Heating Help

egress also

@ August 4, 2003 11:39 PM in code ?

may mean a window of a certain square footage, with a landing outside for exit!! come across something on a finished basement to which they wanted to count as a bedroom for appraised purposes, non opening would not count!! Murph'

Scott gets older......

@ August 4, 2003 11:36 AM in Happy Birthday Mr. Milne !!!

My apologies I cannot remember but I think Tuesday will be the big day!! Approaching the double nickle probaly would be my guess, have a great time !! Murph'

very well stated bryan

@ August 4, 2003 10:42 AM in charging for estimates

I do not see alot of bias in your post, nor do I see a bunch of pre-judged insults!! I have been watching this thread closely concerned about "my" customers and have cancelled a few rebuttles in the last few days to avoid flaming some selfish opinions that change like a political election. I have learned that many folks do not share a rapport with each other, and feelings of mistrust are very real. When things do not go my way I try not to take it personal and try to see it from the other prospective!! Murph'

call him

@ August 2, 2003 11:53 PM in Steam Contractors Suggestion

nm

and i did not.......

@ August 2, 2003 10:07 PM in Sabattis - High Adventure BSA (PAH)

get that turtle, but we had a good time in your section of the woods anyways !! Mind if we camp out in your yard during open house, should be great 100 years for Harley!! sorry to hear about life lost, take care. Murph'

little bit easier to bury

@ August 2, 2003 9:59 PM in charging for estimates

The time on multi million dollar jobs than some home heating systems. sure is the way they do it at government facilities and large corporations where they will expect return on investment and dip into taxpayer's pockets. But what you guys are talking could be possibly 10-15% of time spent doing estimates to total time spent doing the actual job itself. how many of these large cos. really do residential replacements. consolidators do not seem to last very long, too top heavy for the going rate!! And at what cost would the systems be with all the bells and whistles of "free design fees and consultations" trust me ,they would still not give up thier specs as proposed by some here. keep in mind that all the sales people and and designers are top heavy in the world of big buisiness, no matter how you get there, someone is paying. You just may not be aware of who, nor care. Are we collecting paychecks here?? Cause i'm thinkin most smaller shops (is what we'are talkin here correct)is where you will find the best of the bunch, and of course the worst!! I would not consider going to a commercial contractor for a home heating system nor would i expect to get the royal treatment from a guy that bids 300k projects for my piddely home project. What I see is wanting and wishing for the whole nine yards, and getting insulted when they do not get it, yah me too!! I tend to deal locally and use references when i purchase also, but i do not expect people to work countless hours for how i percieve the market to work!! And who the heck is Rancor?? I thought hector was making the trouble!! Murph'

only problem with....

@ August 2, 2003 11:07 AM in ford e-250's

the sprinter or benz was/is the towing capacity. they are rated around 3500lbs. payload but i believe the towing is limited to 5000lbs. not a good choice for what i wanted!! my last ford had the 351 in it and years gone by that straight I-6 was a workhorse. Murph'

loss leader.......

@ August 2, 2003 12:53 AM in charging for estimates

these "free" consultations are just for the attorneys to see if they have a case in court good enough to win!! show me the money would be the slogan, if not they decide not to take the case. Or at best throw out an enormous figure as per what they will charge, I would have thought most would have figured this out!! sort of like the supermarket throwing turkeys on sale during the holidays to get people in the door to pay for cranberries. Different game!!

whew !!!!

@ August 1, 2003 9:41 PM in ford e-250's

just ordered mine!! Murph' (they wanted 5300$ more for the diesel and wanted to keep the v-8)

whew !!!!

@ August 1, 2003 9:40 PM in ford e-250's

> about that!
>
> I don't think it is a problem on
> the triton v10's, only the v8's
>
> if its a
> lease, get out while you can!
>
> Chris

but chuck......

@ August 1, 2003 9:38 PM in charging for estimates

this gets to be like a sport for folks!! especially the semi-educated, who seem to feel that your presentation should be free of charge no matter what your cost are. You should not be watching the grass grow, you need to be loading the truck for monday morning!! you need not read more books, you should know this stuff by heart!! why you need sleep, perhaps at that time you need to be working on the books and finding out how you will close out the month! we are professionals and should cut corners so we can save folks money, but do not cut my job just save me money, pass it on to someone else!! send out a salesman to wear nice clothes and be trained in the field to explore options so these well intentioned folks will be educated in what provides solutions. make appointments and do not be late!! do not park in the driveway and give the dog a bath, all for $xx.xx like the other guy down the road, not $xxx.xx that needs to be charged so the wife need not take another job to be able to make ends meet or so we can get that new mini-van and spend a few hours of our structured time at the civic functions to make us feel better!! what a bunch of hooey!! I see a bunch of folks who do not do this work, wanting/suggesting how this works in a rose-colored world they live in. I see a lot of suttle little remarks being made from people that do not do this work, to what they percieve is value or the best bang for the buck. What I hear from these guys here is to do the job correctly, and most importantly safely!! whut all this at a low price, oh thats right lets compete with the moonlighters and "joe troll" DIY cause your jobs do not kik the crap outta ya to the point where ya just do not care to put more than 50hrs per week in. again this sounds like a sport to people' just like the giddy "power shoppers" at the mall. I must admit I am holding back quite a bit in respect for this site, but somewhere along the line humans being what they are there is lots of mistrust and misconception about what is fair and accurate about the trades. And also third hand info being passed around by people outside the trades. but i feel "free estimate" is a bad word, and it leads to alot of bad systems!! Murph'

i'll bet ......

@ August 1, 2003 9:06 PM in This website

its a regular poster, could be starcher, never know!!! Murph'

congrats Steve .......

