Service & repair
Ignition, gas valves, flame sensors, inducer and blower motors, limit switches and control boards.
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Services
Six things, all of them shaped by the same climate. The valley-specific reasoning behind them is on the Valley Heat page.
Service 01
Air conditioning repair
A system out here runs harder and longer than most, which means the failures are predictable. Most are cheaper than people fear; what is expensive is a contractor changing parts until something works.
- Capacitors, contactors, relays and boards
- Condenser and blower motors
- Refrigerant leak search, recovery and recharge
- Frozen coils and airflow restriction
- Condensate drains, pans and float switches
- Thermostats, sensors and control wiring
The fee: a flat diagnostic charge covers the visit and the diagnosis, credited against the repair if you go ahead. You hear the number before we come out.
Service 02
Replacement
The moment the builder's system finally goes is the moment you get to choose. We would rather that choice was made with the duct system, the return and the upstairs problem all on the table at once.
- Sizing
- From the house, not the old data plateArea, orientation, glazing, insulation, ceiling height and occupancy. Oversizing is the most common mistake here and it makes an upstairs problem worse, not better.
- Ducts on the table
- Static pressure and return sizing measured before equipment is specified, and any duct work quoted separately so you can see exactly what it is worth on its own.
- Paperwork
- Permit pulled, Title 24 documentation prepared, inspection scheduled, closed permit handed over. Rebate paperwork where the equipment qualifies.
- Commissioning
- Charge verified, airflow measured at the registers upstairs and down, and the readings left with you.
Service 03
Ductwork
In this valley, duct work is not a small optional extra bolted onto a bigger job. It is frequently the highest-value thing on the whole list, because the ducting runs through the hottest part of the building.
- Static pressure measured first
- Leak testing at joints, boots and plenum
- Mastic sealing rather than tape
- Insulation upgrades on attic runs
- Replacement of crushed or disconnected flex
- Return enlargement where the blower is starved
- Register and damper balancing, measured
- Before-and-after figures left with you
Service 04
Heating
Winters here are short but genuinely cold at night, and a furnace that only runs a few weeks a year tends to be the appliance nobody has looked at in a decade.
Safety inspection
Heat exchanger, flue, combustion air and draught. On equipment that has run unattended for years this is the part that is not optional.
Replacement
Sized to the house, ducting assessed first, permit and Title 24 handled — usually done at the same time as the cooling side.
Heat pumps
One machine covering both seasons. Worth a serious look in this climate, where the heating demand is modest and the cooling demand is not.
Thermostats
Replacement, wiring and schedules that match how the house is actually used — including the two-thermostat setups that come with zoning.
Ductless
Single-room systems for converted garages, ADUs, offices and additions the main system was never designed to reach.
Service 05
Pre-season service
One visit in spring, before the system is asked to run flat out for five months. It is the cheapest hour on this page and by far the most likely to prevent a July emergency.
- Condenser coil cleaned — the biggest single cause of lost capacity out here
- Charge verified against superheat and subcooling
- Capacitor measured against its rating, not eyeballed
- Contactor condition, terminal tightness and amp draws logged
- Condensate pan, trap and line cleared and treated
- Static pressure and temperature split recorded
- Filter changed and the size written down for next time
Not sure which you need?
Describe what the house is doing. Working that out is free.