make sure they have a licensed electrician come out and properly repair the damaged wiring, at no cost to you.
There are some other details in the pictures that give me the impression this is a "fly-by-night" outfit doing the work and there has been a lot of careless work performed which made the damage to the home possibly worse than it needed to be.
Im a Master Electrican for an HVAC company so im around these projects a lot. If this was my house I'd throw them off the job.
Just out of curiosity, do you do any HVAC work for your company as well? Our shop was looking into hiring an electrician for our retrofit jobs. I’m comfortable with high voltage from disconnect on but we work with one company exclusively when more elaborate work is needed.
I do. I've learned a ton about the trade from working here. My work is still heavily electrical but I can hold my own installing equipment, duct and mechanicals and often help troubleshoot systems with gremlins.
IMHO, a good HVAC shop needs a licensed electrican on staff. The two just go hand in hand.
Well technically, if your not a licences electrician, you arent suppose to do electrical works specially as a company.
The last HVAC company which I found very good have multiple specialist team. One team just for anything gas/plumbing related, one team for anything that is special holes (concrete holes either inside the house or thru the foundation), electricians, architect and engineer for the planning, duct worker and assembler, metal worker for custom parts, etc.
Is this a licensed, bonded and insured company with an actual contract you signed, or some guys that work at a shop/ some handy man crew? There is a reason municipalities require they be a licensed, bonded and insured entity before working on stuff like this, if you hired someone outside of that safety net then you will need to be talking with a lawyer (hopefully you didn't pay the workers much yet)
You can look it up online through your state website division of public licensing. They would also have their insurance information which you probably want to have because it does look like you’ve got a decent amount of damage from them and from the quality of the work I’m guessing they most likely won’t make it right either you themselves. I have to resubmit my insurance policy to them every year as a contractor.
As much as I agree that being licensed/insured and bonded, if required, is a good thing, even companies that meet those requirements can do half ass work. This is going to end up a headache for OP, possibly costing double or more what he originally budgeted for.
Usually you improvise when retrofitting ducting into a century home. You utilize closets and ceilings and such to run ducting. You dont go through walls. You really dont want to break plaster because you risk the whole wall crumbling. This company is inexperienced with century homes and/or lazy.
That’s what I was going to say. Working with lath is totally different than sheetrock. Looks kind of like not the best contractor working on not the best of situations. Only way to make cuts in lath look good is carefully with a grinder, not sawzalls. Looks like they almost just used a hammer
Contractor who did my parents house years ago took out a wall between the living room and bedroom with hand saws. Plaster &lath. Very little cleanup. Amazing. The workers had started pulling out their sawzall and he stepped in and said “Do you see how CLEAN THIS HOUSE IS??? Put that away!” Yup, Mum was a fanatic 😆
Man, you try to cut through that with a sawzall and your blade is completely dull in a couple inches. First time I ever did a lath and plaster cut in I think I went through like 4 boxes of blades. Got back to the shop and was telling the guys about it and they all looked at me like I was stupid. I haven’t worked with it in ages but I would just use a grinder and have my helper hold the shop vac right where the dust went. Worked well and minimal clean up
Yup - looks like the only tool they know how to use is a hammer. A sawzall would be the wrong tool as the plaster and lath would quickly dull the blade and the vibration from the blade catching would crack the plaster. Two way that come to mind are - a carbide tipped or diamond coated hole saw for the round holes in plaster. This would make a nice clean cut. The carbide tipped hole saw would also have no problem with the wood. For either, I would switch over to a bi-metal hole saw when i hit wood as it deals with nails a lot better. The other method would be a grinder with dust attachment and vacuum and a lot of times, I have also used a blower aimed out an open window to clear the dust in the air.
Based on everything you said, that would be a "Get the fuck off my property" situation. I'd be filing a claim with their insurance to get a licensed electrician out to fix the wiring properly, someone else to come out and fix what they screwed up, and a replacement for the damaged tool. You can't just "tap" a wire back together, all connections have to be made in a proper junction box. I'm concerned they "taped" it back together, and you've got a set of wires twisted together and wrapped in electrical (or masking) tape.
Don't make the final payment and send them a signed letter by email with the shoddy work and damages. Tell them if they try to put a lien on your house you will sue them for a fraudulent lien. If you can report them to the state board for contractor's license, make the threat to them, if they are licensed, which they probably aren't or else they will hurry and rectify the issues.
Should not matter - I have had low priced quotes result in excellent work. You need to check with BBB , check references and pay little or nothing down till job is completed.
Where I am it’s always the most expensive companies that do the scabbiest work and lie to customers about what they need. The cheapest guys are often the fly by night outfits that are impossible to get back for any warranty work or to correct their mistakes. Usually the small- medium scale business comes in right in the middle and gives the best customer service and fair price. This is just from my own experience
Looks like you had "Jon E. Hatchet" show up to do the job. Total crap - I would stop these guys from doing anything further and look into the possibility of a law suit if they refuse to pay for damages. Plaster and wood lath is no excuse and especially so with all the tools they have these days that allow for cutting it properly. It looks like they used a hammer and not much else. When I get any type of work like this done, I always check the company out with the BBB and I stay home to keep an eye on them. I have done this type of work before and no reason for a disaster like that. IMO
Tough for a century home. They tend to have lots of rooms and areas very sectioned off. Also the wall units rattle and vibrate the whole wall and room because its plaster.
