During construction, ductwork to our second floor was damaged and not replaced or repaired, despite our requests and concern. We were assured that there would be no issue with heating or cooling the areas those ducts supplied. Those areas (our master bedroom and a bathroom) are several degrees colder in the winter with even more temperature discrepancy in the summer. Coincidence? I think not. The developer has had Smith and Willis check the air flow at all the registers twice. Each time, the technician noted there was an issue with the areas in question and told us someone would be getting back with us. Both times, the developer said that Smith & Willis said there was no problem and that they would be taking no corrective measures. The difference in measured airflow between areas of the house where the temperature is close to what we set on the thermostat and where the temperature is +/- 10 degrees from the thermostat setting is between 30-50 less than other registers as measured by Smith & Willis technicians. Now that we no longer have to go through the developer for warranty repairs, we called a company recommended by Carrier. Their technician found that Smith & Willis had not installed the required high altitude pressure switch, causing some of the issues we'd been having, and that the air flow from the two ducts in question is definitely reduced significantly,causing the two rooms to be too hot in the summer and too cold in the winter. That is the same conclusion a professional engineer (PE) made, and both the other company and the PE concluded that the restrictions caused by the dents in the ductwork to those rooms are the likely problem. (We also have pictures and videos taken at several stages of construction of the problems areas so there is no question of the extent of the damage to the ducts.) Summer is worse simply because warm air does rise so we can compensate in the winter somewhat for the poor airflow by keeping all the doors open on the second floor. We also installed ceiling fans in the great room and all the bedrooms to decrease the impact of the problem. Despite repeated efforts, we were unable to get Smith & Willis to correct the problems they caused. Noticing that the good reviews on here are about two years old, one has to wonder what happened to their formerly good service. I'm just happy that we no longer have to deal with them and are free to call another HVAC company to address the issues Smith & Willis created. Of course, that does not absolve them of the responsibility for the repairs, or costs incurred to fix their errors.
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