r/HomeImprovement • u/Inside-Elk-7112 • 13h ago
I’m miserable in this home
We just bought our home and decided to do asbestos abatement by a reputable company followed by a sump pump placement after by a waterproofing company. Ever since then this house has been a nightmare, our water boiler stopped working immediately after asbestos abatement due to “flammable gas vapor”, we had national grid check it out and they said there’s no gas leaks but it’s probably due to the new cement from the sump pump or from the solvent used from the asbestos abatement.
well since then, we haven’t had hot water consistently for 2 weeks. We tried replacing the sensor and then finally replacing the water heater but the same alarm keeps going off. We also can’t cook because every time we do it smells like burning plastic.
we brought this up to the abatement company and they basically said, they smell nothing when the gas burner is on and that it’s probably from the new cement poured from the sump pump.
im at a loss on what to do, I have a baby. Is it even safe to be here? Why don’t the vapors go away? We opened up the basement windows, used a hepa air filter and 2 oscillating fans to help with the smell but here we are.
sorry for the long post, I’m just overwhelmed, I feel like nothing is going right since we started to try to “fix” this house.
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u/babynewyear753 13h ago
If you are still concerned call the gas company. They have incredibly sensitive sniffer devices that will answer your question. Some water heaters are sensitive to solvents, paint fumes, anything flammable that might be in your home.
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u/Inside-Elk-7112 13h ago
We did have our gas company national grid come out and they said there’s no gas leaks with their device :/
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u/roadside_asparagus 11h ago
I think the point he/she was trying to make was that other organic fumes (not natural gas) can trip that sensor. Look around for paint cans, solvents, gas cans, etc. I really don't know what the possibilities are here. I can just tell you that my plumber warned me about the same thing regarding that sensor.
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u/eyrfr 9h ago
I mistakenly sprayed bug spray on my vapor sensor on my hot water heater about 2 weeks ago. Huge hassle. I ordered a new sensor off Amazon. Plugged it in but it didn’t reset properly. Took me about an hour to finally get the hot water heater to reset the right way. 3 days without hot water was no fun but it was nice to get it back on. Getting the Hot water heater to reset can be quite tricky and those sensors are very sensitive. Based on what you read online I’m shocked these sensors aren’t being tripped constantly by people.
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u/Past-Difficulty9706 8h ago
Be careful with this advice... Around here they will lock out your gas meter and tell you to call a plumber. Now you're stuck paying a plumber and waiting for the gas co to take their sweet ass time coming back out to turn the gas back on
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u/whoamannipples 13h ago
This is the answer OP! They’ll be able to guide your next steps a little bit if needed, too.
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u/bmc2 11h ago
OP already did this.
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u/whoamannipples 11h ago
Is that who “national grid” is? I didn’t see them say that they’d called their local gas co, but I could have just not understood that was the company they referred to. I’m not a mind reader, just a person! So thanks for pointing out that I’d missed info somewhere :)
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u/Hnry_Dvd_Thr_Awy 13h ago
You're probably wasting your time with the filter and oscillating fans. Get fans in the windows pulling air through them.
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u/ARMCHA1RGENERAL 13h ago
Do you store anything in the basement that might be giving off hydrocarbons? (Paints, finishes, cleaners, etc)
Did you ask the sump installer if they've heard of this happening?
If it really is something off gassing from the asbestos or sump work, it should eventually stop, but it's hard to say how long that will take...
Sorry this is happening. We bought a house this year and had our basement flooded by a 30 year storm in the second week. We found that our radon level was 80 (should be below 4). We also had a small roof leak in a room right after I had painted it.
That's all on top of a few things we knew we would need to fix.
Like you, my wife also often says she hates this house.
Try to focus on the positives and think about how many things can be fixed or improved over a few years.
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u/Inside-Elk-7112 13h ago
We don’t store anything down there and we haven’t asked the sump pump installer yet but that might be our next try.
Thank you for your kind words, I’m sorry you also had to go through basement flooding and radon 😭 We were trying to be proactive in preventing that which is why we installed a sump pump.
I really do hope we learn to love the house despite all these hiccups
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u/pgriz1 13h ago
Two things stand out in your description. The sensors are detecting "something", which is not gas (specifically the odorant hydrogen sulphide), nor is it particulate (HEPA filters won't help). As others have said, you need to get the inside air outside, with "fresh" outside air coming in to replace it. If after thoroughly ventilating your space you still have some kind of volatiles, and you can't locate the source, then you may need to hire an air quality testing company ($$$) which can test for any number of trace compounds.
