As someone who does commercial - commercial will eat your days. You can't take many calls per day when you have to climb, haul tools and parts, climb more ladders, do repairs, write invoice, take a sanity break, pack up etc.... If I can fit a compressor install into a single day I am happy. I mostly work alone that being said.
My business does mostly commercial and in upstate NY these flood rooftops are a common occurrence. I don't even start working until my sump gets all the water off the roof. And yes I bill for that time. I'm not getting trench foot for these fools.
On flat roof commercial buildings a roofer can install tapered roof insulation; that insulation when properly installed will eliminate water on a roof, roof ponding. Most roofers don't install tapered insulation when re-roofing, it requires time and it requires basic high school geometry to do it right; and when they mess up they'll have to wait weeks to get the correct roof panels they forgot to order. And, most customers won't pay for it. The people who have it installed are generally people who own their building, care about their building and plan to be in the same place in 10-years.
Just a few tips on working on a swap roof it you want to pick up the service. Recommend piping the condensate traps to the nearest roof drain . Anytime you have 1 of 3 condenser fan motors out you can blank off the bad motor with cardboard to prevent the hot air from recirculating into the condenser, it will drop your head pressure a bit. Try not to take the blower panel off when running because you run the risk of the insulation ripping off into the blower wheel Check temp splits first. Good work Curtis.
I'm considering dropping residential and going into working on commercial full time. I like working on those because they'll basically diagnose themselves. I make the company pay for anything expensive upfront.
As long as your customers are not whiners evertime they call you out. I worked on commercial for a restaurant. They wouldn't approve to have stuff fixed the proper way. They just wanted band aid reairs. So everything was constantly breaking down. & they'd bitch about the diagnostic fees & they'd bitch at any estimate to get them back up & running. They'd go over my head & call my boss demanding a free repair on their package AC unit because I was "just out there last week". But last week I wasn't working on an AC system, I was working on the salad bar😂. That's how ridiculous they were. They refused to gt on any preventative maintenance programs. & they wouldn't do any PM through any one else, or on their own. & they bitched & refused to approve of any work to be done; but they wanted it fixed. I hated running those calls. Don't miss it! At least in residential, you get cash tips.
@@adamrspears1981 I own my company, so that makes it better. I'll probably choose certain customers, like dollar general.. they have been bothering me pretty bad lately wanting me to start working on their stuff again. I used to. I don't really care if they whine. I've had a few commercial customers whine and I told them to call someone else, they called me back in less than a month begging me to come back.
I'd say if they limit you to a two hour diagnostic for all of their ragged mess, you don't need to walk away, you need to run. Glad you made it safely off that roof.
Apparently a lot of techs think you're supposed to rip those doors off and bend the hell out of them. Then when you reassemble, only use 1 or two screws if you're feeling generous, then throw the others on the roof. Edit- I shouldn't have called them techs. More like Craiglist handymen.
You are walking in a pond because they have poor roof drainage, which is going to result in roof damage someday. You never know what you’re walking on when you go on roofs like that.
It looked like you were way out of your element on that one. Good call to pass it off. If that MAU had fired off you could have filled the kitchen with dust.
You have two (2) Choices if you need to go back down to your Truck. 1. Bring the Canoe and Oars back up with you. 2. Get in your Van and High Tail it out of there.👍
I have been an electrician for over 50 years and standing in water turning on and off disconnects isn’t what you want to be doing. They need someone to drain that roof top and fix that before you work on those units.
Can't complain about comercial work we did about 70 residential 30 comercial vary few nightmares comercial but damn that looks like something out of a steven king novel 😅😮😢
I'm no HVAC contractor but it appears all of those PVC drains need to flow off of the roof...no onto the roof and let it finds its way to a drain path etc. Just the green algae tells you the roof is going to have major issues if that concern is not addressed. Those big units are interesting...they sure get a grinding work out. Also that roof rain needs modified not to clog up that easy.
FYI...I'd recommend letting them know a plumber/roofer and/or HVAC needs to get the roof drainage under control prior to any further HVAC repairs/maintenance.
Why? They are easy to repair.. they basically diagnose themselves. I make anyone risky pay for the parts upfront. I made the last commercial job pay for the jug of 404 before I picked it up.
That roof is a timebomb waiting on collapsing.. . Geeze next time if you see that just take the loss. Thats like one in the chamber on an eight shot... would love to see the structural integrity underneath.. sure its holding water today. But was it 3 years ago, last month, a decade ago....
@@jthonn thank you for the clarification. I would’ve thought that the low pressure vapor line would be insulated. On my residential system, it is at least up to the service valves
thats more than a day of repairs because you will find even more issues.......Takes lots of time tracking down breakers and controls on the first visit. They need a plumber to address the roof drains!
