Dryer Vent Installation

[mjrocks98.livejournal.com]

 

Any idea of a place that will come to my apartment & install a dryer vent?  It's in the basement & the window is right there.  Currently using an indoor vent system but the elderly landlady suddenly has a problem with it (even though we've used it for 2 years & she previously okayed it). 

Comments

[thebinturong.livejournal.com]

Its really a good idea to vent outside, it's a fire/mold/carbon monoxide hazard to not do so. An HVAC tech or plumber can do this. They should use solid pipe for the duct. I'd imagine your landlord would be paying for this, if not making the arrangement.

[mjrocks98.livejournal.com]

Well that's the reason we have it vented the way we do - she has refused to install the proper set up in the window. I tried looking at the renter's handbook the city has but can't find anything about who's responsibility it is to have the actual duct itself installed. I have no problem supplying the tubing etc. from the dryer to the duct, but I do have issues with installing the piece in the window when they are new windows - I know if the window gets broken in the process she'll expect us to pay for it, which is why I have asked her to install it but to no avail. We're at the point where everytime we do laundry she harrasses us about getting an outside vent installed. I have told her if she installed it we would have no problem using it, but she argues that it's up to us.

We also do not have a light on our front porch which we have been asking about for 2 years & have yet to see a light installed (major code violation - just one of many). When we bring up the porch light she tells us, "I have lived here for 50 years & no one has ever complained about that before."

[808.livejournal.com]

My completely uninformed 2 cents is that if she advertised the apartment as coming with a dryer, then she absolutely has to pay for it. If she didn't, then you do - if you want it.

[thebinturong.livejournal.com]

"I have lived here for 50 years & no one has ever complained about that before."

Maybe she's lived there 50 years without anyone going on rent strike before =) But suddenly she is worried about the liability for dryer, so maybe worrying about the liability of a tenant injuring themselves on the dark porch will come along as well.

I've only gone on rent strike once, and I just ended up abandoning the place when nothing got done, with no apparent harm to my credit. This was after maintenance ripped down a bathroom wall without warning, and no clean up afterwards. Good landlords are hard to find. Best of luck.

[zmgmeister.livejournal.com]

Never heard of a light on the front porch being required. Do you have a reference for this?

Also how did you manage to get the dryer hooked up to the gas lines ( probably involving a new gas fixture ) but not vented out the window? Is it electric?

How does she know when you're doing laundry to get on you about getting a duct installed? Is steam wafting up to her apartment? Is this in the basement or apartment?

There's no requirement for a landlord to provide a washer and dryer, so if you brought a dryer home one day, I'm assuming it would be your responsibility to pay for the fixtures.

[pierceheart.livejournal.com]

Never heard of a light on the front porch being required. Do you have a reference for this?


"Electric light fixtures with switches must be located such that every laundry, pantry, foyer, hallway, stairway, closet, storage space, cellar, porch, exterior stairway and passageway are adequately lit for safe and reasonable use by the occupants. [410.253(A)]"
http://www.sec.state.ma.us/cis/cissfsn/sfsnidx.htm

[zmgmeister.livejournal.com]

Closets, really?

[pierceheart.livejournal.com]

Trufax.

[dahdahdahdancer.livejournal.com]

I used Dryer Vent Wizard to install 2 vents, 1 for each apt's laundry set-up - one in the basement and one on the 2nd floor. I'm very happy with their work. dryerventwizard.com 1-877-303-7937

[mjrocks98.livejournal.com]

Do you mind me asking about how much it cost? Just a range is fine

[dahdahdahdancer.livejournal.com]

In 2006 the whole installation for one unit (installing dryer vent & vent cover, and service fee) was about $300. Your landlord should pay for this since it's part of the fixtures that remain with the house. The local DVW is in Chelmsford: 800-993-8289. Say you were referred by a happy customer and ask if there's any discount (there may be).

[dahdahdahdancer.livejournal.com]

forgot to mention - this was for a gas dryer.

[boblothrope.livejournal.com]

I hired Dryer Vent Wizard to clean a bird's nest out of a bathroom vent, and I was also happy with their work.

[m00n.livejournal.com]

Key question: Is this a natural gas or electric dryer?

[pjmorgan.livejournal.com]

A handyman could probably do it. I've installed dryer vents going through wood and using glass blocks. Not exactly sure how it work with a window, if you could maybe remove just one panel and secure a vent in there, but I'm sure its a straightforward thing.

[theodosia.livejournal.com]

Depending on the size of the window, Home Despot might have an insert that will fit neatly and easily into the opening made when you slide the sash back. It's worth measuring and comparing.

Also, seriously, consider calling 311 about the porch light.

(There are actually dryers that are not required to be vented -- we used to have a small "apartment-sized" electric one that was quite legal, though a bit feeble.

[artguychris.livejournal.com]

Try dell's appliance. They're local in Somerville. (617) 625-1311