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Furnaces, heat pumps and crawlspaces
Houses across Vancouver, Camas and Battle Ground. The same instruments we take into a warehouse, and the price written down before the work starts.
What we do in houses
Six things, and one of them is telling you to wait
- Furnace service and repairBurners, heat exchanger, flue, safeties, gas pressure and airflow — checked and written up, not ticked off.
- Heat pumpsService, repair and replacement, including the backup heat settings that quietly drive a winter bill.
- Ductless headsFor the bonus room, the converted basement and the addition that was never properly served.
- Ducts and crawlspacesDisconnected boots, crushed flex and insulation on the ground rather than on the duct. Measured before and after.
- VentilationBath and kitchen extract that actually moves air, and a deliberate fresh-air route in tighter houses.
- Saying waitIf a system has three good years in it, that is what we will tell you, in writing, with what to budget for.
When it does freeze
What to do in the house during a hard freeze
- Leave the heat onTurning it off in an empty house is how pipes burst. Set it back, do not switch it off.
- Open the cupboards under sinks on outside wallsIt lets warm room air reach the pipework that is most exposed.
- Know where the stop tap isBefore you need it, not while water is coming through a ceiling.
- Keep the outdoor heat pump clearSnow drifted against the coil, or ice from a gutter dripping onto it, stops it defrosting properly.
- Change the filterA loaded filter is the commonest cause of a furnace locking out on the coldest night of the year.
Safety
Two things that do not wait for an appointment
- A carbon monoxide alarm soundingEverybody out, then call 911 or the gas utility from outside. Not us first, and do not go back in to open windows.
- A smell of gasThe same. Leave the appliance alone, get out, ring from outside.
Once it has been made safe we will come and find out why it happened. Everything else can go in the diary.
Ducts
A lot of the heat you pay for is under the floor
Most houses in this area deliver their heating through a crawlspace, and a fair share of it never reaches a room. Boots that have come adrift, flex crushed under a joist, insulation on the ground.
We measure airflow at the registers before and after the work, so what we did has a number attached rather than a promise.