@ August 1, 2003 6:16 PM in 28 years

Let her know we're all getting mushy with ya !! Murph'

this boy is.......

@ August 1, 2003 6:12 PM in I was a Moonlighter

playing both sides of the coin trying to get everyone riled up !! Anominity for the right reasons is one thing ,but to stir up the bull with an opinion floating both ways (to what disagreement is relevent)hmmmm..... now how about that flat-rate vs.T&M debate ?? Murph' (SOS)

but that night

@ July 22, 2003 3:28 PM in Not a care in the world that day

it was back to work !! Murph'

Mark turns 40 this week......

@ July 20, 2003 8:44 PM in HAPPY BIRTHDAY MR. HUNT........

probaly on a downhill slide now with all them years behind him !! either way, hoping you guys have a safe and happy celebration, I will be heading out for a snapping turtle round-up at the yates ranch !! (just kidding pah) Have a good one! Murph' (sos)

what parts are you

@ July 19, 2003 11:28 PM in Teledyne Laars boiler

referring to?? i have several installed with no call backs!! they seem pretty simple to me as far as not alot to go wrong!! Murph'

I DIDN'T WANT TO

@ July 18, 2003 10:53 PM in A humble observation

Repeat myself on paul's post, but i do want everyone to be careful, always!!

whatever you do.....

@ July 18, 2003 12:56 PM in Water Supply sizing

don't drop the soap !! with that said i would not be putting in 100psi plastic pipe (all you will probaly save is maybe 20-30 usdollars on the cost of the pipe) if you will bury this pipe, not much savings over the cost of the job itself, if like alan says if it rises n elevation you will probaly lose pressure, if it falls you might pick up a little!!might even need a booster pump to help in that area,and bladder tanks to keep the pressure more steady for the demand. which will have to do with the flow rates for the pipe sizing depending on your fixtures, hot water storage may be a little laxed too, i take it these will be electric units and to bump them 10 gallons would not cost much more verses gas!! my sizing charts tell me sch 80 @ 60psi 1 1/2 id. "should produce" 20 gal per minutes flow rate without a pressure drop for one thousand feet, and a four bathroom home requires 17 gal per minute as per "our" code (of course that does not take into consideration for weapons)you may have to settle for whatever size tap they provide from the local utilities then up-size from there!! we also use insta-tite fittings from meuller brass for all service lines as per local codes!! good luck !! Murph' (SOS)

lets not assume.......

@ July 18, 2003 10:36 AM in too much info

what is correct for "the customer" as far as what is right!! If we begin assumptions of what they "need" or can "afford",game over!! I have met folks in nice homes way over thier heads in debt, and guys running around in twenty year old beater cars with portfolios that would make a sultan blush. (not saying I do it myself) but properly done most folks would appriciate choices. To borrow another quote "been there, done that, got the t-shirt" Murph'

@ July 18, 2003 10:23 AM in too much info

> I first will say that I've been used and abused
> much the way you describe. I've also asked
> questions of a few people in the last 20 years.
> Only recently have I bought a book by Dan. Only
> recently have I watched this site regularly.
> However, I don't believe that those are
> pre-requisites for calling myself a "heating
> contractor". I haven't seen any seminars near me
> that I could attend. A 6 hour drive is too far.
> Different areas of the country have different
> mean incomes and require pricing to accomodate
> the public and stay in business ( I am at the top
> of the heap, price wise here ). I am respected by
> the public AND my peers for my knowledge and
> ethic, although not always liked.:) I have
> learned a couple of things here that answered why
> previous projects didn't work quite right. I had
> already "cured" them, but now know WHY. Broad
> statements regarding others' knowledge, etc. are
> demeaning, offensive and quite often inaccurate.
> Without personally knowing you I can't be sure,
> but it seems that the "horse you're riding is
> pretty tall". No disrespect to Dan or others,
> including you HR, but there are a LOT of
> knowledgeable people out there. Many have never
> been here. Most are not published authors.
> (Remember Alex is published !) Anyway, a little
> humility goes a long way and perceptions are what
> people see. If this is to be an exclusive site
> for "pro's" to "crow" I'm outta here, and HO's
> won't visit either to "Find a Contractor" or get
> belittled. There, that's off my chest! Can you
> tell you hit a nerve? Tony

@ July 18, 2003 10:23 AM in too much info

> I first will say that I've been used and abused
> much the way you describe. I've also asked
> questions of a few people in the last 20 years.
> Only recently have I bought a book by Dan. Only
> recently have I watched this site regularly.
> However, I don't believe that those are
> pre-requisites for calling myself a "heating
> contractor". I haven't seen any seminars near me
> that I could attend. A 6 hour drive is too far.
> Different areas of the country have different
> mean incomes and require pricing to accomodate
> the public and stay in business ( I am at the top
> of the heap, price wise here ). I am respected by
> the public AND my peers for my knowledge and
> ethic, although not always liked.:) I have
> learned a couple of things here that answered why
> previous projects didn't work quite right. I had
> already "cured" them, but now know WHY. Broad
> statements regarding others' knowledge, etc. are
> demeaning, offensive and quite often inaccurate.
> Without personally knowing you I can't be sure,
> but it seems that the "horse you're riding is
> pretty tall". No disrespect to Dan or others,
> including you HR, but there are a LOT of
> knowledgeable people out there. Many have never
> been here. Most are not published authors.
> (Remember Alex is published !) Anyway, a little
> humility goes a long way and perceptions are what
> people see. If this is to be an exclusive site
> for "pro's" to "crow" I'm outta here, and HO's
> won't visit either to "Find a Contractor" or get
> belittled. There, that's off my chest! Can you
> tell you hit a nerve? Tony