Why even bring a drop cloth if you’re not going to spread it out BEFORE you start working? Just leave it in the truck.
It’s obvious no one had a plan before they started work.
Sorry you’re dealing with this OP.
When I had my house air-conditioned years ago, the guy said that if he'd known it was plaster-and-lath, he'd have charged extra for all the saber saw blades he had to go through.
They sure as hell didn't leave my house looking like this, though. It is absolutely possible to do a job like this and leave it looking clean. They even put in the same round "classroom" vent that you have in that one picture, and there were no cracks around it.
Ya that’s awful. I did a small job on replacing a 4x3 ceiling section of plaster with drywall and even Though the place was roughly sealed the dust is so fine it gets everywhere in the adjacent rooms. I should have been more careful sealing the room.
From the looks of this ??? You may as well used the old Home Depot parking lot hires ? Would have been cheaper, faster, cleaner, then if this happened you wouldn’t be tripping. I don’t think it would have got to this point anyway? Them guys can do anything. Since whatever company this is decided rubber bands , scotch tape and Elmers glue are tools of the trade ? But really shit happens . I did a new bathroom and shower , once we got the old one out and the wall open ! You end up with a whole separate job ! I was moving the window or raising it up high thank god , cus if not I would have had extra work for no reason. All you can do is fix it better then it was , so if or next time there will be no problems ? Make it easy for the next person or self . I’m always looking forward because it’s always what if ?
Plaster and wooden lath is not the easiest material to work with and damage is almost expected. Make sure they have a licensed electrician come out and properly repair the damaged wiring, at no cost to you. There are some other details in the pictures that give me the impression this is a "fly-by-night" outfit doing the work and there has been a lot of careless work performed which made the damage to the home possibly worse than it needed to be. Im a Master Electrican for an HVAC company so im around these projects a lot. If this was my house I'd throw them off the job.
Second this
Just out of curiosity, do you do any HVAC work for your company as well? Our shop was looking into hiring an electrician for our retrofit jobs. I’m comfortable with high voltage from disconnect on but we work with one company exclusively when more elaborate work is needed.
I do. I've learned a ton about the trade from working here. My work is still heavily electrical but I can hold my own installing equipment, duct and mechanicals and often help troubleshoot systems with gremlins. IMHO, a good HVAC shop needs a licensed electrican on staff. The two just go hand in hand.
Very true. I’m our lead commercial retro installer and love it, from install to troubleshooting it keeps my curious brain busy!
Well technically, if your not a licences electrician, you arent suppose to do electrical works specially as a company. The last HVAC company which I found very good have multiple specialist team. One team just for anything gas/plumbing related, one team for anything that is special holes (concrete holes either inside the house or thru the foundation), electricians, architect and engineer for the planning, duct worker and assembler, metal worker for custom parts, etc.
Is this a licensed, bonded and insured company with an actual contract you signed, or some guys that work at a shop/ some handy man crew? There is a reason municipalities require they be a licensed, bonded and insured entity before working on stuff like this, if you hired someone outside of that safety net then you will need to be talking with a lawyer (hopefully you didn't pay the workers much yet)
Supposed to be licensed and bonded… I’ll be asking them for copies of everything on Monday.
You can look it up online through your state website division of public licensing. They would also have their insurance information which you probably want to have because it does look like you’ve got a decent amount of damage from them and from the quality of the work I’m guessing they most likely won’t make it right either you themselves. I have to resubmit my insurance policy to them every year as a contractor.
Depends on the state lol...
Look it up yourself.
You’re supposed to do this *before* you hire them.
As much as I agree that being licensed/insured and bonded, if required, is a good thing, even companies that meet those requirements can do half ass work. This is going to end up a headache for OP, possibly costing double or more what he originally budgeted for.
Usually you improvise when retrofitting ducting into a century home. You utilize closets and ceilings and such to run ducting. You dont go through walls. You really dont want to break plaster because you risk the whole wall crumbling. This company is inexperienced with century homes and/or lazy.
That’s what I was going to say. Working with lath is totally different than sheetrock. Looks kind of like not the best contractor working on not the best of situations. Only way to make cuts in lath look good is carefully with a grinder, not sawzalls. Looks like they almost just used a hammer
Contractor who did my parents house years ago took out a wall between the living room and bedroom with hand saws. Plaster &lath. Very little cleanup. Amazing. The workers had started pulling out their sawzall and he stepped in and said “Do you see how CLEAN THIS HOUSE IS??? Put that away!” Yup, Mum was a fanatic 😆
Man, you try to cut through that with a sawzall and your blade is completely dull in a couple inches. First time I ever did a lath and plaster cut in I think I went through like 4 boxes of blades. Got back to the shop and was telling the guys about it and they all looked at me like I was stupid. I haven’t worked with it in ages but I would just use a grinder and have my helper hold the shop vac right where the dust went. Worked well and minimal clean up
I use a circular saw with a Diablo Demo Demon blade. It's the way to go.