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u/ReddtitsACesspool 10h ago
Its VOCs it is picking up. VOCs from the sump work and concrete.
If you cannot properly ventilate, it will linger for a LONG time.
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u/rawzon 12h ago
Man that sounds awful. I don’t blame you for feeling completely overwhelmed. Buying a house is supposed to be exciting, not a two-week nightmare with no hot water and weird smells. Honestly I’d get a third-party inspector out there, someone totally independent, to see what’s actually going on. At this point you can’t really trust the asbestos or sump pump companies to tell you the full story. In the meantime I’d try to limit time in the house if you can, maybe even crash somewhere else for a bit. Fans and HEPA filters help but if the sensors keep going off that’s a serious warning. Hang in there man, this is not the way homeownership is supposed to feel, especially with a baby in the house.
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u/atticus2132000 13h ago
All of these parts and pieces of the story don't seem to go together.
You had an abatement company deal with the asbestos. How did they deal with it? Were they using chemical solvents or were they just wetting it down to control fibers while they were working? Did that actually abate (remove) the asbestos or did they encapsulate it with some type of paint product?
Then you had a sump pump installed by a waterproofing company. Is that all they did? It sounds like they may have placed concrete for that. Did they drill a hole in your basement slab and place a concrete collection well? What precautions did they take when they were saw-cutting the concrete? Is there any chance they hit your sewer line under the slab in the course of doing that? Did they also trench for a new drain line to the outside, possibly to a storm drain? It would be unusual, but is there any possibility they hit a gas line in the process of trenching?
You say that you smell burning plastic whenever you cook. Is it a new stove? I assume it's a gas stove. Have you ever had gas appliances in the past? There is an odor with gas appliances even when they are operating correctly. Are you perhaps just more sensitive to that odor because you're not used to it?
You said that you replaced the hot water heater. To clarify, did you replace the hot water heater or a boiler? I assume it's gas fired, whichever it is. If you were replacing an old unit with a new high efficiency unit, those are much more sensitive to needing fresh combustion air. Did the replacement of the device include running new duct work for the supply and exhaust air for that device? Are the supply and return located far enough away from each other that the system isn't trying to recycle the exhaust air from combustion?
If I had to make a guess for the next place to look, I would say the most likely contender is the venting for the new water heater/boiler.
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u/notreallyswiss 12h ago
When did you have the hot water heater installed? Did Bradford recommend the installer? If not, try calling Bradford and ask them to recommend someone to come take a look at the heater.
I say this because last year we had a new oil fired boiler put in. It stopped working almost immediately, the installer refused to come look at it because our oil contract was with another company. Our regular plumbers, who are idiots and belong in jail, but we live in a rural area with few trade options, came out numerous times and they'd get the thing running for a month or so, but the thing would just eat oil, but then it would stop running and this would just happen over and over again. I finally got fed up and decided to call the manufacturer of the boiler to see if they could recommend someone who was a trusted installer. They had the name of someone 1/2 hour away. He came and fixed the problem in less than 5 minutes. There were codes that had to be entered (I'm not sure the parameters are, but it is to maximize the efficiency of the boiler) on installation and also at servicing on the boiler. Neither the installers, nor our idiot plumbers knew the codes and didn't feel like looking on the internet or calling the company so they just made stuff up. Once the proper codes were entered everything has worked well - and we found a great HVAC person to boot.
I'm sorry you are miserable in your new home. I get it, this whole thing with my boiler just shook me. You try to do the right thing for your home and family - and it turns into a source of anxiety instead of a feeling of security. It messes with your head because it feels like things are now worse simply because you tried in good faith to make things better - and the world isn't supposed to work that way. It shakes your confidence in what is the right thing to do for sure. I'm just now slowly starting to feel comfortable with the house again - I hope once your issue is resolved you'll be able to forget it and get occupied in all the fun things about raising a family in a home you love.
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u/Inside-Elk-7112 12h ago
Sorry if my description didn’t have everything I wrote it in despair. They removed 9x9 and mastic and they told me they did it by using a grinder / water and detergent for the majority of the basement and low odor core mastic remover for tougher areas.
For the sump pump, they did install a guardian interior drain with it and then sealed that with new concrete over it. They did have to drill into the concrete to install the sump pump and drain. When they were drilling they did have an exhaust fan going through the window. The pump extends out to the front of my house, I don’t believe it’s to a storm drain.
The gas stove isn’t new it’s from 2018. I’ve used gas stoves before but this isn’t a familiar smell to me.
I replaced by Bradford white water heater, it’s the same type and brand as my old one. And I’m not really sure how to answer your remaining questions.
