Home inspector didn’t inspect furnace
Q: When we bought our house, our home inspector never turned on the forced air furnace to test it. After moving in we found that the furnace makes an annoying pop sound after the burner turns off. Contractors I’ve spoken to say this is normal, but our old furnace never did this. What do you think?
A: The “pop sound” you describe is typically caused by uneven expansion or contraction of the furnace components when they heat up or cool down.
Although not a characteristic of most furnaces, it does happen with some models and is not a problem in most cases. If it wakes you in the middle of the night, of course, it can be an irritating nuisance.
In some cases, repeated expansion and contraction of metal components can cause cracks. In a heat exchanger, this would be dangerous because of potential contamination of the air.
Therefore, your furnace should be thoroughly inspected by a licensed HVAC contractor to make sure it is in safe condition.
It is surprising that your home inspector never tested the furnace. Failure to do so is professional negligence. In such cases, a critical question would be, “What other components in your home were not inspected, and what other issues were not disclosed?”
Other furnace conditions that might have been overlooked could involve the burners, the exhaust ventilation, the combustion air supply, the air distribution system, etc.
If your home inspector did not consider those issues, how thorough was the inspection of the electrical system, the plumbing, the roofing, the foundation, and other aspects of the property?
The best way to answer these questions is to hire another home inspector: someone with many years of experience and a reputation for thoroughness.
Q: I used to work for a property management company and have seen many problems involving water heaters. Lately, I've been hearing about tankless water heaters. How do they work and what is your opinion of them? Are they worth the extra cost?
A: Tankless water heaters have been popular in Europe and other areas of the world for decades and are gaining increased popularity in the U.S. Their advantages are twofold: They provide an unlimited hot water supply, and they save money on utility bills.
A tankless water heater consists primarily of a copper coil, where the water is heated, and a gas burner or electric heating element.
When a hot water faucet is turned on in the home, the flow of water through the tankless water heater signals the heating element or burner to turn on, and the water is heated continuously as is passes through the coil.
Tankless water heaters cost several times as much as conventional water heaters. But the cost to operate them is less than that of conventional water heaters because they do not contain a tank of water to be kept hot at all times.
If you plan to keep your home for many years, a tankless water heater is worth the investment because the energy savings will eventually surpass the initial cost of installation.
Otherwise, the savings may not justify the initial outlay. But regardless of cost, you'll appreciate the endless hot water supply, especially if you enjoy taking long showers.
• Distributed by Action Coast Publishing. Questions to Barry Stone can be emailed to barry@housedetective.com.