Taped joint between evap coil and duct. Issue?

[AHI in AR]

*Hypothetically* speaking, what (if anything) would you say about a case where the coil and duct are not equally sized and tape has been applied to close up a 2" or so gap on one side. If the tape is in place and there's no significant leakage, that is? The coil opening was larger, for the record.

[Jim Katen]

*Hypothetically* speaking, what (if anything) would you say about a case where the coil and duct are not equally sized and tape has been applied to close up a 2" or so gap on one side. If the tape is in place and there's no significant leakage, that is? The coil opening was larger, for the record.

I'd say that the ductwork was poorly installed, that it will leak in the future, and that someone should hire a good heating contractor to fix it.

[kurt]

Sounds like it could be fixed with a simple piece of sheet metal, or am I not seeing it right?

"Close the gap in the duct with a piece of sheet metal.....(?)".

[Marc]

If that's all there is to report on the duct system and it's an aluminum mastic tape, I might not say anything. It would cause me to look elsewhere for a general workmanship issue, which I would report if found.

Marc

[GHS]

If you are describing the ductwork that houses the coil was fabricated wrong or the new coil does not fit into the ductwork it should be replaced. No taped up seam to cover void.

Fabricate sheet metal to correct gap and seal is also a possibility.

[Les]

I am more with Jim or Kurt. It will require attention, but is so low on my radar that I may not even mention it. I have found myself not "sweating the small stuff" for the past several years. that requires a clear understanding by the client that I am not there to do a maintenance inspection. Expectations.

If you start the report with cut the grass, then you better mention the dirty kitchen floor. Stay consistant.

[Mike Lamb]

I am more with Jim or Kurt. It will require attention, but is so low on my radar that I may not even mention it. I have found myself not "sweating the small stuff" for the past several years. that requires a clear understanding by the client that I am not there to do a maintenance inspection. Expectations.

If you start the report with cut the grass, then you better mention the dirty kitchen floor. Stay consistant.

I would put it in the report and say the duct needs repair.

I am in the habit of mentioning as much in my report as possible. My summary includes the stuff I think is important.

I don't want anyone thinking I missed obvious problems, small or not. If the doorbell does not work I write it in the report.

"If you start the report with cut the grass, then you better mention the dirty kitchen floor."

I note that vegetation is overgrown, and it would depend on how dirty the floor was. If I thought it was un-cleanable I would write it up.

"I am not there to do a maintenance inspection." I thought that was a big part of what we do. Fix this. Fix that.

[AHI in AR]

Now that many of you have weighed in, here's the rest of the story. Over two years ago I inspected a home with a very tall crawlspace. HVAC equipment and ductwork were in the crawlspace. The equipment had been replaced about two years prior to my inspection. The system was performing properly, but I did note that the condensate drain coming off of the evaporator coil had a section with a "belly" in it that would likely clog up. I recommended having that repaired. I did see that the evaporator coil and the plenum didn't mate perfectly. However, they were attached together with an adequate amount of screws and the joints were sealed with mastic tape which was attached as it should be. I did not mention it since it didn't appear to be on the verge of failure. Besides, if the tape DID fail later a scrap piece of sheet metal could fix the problem. The total cost including a service call would be less than $200. For the record, I always have the blower running when checking out attics or crawlspaces so I can check for duct leakage.

So now, over two years later, I get a demand letter requesting almost $114,000. It seems that the tape loosened, and they believe that cold air escaping caused condensation to form and mold to grow. Included in that amount was $55,800 for replacing the heating and cooling system. Yeah. And it was just a run-of-the-mill Carrier heat pump. One with exposed ductwork, no less. There was also a figure of $8000 to replace the existing Visqueen. The total square footage under the house was probably about 2500 square ft. Apparently they were using some form of Visqueen that's infused with titanium. There was a figure of $15K plus for treatment of mold. (The photos they claim show mold almost universally don't.) And so on.

Wanna know the REALLY "funny" thing? They invested the princely sum of $350 for mold testing.

[mjr6550]

I follow Mike's approach for the reason the OP noted in his followup post.

I don't make a big deal of everything, but it goes in the report. That is probably why my inspections are now taking 3-1/2 to 4 hours, and why I try not to do many inspections anymore.