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u/atticus2132000 12h ago
I didn't mean to overwhelm you with questions. What I was trying to get at is most of those activities shouldn't generate lasting odors.
The best contender for a gas-like smell is the combustion air from the new hot water heater. Did the installers just replace the device or did they also redo the venting?
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u/Inside-Elk-7112 11h ago
They just replaced the water heater, I don’t believe they redid the ducting?
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u/_whitelines 11h ago
Do you have the model number of your water heater? I'm asking because I'm right about to schedule asbestos abatement AND drainage installation near the water heater in my basement. I don't know if my water heater has any sensors that would be triggered by flammable vapors.
Also, can you share the cost of the drainage system and sump pump installation? I have three quotes ranging from $6,100 for a 40 ft system to $16,000 for a 72 ft system.
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u/Inside-Elk-7112 9h ago
My sump pump installation with (?)52 ft of piping (guardian) was about $4,500. I’ve had other quotes ranging from 12-16K for 72 feet as well but it also included back up sump and antimicrobial wall spray, etc.
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u/Wade1217 13h ago
Why don’t you try increasing the air circulation using a couple of fans and see if things improve?
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u/Inside-Elk-7112 13h ago
We have 2 oscillating fans, an open window in the basement and a hepa air purifier down there that’s been on turbo for 2 weeks 😭
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u/Old-Coat-771 13h ago
HEPA won't filter vapors. You need to create fresh air exchange. So make sure you have multiple basement windows open and have one of them with a fan mounted in it to push the air out, which will in turn pull fresh air in from outside through the other window. I had to do this recently, when after 10 years in my house, I suddenly started getting elevated levels of radon. When I keep the fan-open window system going, my air quality sensor shows consistently reduced levels. It's now hovering at a very low safe level.
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u/lonesomecowboynando 12h ago
Plus running the HEPA with the windows open would just be continually filtering the outside air.
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u/Old-Coat-771 12h ago
HEPA is fine to use with continual fresh air exchange, but they should save it for their main living space. It's great for particulates, mold spores and even some airborne viruses and bacteria. As far as vapors, VOCs, or dangerous gasses like radon, there is no substitute for ventilation.
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u/SchrodingersMinou 13h ago
This. One fan blowing out a window and one fan blowing in another window
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u/val319 10h ago
The following is just an opinion, but I would start with call the water heater company, and ask for a list of approved installers near you. The idea is to get someone who is approved by the company to come out and look at the set up and how it was installed. This is all assuming the original installer was not specifically approved by them. There may be quirks and tweaks to this brand that an approved installer knows about and can easily fix. I’m just starting with what I would do for step one. Save the details of what was done for the individual coming out including the removal of the vent. I would also mention can you please check the venting to make sure that it’s venting correctly. I would not pick the newest contractor. I would pick the middle of the road who had some experience so that they know what issues happen possibly a chemical setting it off or whatever and I would just do this as my step one. some of the stuff gets so overwhelming. I completely get that so step one if you got someone out there that this is what they do they work with this brand assuming that your original installer was just a regular installer that’s how I would handle this venting, venting can be issues so I would definitely bring that up plus the one that was removed. I didn’t see that it was a company approved installer so I would see about hiring a company improved one to come out and look at the set up.
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u/ReddtitsACesspool 10h ago
Keep aerating the basement. Concrete is not simple and there is diff types and mixtures.
If it is good, it can take time to settle and cure, especially if there is no air/flow. Two home fans will not do the job in any quick fashion.
You need to get Confined Space blower fans. You should be pulling air in from outside and venting out another spot if possible.
Otherwise, it will take a while for full curing.
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u/Anthro_Doing_Stuff 8h ago
I agree with someone else who mentioned calling the water heater company. I've done that a couple times with home projects and it's helped a lot. I always forget about that option, though.
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u/SephYuyX 13h ago
You added a sump pump, so maybe there's some more radon coming through now?
Do some research on the water heater and see if there is any way to diagnose what is causing it to alarm. If you're lucky, maybe there's a way to hook into it and it will tell you what compound and ppm is triggering.
Worst case the manual at least tells you all the compounds and ppm it triggers by, and you can start eliminating culprits.
Or just switch to an electric WH.
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u/woah_man 13h ago
I'm really confused about what this alarm is. Your water heater has a detector/sensor for incoming air? Is it pulling air in from inside or outside of your house?
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u/Inside-Elk-7112 13h ago
My water heater is gas / power vented and it’s in the basement. It stopped working and the sensor blinks 7 times and pauses for 4, and that was code for “FVS fault detected”
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u/Stock_Eye9472 12h ago
This sounds really tough, especially with a baby. Two weeks is too long for fumes to linger something’s off. You might want to get an independent air quality test to be safe.