That was what I did for 20 + years one plant crew of about 35 ,24huors 7 day a week over 8 million sq ft under A/C 12 million sq ft under heat seldom a dull day . Mixed bag some ahi you could park a trailer truck in and some not much bigger than a lunch box😂
I Would Have Grabbed a Squeegee from down in the restaurant below and Pushed the Water out of my work area. wouldn't take but a few minutes. better than walking in water.
I have a friend that only does commercial work. The only commercial work I did was my own. I don't blame you a bit for turning that nightmare away. Good video
Don't see a whole lot of of those evaporative swamp coolers here in the eastern side of the country. I bet that might be main origin of all that water too beside the rain. They obviously got a water line leak and a blocked drain if that's case.
I"ve retired from doing HVAC. And I will say, your video was **typical** for commercial accounts. Zero maintained units. More often than not? Filters that should be changed weekly, haven't been done in months. The issue is, corporate won't pay for a dedicated, trained maintenance guy. So if the manager even bothers, it's Jeb who's duties consist of mopping the floors, taking out the trash, etc, is sent up to the roof to "maintain" things. It's not Jeb's fault: he was never trained, and the manager knows less than Jeb does in the first place. Filter? What's that? What'ya mean the roof is a pond? Check the drain? What's that? And so on... The idea is? If the place isn't terribly hot? Ignore it, hoping it'll go away... then *boom* nothing is working (domino effect) and suddenly? It's an emergency... A routine, weekly inspection would have prevented 90% of what went wrong... from someone who understand *basic* stuff. Filters? Clean. Drains? Clear. Coils? Not dirty. Fans? Spinning. Pipes? Sweating. Really simple things, even Jeb, from Janitorial, could be trained to handle... ugg. I hated commercial, myself.
As someone who does commercial - commercial will eat your days. You can't take many calls per day when you have to climb, haul tools and parts, climb more ladders, do repairs, write invoice, take a sanity break, pack up etc.... If I can fit a compressor install into a single day I am happy. I mostly work alone that being said.
Run away quick! They won't pay you either.
Are you working on top of a los pollos hermanos? The first thing I would have done is get the roof drain unclogged.
Curtis, that was a wise decision, before starting any work on that roof it needs to be drained off, just for safety reasons 😟 Au
Not all commercial work looks like that rooftop
Most does Not. 👎
My business does mostly commercial and in upstate NY these flood rooftops are a common occurrence. I don't even start working until my sump gets all the water off the roof. And yes I bill for that time. I'm not getting trench foot for these fools.
in Fact 99% Do NOT Look like that. at Least not around here unless it's a Bar !
On flat roof commercial buildings a roofer can install tapered roof insulation; that insulation when properly installed will eliminate water on a roof, roof ponding. Most roofers don't install tapered insulation when re-roofing, it requires time and it requires basic high school geometry to do it right; and when they mess up they'll have to wait weeks to get the correct roof panels they forgot to order. And, most customers won't pay for it. The people who have it installed are generally people who own their building, care about their building and plan to be in the same place in 10-years.
The grade isn't the issue. The drain is backed up! He showed it in the video
I was watching saying to myself No,No,No,No lol!!!! while you were in that pond and about to mess with that electrical breaker. 😅
Me too! 😬
Just a few tips on working on a swap roof it you want to pick up the service. Recommend piping the condensate traps to the nearest roof drain . Anytime you have 1 of 3 condenser fan motors out you can blank off the bad motor with cardboard to prevent the hot air from recirculating into the condenser, it will drop your head pressure a bit. Try not to take the blower panel off when running because you run the risk of the insulation ripping off into the blower wheel
Check temp splits first. Good work Curtis.
I had to use the 'ol block the bad fan motor off with cardboard trick to get a customer through the 4th of July. It worked!
I'm considering dropping residential and going into working on commercial full time. I like working on those because they'll basically diagnose themselves. I make the company pay for anything expensive upfront.
As long as your customers are not whiners evertime they call you out.
I worked on commercial for a restaurant. They wouldn't approve to have stuff fixed the proper way. They just wanted band aid reairs. So everything was constantly breaking down. & they'd bitch about the diagnostic fees & they'd bitch at any estimate to get them back up & running. They'd go over my head & call my boss demanding a free repair on their package AC unit because I was "just out there last week".
But last week I wasn't working on an AC system, I was working on the salad bar😂.
That's how ridiculous they were.
They refused to gt on any preventative maintenance programs. & they wouldn't do any PM through any one else, or on their own.
& they bitched & refused to approve of any work to be done; but they wanted it fixed.
I hated running those calls. Don't miss it!
At least in residential, you get cash tips.