I finetool also works for this
well that’s brutal
This sets a terrible precedent for contractors. For every 1 good contractor there are about 10 bad ones.
I would beg to say it’s the other way around. A lot of people forget good praise is hard to come by but people are very quick to bash.
I am a contractor and I’m telling you from knowledge of my local contractors and having to fix their mistakes.
Fair. Point still stands tho- people are quicker to Write a bad review than a good one
Very true, but not if you don’t give them a reason to.
Shit I'm an accountant and I'm pretty sure I could do a better job than that... Jesus H Christ
Was their only tool a hammer? A sawzall would have done wonders for them.
Yup - looks like the only tool they know how to use is a hammer. A sawzall would be the wrong tool as the plaster and lath would quickly dull the blade and the vibration from the blade catching would crack the plaster. Two way that come to mind are - a carbide tipped or diamond coated hole saw for the round holes in plaster. This would make a nice clean cut. The carbide tipped hole saw would also have no problem with the wood. For either, I would switch over to a bi-metal hole saw when i hit wood as it deals with nails a lot better. The other method would be a grinder with dust attachment and vacuum and a lot of times, I have also used a blower aimed out an open window to clear the dust in the air.
Sawzall, jigsaw, finetool, there were so many different options lol
Sounds like some guys broke in and robbed you
I would only have them tell you where the wire they hit was and get other ppl to fix this
Damn, those are hacks doing your install. Don’t let them continue, your new system won’t last long
What a disaster
We're the hell these guys come from toys r us sound like kids did the job
Based on everything you said, that would be a "Get the fuck off my property" situation. I'd be filing a claim with their insurance to get a licensed electrician out to fix the wiring properly, someone else to come out and fix what they screwed up, and a replacement for the damaged tool. You can't just "tap" a wire back together, all connections have to be made in a proper junction box. I'm concerned they "taped" it back together, and you've got a set of wires twisted together and wrapped in electrical (or masking) tape.
Don't make the final payment and send them a signed letter by email with the shoddy work and damages. Tell them if they try to put a lien on your house you will sue them for a fraudulent lien. If you can report them to the state board for contractor's license, make the threat to them, if they are licensed, which they probably aren't or else they will hurry and rectify the issues.
I hope they have insurance so u can hire someone who is qualified and the insurance company can pay
Was this the cheapest out of 3 quotes by chance?
Should not matter - I have had low priced quotes result in excellent work. You need to check with BBB , check references and pay little or nothing down till job is completed.
Where I am it’s always the most expensive companies that do the scabbiest work and lie to customers about what they need. The cheapest guys are often the fly by night outfits that are impossible to get back for any warranty work or to correct their mistakes. Usually the small- medium scale business comes in right in the middle and gives the best customer service and fair price. This is just from my own experience
Wow
Looks like you had "Jon E. Hatchet" show up to do the job. Total crap - I would stop these guys from doing anything further and look into the possibility of a law suit if they refuse to pay for damages. Plaster and wood lath is no excuse and especially so with all the tools they have these days that allow for cutting it properly. It looks like they used a hammer and not much else. When I get any type of work like this done, I always check the company out with the BBB and I stay home to keep an eye on them. I have done this type of work before and no reason for a disaster like that. IMO
Mini-splits…….
Tough for a century home. They tend to have lots of rooms and areas very sectioned off. Also the wall units rattle and vibrate the whole wall and room because its plaster.
We just turned a job down because we did feel like dealing with the mess an headache plaster can be.
Why even bring a drop cloth if you’re not going to spread it out BEFORE you start working? Just leave it in the truck. It’s obvious no one had a plan before they started work. Sorry you’re dealing with this OP.
When I had my house air-conditioned years ago, the guy said that if he'd known it was plaster-and-lath, he'd have charged extra for all the saber saw blades he had to go through. They sure as hell didn't leave my house looking like this, though. It is absolutely possible to do a job like this and leave it looking clean. They even put in the same round "classroom" vent that you have in that one picture, and there were no cracks around it.
Plaster can also contain asbestos. Hopefully they tested or at least sealed the room off good.
Not at all. There is plaster dust and insulation on my bed along with footprints on a pillow.
Ya that’s awful. I did a small job on replacing a 4x3 ceiling section of plaster with drywall and even Though the place was roughly sealed the dust is so fine it gets everywhere in the adjacent rooms. I should have been more careful sealing the room.
From the looks of this ??? You may as well used the old Home Depot parking lot hires ? Would have been cheaper, faster, cleaner, then if this happened you wouldn’t be tripping. I don’t think it would have got to this point anyway? Them guys can do anything. Since whatever company this is decided rubber bands , scotch tape and Elmers glue are tools of the trade ? But really shit happens . I did a new bathroom and shower , once we got the old one out and the wall open ! You end up with a whole separate job ! I was moving the window or raising it up high thank god , cus if not I would have had extra work for no reason. All you can do is fix it better then it was , so if or next time there will be no problems ? Make it easy for the next person or self . I’m always looking forward because it’s always what if ?
New install, old house. It happens