i hope this isnt too long and i dont ramble, but here i go:

about 6 weeks ago, a storm blew through the neighborhood and a tree partially feel on my neighbors house. it was his tree on his property.

well about 3-4 weeks ago, he has a contractor come to repair the house and cut down a few other trees that dont look too safe. this old guy and i guess his son are the contractors. the old guy is on a backhoe and the son is cutting.

first few trees go fine, but the 3rd one didnt. i was outside in my back yard watching and the old guy had the front bucket as high as he could on the tree to push it back away from the houses. i could tell it wasnt going to work due to all the limbs being on the same side as the bucket. well son starts cutting and the tree starts to go toward the backhoe and even lifts the front tires off the ground. well it turned and came sideways toward my house and just barly brushed the roof, but nailed my outside AC unit. put some nasty dents in it. and it was running at the time.

well old guy comes over and says "glad it wasnt a few ft taller, would have done some damage to the house and brick!" i said, "what about the AC?" he said, "oh i can fix that. i do AC work also!" so i gave him the benifit of the doubt.

systems seems to be working fine, and he came and took the lid off and tried to hammer out the dents. well it didnt work. he said he has an old top at his house he can replace mine with.

well, a month has past and nothing. so i call the local AC ppl and they come and look at it, new top:$386, also a coil is knocked sideways and the fins are rubbing the coil. not that it is leaking now, but guy said it will in a few years. new coil: $2600.

i really didnt think it was that much, so im getting one of my dads friends that does AC also to come and give me an estimate b4 i call the old guy and give him his total, but right now, it looks like about $3k.

he does have a company and is insured so i feel like he should pay the whole thing. dont you think??

oh yea, my house is only 3 years old!!!

 

He broke it, he should have it repaired for you. I wouldn't let him fix it, you need receipt, proper repair documentation.

 

Make a claim on his insurance. It was an accident but you should not go out of pocket for it. Be friendly until it stops working then you can be the bad guy.

 

When you say he is insured, you are talking about the tree cutter, right?

If so, I would say get his info and file a claim against his insurance.

If you mean your neighbor has a company and is insured, well that's a little trickier issue, but I'd still probably try to get the insurance company involved.


FWIW, the big ticket item is something that has not failed, but you have one expert say it might fail sometime. Unless the insurance companies really want you happy, that 'may or may not fail' item makes it much more complicated to get a settlement. Another expert might say something else.

BTW, how about your own homeowner's policy? You might get lucky and have them pay to fix it. I had to file a claim when my fence blew down and my agent bent over backwards to get me a check for 50% of the cost (total cost split with neighbors). Of course he's been my agent for like 20 years and I never had a claim before.

 

I agree he broke it, he needs to pay to get it fixed. It's not like you made the tree fall on your AC unit.

 

he is not a tree cutting service, he is a do it all i guess. his business is: "his name" contractors. i could give my homeowners a call, but i feel like i shouldnt have to pay.

now a few of you say to contact his insurance. do i do that, or does he? i should have the 2nd estimate tomorrow.

and he is not working on it anymore. i dont have faith in his work now. even my neighbor has some issues with him with his house...

 

Yep, he broke it, he should have to fix it! I wish life always worked that way, lol.


One scenario is your insurance company makes you whole and fixes your AC properly, then they go after the guy and/or his insurance company. You would have to pay your deductable, though.

 

Asking to have the damages repaired by the responsible party is not being a bad neighbor. You were cool enough to let the guy try to fix it, but he failed, so just give the estimates to your next door neighbor. Ultimately, if the contractor doesn't pay, then the neighbor is responsible, because it was his contractor who caused the damage. He should understand this, but if he doesn't then he is the bad neighbor.

 

one thing i guess i failed to say was, i have talked to my neighbor and he agrees with me and i told him my plans. the old guy went back to neighbors house for some touch ups and i guess neighbor told him my plans. that night, the old guy called me and said he has that lid. i told him that i am getting estimates and will get back to him. i only use cell phones, so the only way for him to get my number is from my neighbor. i just talked to the second repair guy and he will be here tomorrow!!

 

Couldn't agree more.

Now I'm not a hvac man but I do know a little bit about it so I'm confused. The ac ppl came out and told you that a coil is knocked sideways and the fins are rubbing the coil, right? This isn't making sense to me. The coil for the ac isn't outside, it's in the plenum on the furnace. Did he mean the compressor and that the fan blade is rubbing the cooling fins? Sounds like he may be looking at this as an insurance job and possibly making some extra coin. I know it doesn't really matter to you probably and after all if the home is only three years old then I would want it done right too, but I don't care for contractors who aren't honest (who does right?). You may want to consider calling the original contractor and see what they have to say. Not so sure Mr.Backhoe tree cuttin' genius guy is the right guy to be fixing it in the first place either.


Hey Dirt Bike Dave, your a hvac guy right? Does this sound right to you?

 

i do hvac for a living, what is your question, answers free of charge!(all answers as is no warranty) also the outdoor unit has a condenser coil, a compressor, a condensor fan motor and blade. in all reality if it isnt smashed, or leaking its ok. if it isnt level anymore the blade running out of balance will wear out the bearings and ruin the fan motor, which usually leads to compressor failure, if the louvers on the sides are against the condensor coil no big deal. what brand is it? post some pics? how old is the house?

 

^^^ I did not know that, learned something new today.

 

just the top is bent up and some of the fins on the side are smashed flat and you can tell one row of condenser coil is shoved to the right and the fins are at an angle with the shove, if that makes sense. the first ac guy said the vibration of the compresser will cause the fins that are rubbing on the shoved coil to make a hole eventually. earlier than if the coil was untouched. it is a Luxaire brand heat pump and the house is 3 years old!! ill try to get some pics up here in a few!!!

 

pics in my profile, dont have time to post....sorry!!

 

i would have it replaced by the neighbor, no offense but luxaire are low end budget brand, they arent the most efficient any way. the condensor in that thing are more like a car radiator. if it is bent, it could have stressed a joint in there. dont repair for that price, replace...