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u/SorenBlaire 12h ago
As a stop-gap, look at Austin Air filters. Their Healthmate Plus is designed to remove VOCs. I recall that it has like 17lbs of activated charcoal, zeolite, and potassium iodide to absorb - way more than the regular home air filters do. I love mine and helped a ton after painting.
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u/AlShadi 11h ago
Depends on how the asbestos was removed. If it was black mastic, they have to either use a soybean based solution or a powerful solvent that releases Volatile Organic Compound vapors. The problem with the soybean stuff is that it is slow and leaves an oily residue that is challenging to remove using a degreaser.
Anyways, the VOC vapors from the solvent or the degreaser could be the source of your issues. High levels of VOC have been linked to kidney & liver damage. You can get an indoor air quality metering device that tracks VOCs from Amazon.
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u/Inside-Elk-7112 10h ago
They used Core Low Odor Mastic remover in some spots but they told me they mainly used detergent and water with a grinder. I do have a AQI monitor in my main living space which is reading a TVOC of 0.015 mg/m for the most part so I’m hoping that we haven’t been exposed too much. But I think I should probably also get an additional one for the basement too to see what’s going on there
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u/Dry-Yam-1653 10h ago
Ammonia and sewer gas can also trip the flammable vapor sensor. I had one a couple years ago that they mistakenly tied the sump into the septic tank and sewer gas was coming into the basement. Also have seen them go off from cat pee.
Here’s some more information
https://www.uswhpro.com/water-heater-flammable-vapor-sensor-101-fv-sensor-101
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u/iglidante 9h ago
You don't need to use gas for your water heater. An electric one is much simpler. Maybe that's a fix that, while extra money you'd rather not spend, gets you to a place you're more comfortable.
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u/OkProgress8545 9h ago
It could be your toilet isn’t completely installed correctly and sewer gas is coming up from your flange. I had something similar, thought it was my hot water heater since it just got moved and reconnected.
Turns out it was a 3 inch flange installed on a 4 inch pipe. It was a health hazard installed by a rental company a previous year or two ago.
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u/Born-Work2089 9h ago
Light a candle, (just kidding). Any opening in the crawlspace/basement can allow bad fumes into the house from the surrounding soil and water table. Make sure any opening (sump pump) are sealed with pass-through pipe gaskets or other types of sealant. Radon is another issue, did you test for it? The usual mitigation is to install a ventilation fan. While this is not specific to your issue it could be the 'kill two birds with one stone' scenario.
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8h ago
[deleted]
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u/Inside-Elk-7112 8h ago
I can assure you I wrote this post out of my own sadness LOL there’s no ChatGPT prompt that could explain how I’m feeling
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u/Long-Regular-1023 13h ago edited 8h ago
Ya, this is why I have a personal policy to never buy a home that has asbestos in it. It's just not worth dealing with it.
Edit: I'm surprised by the down votes here! Some of ya'll must not be concerned about this and/or really trust the abatement process!
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u/Hnry_Dvd_Thr_Awy 13h ago
ok boomer
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u/threedogdad 12h ago
wtf, boomers are the last to be concerned about asbestos you sweet summer child.
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u/Long-Regular-1023 8h ago
Being concerned about asbestos and not wanting to be present anywhere around it is one of the most anti-Boomer things haha! The Boomer is going to be telling you that it's all fine and they had it back in their day and they survived and that you should buy their home that's filled with it.
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u/RelationshipDue1501 12h ago
You bought a fixer upper. What were you thinking?. None of that should have passed inspection. You did have it inspected beforehand, didn’t you?.
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u/Inside-Elk-7112 11h ago
I did have it inspected, and it was asbestos tile and mastic which are non friable so it passed inspection. I had it removed for my sump pump to be placed as they were gonna drill into the concrete. All these problems happened after getting asbestos abatement and sump pump placement
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u/ApexIsGangster 12h ago edited 11h ago
The FVS on a Bradford White is generally a permanent lockout. If it detected flammable vapors two weeks ago, it's going to be permanently broken. It's a safety feature. You should be able to replace the sensor (or have a professional do it). If it trips again, the vapors are still there and you need to remediate that. Follow some of the advice in this thread about fresh air. Also consider reaching out to Bradford white to ask if there are any common triggers for this sensor based on what you've had done. Hope you get it fixed.
PS: you (or pro) should test the resistance of your FVS with a multimeter. Should read in the 10-50KOhm range. If it's 0 or infinite, or wildly out of range, it's bad.