@@adamrspears1981 I own my company, so that makes it better. I'll probably choose certain customers, like dollar general.. they have been bothering me pretty bad lately wanting me to start working on their stuff again. I used to. I don't really care if they whine. I've had a few commercial customers whine and I told them to call someone else, they called me back in less than a month begging me to come back.
Rooftop lake 😂, some techs don't even go up if they see that, who to know how much weight that is.
Using the bucket I’m a truck driver and we always carry a bucket with bags in it never know
i like the stripped evap cooler warming the refrigeration rack... why even close it in at that point lmfao
No way would I have flipped that switch standing in that water.
Me either, but he used his voltmeter.
I'd say if they limit you to a two hour diagnostic for all of their ragged mess, you don't need to walk away, you need to run. Glad you made it safely off that roof.
just a heads up....the panal on those go on top first ...the flange on top goes into the unit then the bottom snaps in... enjoy your videos
Apparently a lot of techs think you're supposed to rip those doors off and bend the hell out of them. Then when you reassemble, only use 1 or two screws if you're feeling generous, then throw the others on the roof.
Edit- I shouldn't have called them techs. More like Craiglist handymen.
the way the entire roof looks I'd bet the condenser coils are clogged worse than my arteries lol
I'd of just pissed in the water. Hell there's plenty of it! Pick a spot & go😂
That's not a customer. That's a future OSHA video.
You are walking in a pond because they have poor roof drainage, which is going to result in roof damage someday. You never know what you’re walking on when you go on roofs like that.
That is true, Flat roofs suck. Plus that one had blocked drains.
I'd worry about getting Electro-Pooted standing in that water! 😬
Restaurant work is bottom of the barrel. Just like malls. My company has zero of that
Swamp Monsoon Season in Sunny, Hot and Humid Georgia. 🥵
That roof looks like a real mess; it would be nice is they provided drainage into a large pipe for all the condensate to be drained!
Electrical hazard working in water, mosquito breeding ground, slip and fall hazards and who knows what is in the water.
Yes, slip and fall against a live 480v circuit while standing in water, and you become a conductor, aka "toast".
Regular, Loyal, Customers, are Top Priority. 👍🙏
Indeed
Literally anything else has priority over a shitty new customer restaurant...
Cardboard would have to go over the hole of the non working fan
It looked like you were way out of your element on that one. Good call to pass it off. If that MAU had fired off you could have filled the kitchen with dust.
Boots and rubber gloves if you keep working on that roof
You have two (2) Choices if you need to go back down to your Truck. 1. Bring the Canoe and Oars back up with you. 2. Get in your Van and High Tail it out of there.👍
I pick no. 2
Some days there is just not enough Curtis to go around😅. That roof has almost zero drainage! You need to charge extra for a boat lol
That stuff is going to dry up and suck back up onto the condenser coils.
Great video 👍👍
Thank you 👍
I have been an electrician for over 50 years and standing in water turning on and off disconnects isn’t what you want to be doing. They need someone to drain that roof top and fix that before you work on those units.
And yes I understand the bucket comment
Great job,Curtis!
Do what I do, poke holes in the roof wrap. It'll drain, I promise.
@@carldrake959 genius
Can't complain about comercial work we did about 70 residential 30 comercial vary few nightmares comercial but damn that looks like something out of a steven king novel 😅😮😢
Hell, anymore, I'm afraid I'll need the bucket even when not stuck on a roof.
lol
I have to run roof leaks on roofs like that. Oh the joy.
The dry spots are where it's leaking.
I'm no HVAC contractor but it appears all of those PVC drains need to flow off of the roof...no onto the roof and let it finds its way to a drain path etc. Just the green algae tells you the roof is going to have major issues if that concern is not addressed. Those big units are interesting...they sure get a grinding work out. Also that roof rain needs modified not to clog up that easy.
FYI...I'd recommend letting them know a plumber/roofer and/or HVAC needs to get the roof drainage under control prior to any further HVAC repairs/maintenance.
Good call Curtis not enough hours in the day to take on that one thanks for the video
the far side panel of that one panel on the second unit looks like it was peppered with a 12 gauge
You had to use the spackle bucket man i got tricked by the guys with that one. A rookie prank
As Gandalf would say, "Run!"
Package until need time to diagnose and fix.
When you see that. Turn and leave not worth your time. probably won't do needed work and if they do won't pay. To unsafe not worth the risk.
Why? They are easy to repair.. they basically diagnose themselves. I make anyone risky pay for the parts upfront. I made the last commercial job pay for the jug of 404 before I picked it up.
That roof is a timebomb waiting on collapsing.. . Geeze next time if you see that just take the loss. Thats like one in the chamber on an eight shot... would love to see the structural integrity underneath.. sure its holding water today. But was it 3 years ago, last month, a decade ago....
