Duct Die Nasty: Dryer Vent was a Lie-r

The blog is a lot more fun to write when I'm describing some fun meal or a gathering of good friends or a social shindig or some interesting dessert. It is a delight when I can use it to post pictures of the progress on the yard, for those who are interested to see what's going on. I like that it is a treasure-trove of images for all kinds of stuff connected to the house.

But accurately chronicling the Roediger House world also means having to talk about the downsides and undersides. And that includes the frustrations of disappointing results from hired services. I don't think I'm being my better self when I suggest that the punch-guy who does follow-up on cabinetry installation might be an idiot, although his performance makes it a reasonable question to raise.

And the complete disappearance (now going onto three years) of the general contractor for the renovation and addition project is brought up from time to time.

Today I need to share with readers yet another example of how absolutely horrible Barnette Heating & Air Conditioning, Inc. of Mocksville, NC, actually is. They were the sub-contractor for the HVAC replacement, and also for vent and ductwork in the addition built onto the original house. They are the reason, for instance, that the exhaust fan in the master bedroom really does not work, because they chose to run the fan's ductwork from one side of the house to the other and so it does not create enough push to force moisture and odors out of the external vent. That leaves the fan working way too hard and it's noisy as hell.

Ever since the new laundry room was built, I've puzzled as to why the louvered vent cover for the dryer exhaust (on the exterior of the house) was never open when the dryer was running. The easy answer to this dilemma finally got its proof when I ventured into the crawl space and made the predictable discovery that the duct was not attached to the vent. For the last four years, all my dryer lint has been blowing into the crawlspace under the house instead of exiting out of the cut wall of the subflooring.

Here's what it looked like on a recent Saturday afternoon:

You can see where it's supposed to attach to the vent.

I don't have the tools, the technique, or the patience to work up into that tight space and try to figure out how to reattach it properly...that'll have to wait until when and if Pete LaRoque ever bothers to come back and "stand behind his work." I pushed it back up to rest in the hole for the vent louver/cover, though, and I hope it will remain there as securely as it can.

UPDATE: About a week after I took these pictures of the unattached dryer exhaust ductwork, I did laundry. This was a welcome sight:

I can also report that I am a fool for not checking this out sooner. My clothes are now coming out dry after just one full cycle.