Hi again.
Got a phone call from my Aunt today. She resides in California. Here’s the story:
Her house has been “under contract” since the dawn of time for inspection of termite and ant infestation. Her home has neither…years ago there was a termite problem but not any longer, or so she thinks. Her contract is now just for occaisional inspection for ant colonies.. contract for termite inspection no longer in effect.
Terminix Company buys out the contract she had with another company since this company folds and hands everything to Terminix. Terminix calls her up and offers a “Free” inspection for termites. She accepts offer. Inspector shows up and proceeds..everything looks in order. He informs my aunt that her downspouts should have extenders on them so that the water is directed away from the house. Currently her downspouts terminate straight down next to foundation…not a good thing.
Inspector checks crawlspace…informs my aunt that he cannot check out entire area due to water in crawlspace. He claims water is “standing” but he does not attribute this water to any leaks in plumbing.
He informs my aunt that the best way to handle this “water problem” is to let Terminix install approx 4 large fans that will be permanently installed inside her crawlspace . These fans are similar to hair dryers, run off of their own thermostats, and will cost $1,000 each to be installed!
I say…give me a break! I told my aunt that the gutter/downspout problem is probably the culprit and that the downspout situation definately needs addressed. Also told her that for $40 rental, she could rent a small pool pump to pump this water out of her crawlspace…or for around $80, rent a regular trash/debris pump and pump water out if water is that bad ( she does not know how much water is actually there). My aunt has a regular care-taker/handyman who can easily hook up and run either type of pump.
Bottom line, California has been having a lot of rain lately…I figure her downspouts are the problem. For less than a few hundred bucks total, both the downspouts can be altered and the crawlspace be pumped out and dried. Instead, Terminix wants to make $4,000 on the deal! BTW, my aunt informed the inspector she would have to “think about it” and would get back to him sometime later…. in turn, he said he would call her back later tonight to get her answer… now talk about pressure sales!!!
Doesn’t sound like a free inspection to me, does it?
Anyone else ever hear of using such fans? Sounds like a lot of Bull to me.
Thanks.
Davo
Replies
Sounds like a whole lot of bull to me, too.
Sounds like you are already on the right track.
Assuming that the possibility of a plumbing leak has been eliminated.
"I will never surrender or retreat. " Col. Wm. B. Travis, The Alamo, Feb. 1835