Albuquerque Journal

problems With heating system in slab Floor

- b Barry Stone Certified Building Inspector Distribute­d by Action Coast Publishing. To write to Barry Stone, please visit him on the web at www.housedetec­tive.com

DB:Mw if dI mkig ffwhmdc cd b uh hi gs sm. Ii sh dic h i g, wi h h w hss u i g hughhs lb fl.W’ widbc us ii smdwi he IIIhss, dw’ vldhh is mil is pf gig c ls scilw sui. Whh ch cshwwillhv p bl mswih his s sm? Duk

D Duk : Entran III hoses, used for hydronic heating, are manufactur­ed by Goodyear Tire Company. Because of the company’s solid reputation in the tire business, problems with their heating hoses came as a big surprise to many people. The main issue was cracking of the lining inside the pipes, resulting in leakage and significan­t damage to the homes where this occurred.

Goodyear’s previous version of the product, Entran II, was the subject of a class action lawsuit that was settled for $324 million in 2009. The company then produced Entran III, an upgraded version of the original piping, intended to eliminate cracking and leakage. Unfortunat­ely, complaints of leakage led to further lawsuits. In January of 2015, a federal court in Colorado ruled in favor of Goodyear, citing insufficie­nt evidence to prove that their product was defective. However, related lawsuits continue.

Online discussion­s by contractor­s and home inspectors express uncertaint­ies about the durability of Goodyear’s Entran III hoses in homes with hydronic heating. Most of the alarmism, however, seems to come from attorney firms that are involved in related class action lawsuits.

Because there have been so may system failures in homes, and because final judgment on the matter has not been determined, it would be wise to approach the purchase of this home with caution. In all likelihood, there are new homes in your area with standard forced air heating systems that are not subject to questions and worries. Why take chances on a potentiall­y defective hydronic heating system when you can find an equally desirable home with a convention­al source of heat? DB: Ijusmvdimh us dfudsvlp bl mshw miss dbmhmispc.nwI’ v ldhhhsl bib us iss fwmhs.WhcIdv id bigsuckwih­llh pi css? au si

D aus i : It has been said: “There are new home inspectors, and there are true home inspectors, but there are no new, true home inspectors.” Now that you’ve discovered undisclose­d defects, you should contact your inspector. Ask him to re-inspect the subject issues and explain why he did not report them. If the defects were visible and accessible, he should take responsibi­lity for the repairs. If they are too costly for his budget, he should file a claim on his errors and omissions insurance, assuming that he is insured.

It would also be a good idea to have the home re-inspected by a more experience­d and qualified inspector to see what additional defects were missed.

 ??  ??

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United States