When you looked at the first unit, you commented “that one’s not sweating back “can you please help me understand what you mean by that?
That cold line in this heat and humidity "sweats", so if it isn't it is not working. Using site instead of touch.
@@jthonn thank you for the clarification. I would’ve thought that the low pressure vapor line would be insulated. On my residential system, it is at least up to the service valves
thats more than a day of repairs because you will find even more issues.......Takes lots of time tracking down breakers and controls on the first visit. They need a plumber to address the roof drains!
Didn't knew you did commercial too nice
The louvered panels on the make up air are upside down.
Not good, but pretty much like working snow covered rooftops. Need a good pair of rubber boots. Get payment incrementally as you proceed.
I have trouble doing videos in the summer because GoPro's overheat after just a few minutes if the ambient is above 85F in my experience.
I think if you would’ve had to take those you would’ve had to charge them the big money in order to do that job. And I mean the big big money.😂😂😂
That would be the only good thing about that job.
all I see is live electric that was and may still be in water. yikes !
I would have taken one look at the roof condition and walked off.
This caption is misleading. The rooftop is not under water. Yes, there is standing water on the flat roof. It will evaporate.
The best thing about working for yourself.....being able to just walk away.
Love your vids!!!
Good decision Curtis. That place is a nightmare.
That was what I did for 20 + years one plant crew of about 35 ,24huors 7 day a week over 8 million sq ft under A/C 12 million sq ft under heat seldom a dull day . Mixed bag some ahi you could park a trailer truck in and some not much bigger than a lunch box😂
This is why I love commercial 😂
Stick to residential Curtis 😂.. I wouldn’t want to be putting my hands in electrical boxes either & when your feet are stepping on water.
I Would Have Grabbed a Squeegee from down in the restaurant below and Pushed the Water out of my work area.
wouldn't take but a few minutes. better than walking in water.
I have a friend that only does commercial work. The only commercial work I did was my own. I don't blame you a bit for turning that nightmare away. Good video
lol The Bucket?
Either you know or you don’t!
Don't see a whole lot of of those evaporative swamp coolers here in the eastern side of the country. I bet that might be main origin of all that water too beside the rain. They obviously got a water line leak and a blocked drain if that's case.
I think they were just makeup air units. Didn’t see any water hookup.
The water is from the condensate going directly onto the roof. Here on the west coast we have connect them to an actual drain
@@dockshvac9485yeah I see this a lot. It ruins the roof.
@@dockshvac9485 That too.
I can see the advantage to running condensate to a drain, and keeping the drain unclogged. But what if it's rainy? Can't prevent that.
Looks like the Louisiana swamp
I seen some nasty roof top in brief time I commercial work
So sad So sorry 😢😢😢
I take care of 39 of the rtu at the plant where I work. Gigantic pain in the butt
Curtis you did the right thing; looks like that place wasn't maintained properly in awhile! lol
I would have gotten to the top of the ladder, seen the pond, and walked away.
What’s “sweating back” mean?
That cold line in this heat and humidity "sweats", so if it isn't it is not working. Using site instead of touch.
run forrest RUN !!!!!!!!!
I"ve retired from doing HVAC. And I will say, your video was **typical** for commercial accounts. Zero maintained units. More often than not? Filters that should be changed weekly, haven't been done in months. The issue is, corporate won't pay for a dedicated, trained maintenance guy. So if the manager even bothers, it's Jeb who's duties consist of mopping the floors, taking out the trash, etc, is sent up to the roof to "maintain" things. It's not Jeb's fault: he was never trained, and the manager knows less than Jeb does in the first place. Filter? What's that? What'ya mean the roof is a pond? Check the drain? What's that? And so on...
The idea is? If the place isn't terribly hot? Ignore it, hoping it'll go away... then *boom* nothing is working (domino effect) and suddenly? It's an emergency...
A routine, weekly inspection would have prevented 90% of what went wrong... from someone who understand *basic* stuff. Filters? Clean. Drains? Clear. Coils? Not dirty. Fans? Spinning. Pipes? Sweating. Really simple things, even Jeb, from Janitorial, could be trained to handle... ugg. I hated commercial, myself.
commercial is 24-7,you are a 9 to 5 kind of guy.
I would rather work in water than in a residential work anytime 😊
The floor drains need to be uncloged
You have another man in the field too ?
No
What a nightmare job
Units too big run lol
Hi bro
what's happening bruh
Swamp cooler in the south
You will bust your butt on that slimy crap be careful my friend
Make that money
Good place to get zapped
The bucket trick? Is that where you release r-22 into a bucket of water to "filter" the chlorine? 😂
That place is a disaster. No thank you.
Restaurant work is the same BS residential work
Next time bring a push broom
Insert the top first