All Forum Posts by: Taran Rey

2Family home has a large outdoor deck and external stairs.

Present day: Home inspector (and two contractors) states unsafe beam joints and spliced stair stringers.

Seller has proof from city that deck/stairs passed inspection from 3+ years ago. They are refusing to pay for repairs/improvements.

Anyone have any experience with a situation like this?

I'm in the process of renovating my 2family in Western MA. Any advice on what heating solution to go with: mini-split or furnaces? Current heating is a single furnace and is a total loss since exhaust and distribution was done incorrectly. 
Mini-splits is what I've been advised on since it offers both AC and heating but I'm concerned of the maintenance. Each unit needs 5 and so there's 10 individual units that could need servicing; more chances for things to go wrong.

I'm looking for advice on general pros and cons from those with experience. I've already done some online searching/reading and looks like mini-splits have a lot of advantages but I've always lived in homes with furnaces so I'm partial to that.

Pros for mini-splits: both AC/heating, efficient (no loss of heat from ducts), MassSave program gets you a rebate of up to $10k per unit.

Cons: if mini-splits are the only source of heat/AC then they could not heat or a cool a unit well; in my case they'd be the only source. Each unit is about 1,200 sq ft.

Some Qs:

+ what's ongoing and preventative maintenance look like?

+ any pros/cons with installation? anything to watch out for with mini-splits?