Buying new AC (maybe Furnace) - Hamilton area help - Update

[Steve]

Need new central AC for sure.

 

May upgrade furnace at same time.

 

I'm located on Hamilton Mountain.

 

HVAC is a trade that I'm very leery about. Anyone have any trusted recommendations?

 

Not looking to skimp out on quality. 3 years in my home and plan on being here for a while. So I'll pay the $$$ required for top quality.

 

Just want to ensure I'm dealing with a good, reputable company.

Edited May 13, 2015 by Steve

[ketchenany]

Look out for energy upgrade rebates from the government and contractors. You can save lots of $$s. Shop around for deals.

[irishfield]

Rattletrap2...

Edited May 6, 2015 by irishfield

[Old Ironmaker]

Boonstra is a company my family has dealt with for 60 years in Hamilton. They are above board.

Edited May 6, 2015 by Old Ironmaker

[leaf4]

Wouldn't deal with Boonstra, hackers. I've had to repair some commercial work of theirs on a few occasions. I work for Arvin air and while we mainly do commercial/industrial, I'm sure the office wouldn't turn away residential work. we aren't the cheapest out there but we do it right the first time

[chris.brock]

I went through this 2 years ago. Boonstra was a about $300 cheaper than Sears but I went with Sears, better warranty.

 

My furnace was old but working fine. My AC was toast. It was worth it to do both at the same time.

 

I had 5 estimates. A lot of weaselly, used car salesmen types in that business.

[Old Ironmaker]

I'm surprised if Boonstra doesn't have the reputation they once had. But a comment from a competitor calling them hackers drumming up business on a fishing forum might be somewhat biased.

[leaf4]

I'm surprised if Boonstra doesn't have the reputation they once had. But a comment from a competitor calling them hackers drumming up business on a fishing forum might be somewhat biased.

Only speaking from experience, actually the latest fix I did was at a customers in Burlington who had a rooftop replaced with them instead of others because they were $2000 cheaper... They completely cut apart the roof curb for the York that was originally there and put a used carrier on top which has a completely different configuration with regards to the supply/return footprint, they cut out structural angles on the roof curb so the unit would fit on then loaded on the caulking... Not the quality I would pay for someone to do

 

And as I alluded to earlier I'm not even sure the office would accept residential work as we do mainly commercial industrial. And I'm not sure how long Boonstra has been around but Arvin has been around since 1972 and there's a reason for that

Edited May 6, 2015 by Lucas F

[G.mech]

Reputable residential HVAC contractors are about as common as unicorns.

Edited May 6, 2015 by G.mech

[leaf4]

Reputable residential HVAC contractors are about as common as unicorns.

+1 to that. Residential workers are the reason a lot of people are leery and I don't disagree with them, there's a reason their trade ticket is half as long as mine is

[Steve]

so then.........who can I call not to get ripped off?

 

I'll get a quote from boonstra.

[leaf4]

Rennie is a decent operation, I had a buddy from school used to work there

[Canuck2fan]

Whatever you do DO NOT count on getting any guberment rebate cheque. My parents got a new furnace and were "promised" it would get a guberment rebate by Reliance. When they applied for it, the guberment said it didn't meet the criterion and Reliance didn't know my parents were customers (unless they were cashing a payment cheque.)

 

When I looked into it there was no reason it shouldn't have went through all the paperwork was right, the furnace did qualify according to the specs, but even a call to the MPP's office couldn't change the ruling... So don't count on it coming through.

[Steve]

C2F, I've read that story likely 10 times from different people.

 

I don't trust the government to ever give me money.....

 

I own the house. I will own the system.

I don't need to government to give me money because I'm buying something for my house.

 

I just don't want to get ripped off on my purchase....HVAC, Roofers, and Plumbers all need to be carefully reviewed.

[LostAnotherOne]

Just a thought Steve. You said you may upgrade furnace too. You never know you could get another 5+ years out of it. Not sure how much you save if purchase together.

[Steve]

i know i could get another 5 years out of my furnace...at least.

 

but part of the sham/concern with HVAC is they will always try to convince you that you need a furnace at the same time as well....

 

after reading tons of info on the net, it truly does sound like sometimes you do, but other times you don't.

 

that's one of my concerns relating to finding someone reliable and honest.

[LostAnotherOne]

Your doing your due diligence for sure Steve

[leaf4]

How old is your existing furnace and is it a mid or high efficiency?

[Steve]

mid efficiency - not high.

 

don't have a big house. heats it very quickly.

 

I believe it is 1988. I believe my AC unit is original (likely late 60's or early 70's).

[leaf4]

If it were my house I'd replace both you'll see a nice energy savings

[G.mech]

If it were my house I'd replace both you'll see a nice energy savings

 

x2, if you can afford it change them both, You will see a huge difference on your hydro and gas bills with the new equipment over that vintage. Your furnace was likely only 77% efficiency when it was brand new and will be down considerably from there even if well maintained. A new one will be 92% or higher which is a fair difference. The furnace change will mean more installation work however as the venting, gas, ductwork and condensate drains will likely need to be re-worked or replaced. With your A/C, you will see a difference from the old worn out 9 or 10 SEER stuff to even a new 13 SEER unit. You can get anywhere from 13 SEER to 17 SEER efficiency ratings on your condensing units but the higher rated ones cost a lot more and I'm not sure the cost is justified (the SEER rating system is somewhat misleading). I think you would be pleasantly surprised how much better the 13 SEER is than the old clunker on power usage and performance. As far as brands go, they're all pretty similar any more. I would stick with Carrier, York, Trane, or Payne as they are all fairly popular and most guys can service them. Goodman is popular now too and there's lots of other stuff on the market but from what I've seen they're quite as nice as the ones I mentioned.

 

Choosing a contractor is the hard part unless you know someone or have a good referral. Most of the installers will give you similar prices but you'll really have to grill them and make sure you're clear on what each is providing.

Edited May 7, 2015 by G.mech

[leaf4]

I'd stay away from Goodman, have some quality issues other than that all are a good quality.. If you're going to be in the house for a considerable amount of time I would look at a dual stage furnace you'll save a ton in gas, one of my co workers had a $50 gas bill this past winter when mine was $130 and I have a 6 year old high eff. Given my house is older by about 40 years lol

[Big Cliff]

Rattletrap2...

X2

[John Bacon]

i know i could get another 5 years out of my furnace...at least.

 

but part of the sham/concern with HVAC is they will always try to convince you that you need a furnace at the same time as well....

 

after reading tons of info on the net, it truly does sound like sometimes you do, but other times you don't.

 

that's one of my concerns relating to finding someone reliable and honest.

 

I don't think it a case that you need to get both at the same time. Replacing both at the same time is lot cheaper than replacing each one individually. If you replace your A/C now and your furnace two years from now you will spend more than if you replace them both at once.

 

Based on the age of your units; I would replace both.

[livinisfishin]

If you replace them both get a case coil for the a/c. It will be a nice tight fit to the furnace and it should match. No fabricating the ductwork for the a/c coil that way. It makes a cleaner looking job and a smaller transition from the plenum to the furnace would be needed .