Which contaractor is responsible?

Question

I recently had a furnace replaced, while the contractors were changing out the old system they realized there was a chimney obstruction. I had a chimney company check it out, the chimney was collapsed and needed to be replaced.

The work is all finished and everything seems to be working fine now. The issue I am having is the mechanical room and hallway are filled with sute. Everything my tenant is storing in that room is covered with sute. Or course no one is taking responsibility. The question I have is, who is reasonable for the $2700+ to have the basement cleaned?

Any feedback would greatly be appreciated

Colleen F. · Answer

@Frank Rizzo  was the soot the symptom of the issue or is it what came out the chimney during repair?   If there is a pile of soot from chimney cleaning the chimney company should have removed it. However if the soot was a result of the furnace going on and the chimney being blocked then it is on you.  Seems like a lot of cost for the repair.

Matt Devincenzo · Answer

There is no way to answer this question from the information given. Was there a scope of work included for either contractor that included 'final cleanup' of all the soot following chimney demolition etc? My guess is this is most likely actually your responsibility and you have to pay for it.

The furnace contractor wouldn't have included that scope when they bid since they were unaware the chimney was collapsed. And the chimney company wouldn't have included it assuming that the furnace contractor was responsible for it since they were going to finish their install and clear out after the chimney was replaced. Meaning that since you didn't ensure there wasn't a scope gap, the cost is something you have to bear by either hiring a cleaner or adding it to one of their scopes and paying for it.