Several weeks ago I agreed to have my home evaluated by a company supposedly affiliated with the natural gas company in the area. They came and did a free survey, and found some things that could be signs of trouble,so they convinced me to pay for a more complete test that included a door fan and infra red camera pictures. Yesterday a man came out to give me a report.
He had a 40 page report with lots of colorful pictures, that were quite dramatic. They showed heat loss from my home. He told me I had 3 very serious problems with my house, and a number of minor issues. They could all be fixed for just over $8,000. If I eliminated the more minor problems, the price would come down to over $4,000. I told him I wasn't prepared to make a decision yesterday. I needed time to process the report and consult with some friends. He was not happy. I told him to call me in about a week, and that I was inclined to do 1 or 2 of the recommended items. He told me how important it was to do all of them, because the house is a system, and just fixing one or two would make the other problems much more serious. After 2 hours, he left. I hadn't signed a contract. He refused to call me back, telling me I could call him if I decided I was interested.
I have spent some time looking through the report in more detail. One of the interesting pieces is that those dramatic infrared photos all have different temperature ranges, designed to make them look even quite dramatic. I think I'll see about making sure there isn't any insulation blocking the soffit vents in the attic, but installing a ridge vent, additional soffit vents, and baffles will wait until I'm ready to replace the roof. I don't think I will be calling him back. I did some internet research on the company, and now I know why he didn't want to give me time to reflect....
I'm very relieved that I stood firm and said, "Not today."
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