We know it’s difficult to wade through the decision making process when it comes to a furnace.  It’s the third largest purchase most people make in their lives and often the one they know the least about.  Plus, you’ve likely heard about bad experiences through friends and neighbors with some shady companies they have endured.   While I don’t think there are many companies or people in our industry who strive to be shady, a mis-communication can quickly lead to frustration and fear related to large investments and your home and family.  It’s often the product of folks being trained in vocation and not having as much training in professionalism.

I would be remiss, if I didn’t acknowledge that we have had our share of bumps and bruises in this area.  What has always set us apart, and should be the hallmark of any service company, is the willingness to stand up for our mistakes and take care of the customer.

Below are some ideas to consider when hiring your HVAC contractor (These are borrowed from the Air Conditioning Contractors of America) :

1.  Has the company shown a track record of doing right by the customer.

2.  Do you have trust that they will do the project in a timely manner and install a quality product?

3.  Have they performed a computerized load calculation and shown you the results?  This important step is often overlooked because it is fairly easy to use rules of thumb and get pretty close.   Load calculations are the difference between being close and being right on, which ultimately saves you money.

4.  Have they performed a code evaluation of your project and shared the results?

5.  Are they properly licensed and do they provide continuing education for their employees.

6.  Do they offer a Universal Savings/Service Agreement?  Yearly service and maintenance is good for your equipment, efficiency, and required to keep your warranty terms valid.

7.  Your general contractor is often a good place to ask for a referral.  We feel strongly that there are places to definitely not ‘seek the lowest cost solution’.  In new homes, a priority can easily be set that focuses dollars on the systems that are expensive to replace down the road.   Windows, vapor barrier, insulation and structure are first, then consider systems like heating, plumbing, and electrical.  Those systems are run deeply in the home and more difficult to change later.  Make sure they are being properly designed and cared for.

Remember – It’s perfectly acceptable to let the contractor know the sub-contractors you would like to use.

We view the in home evaluation and system design as the start of a good relationship with our customers. When performed with diligence and care, products are ordered correctly and our team gets the important information right from the start.  More importantly, our team is centered around informing and teaching you about options and choices so you can make informed decisions for your home and family.

Call today and we can walk you through designing your next project.

In some ways, Bozeman still is the wild west.  So many companies and individuals want to do projects under the radar.  It’s my belief that isn’t OK.  The permit process is a good one.  While I still have a fight on my hands some days with the building department, they are doing a job which has our overall safety concerned. My hope, at the end of the fight, is they respect why we would take our stance and fight about it.  And…sometimes I learn from them (should I have written that in smaller print?)

I’ve seen too many situations where a building inspection would have helped save the owner thousands of dollars.  Costly mistakes, discovered years later, are more costly mistakes.  I often get in situations, where being a licensed architect, and knowing the code related to an illegal apartment loses the job for us.  Often the solution, perhaps even discussion, upsets the owner.  And…while I feel we can really help the client, they have to want that solution.

We bid all of our work to meet and in many cases exceed the code.  When asked to work below the code, we won’t do it.  It doesn’t serve the client or any future inhabitants of the building.  Instead of looking at the permits as a ‘requirement’ foisted upon us, we take the approach that the process is one that helps us fine tune our skills and give the customer a second set of eyes to assure them that the project is complete and safe.

Let’s face it, furnaces and air conditioning are expensive.  Yet, while equipment determines your possible efficiency, duct design determines your actual performance, bills, comfort level, longevity, noise levels…..we could go on.

In many new construction projects, we see ducts carelessly sized and designed which either lead the homeowner to ask about hot or cold spots in the home or ‘why is it so noisy?’.  A forced air heating or cooling system, when designed and installed with proper coordination, will not be noisy.

There are ways to design and coordinate the duct installation that make a big difference in assuring a quality project.   First, calculating heating AND cooling loads room by room.  Then, and only then can you be assured the system is meeting the loads.  In fact, it can be measured and compared to the load calculation.  We think you might want that level of comfort and knowledge that you are getting what you pay for.  We design all of our home system using a computerized Manual J calculation, draw and size the ducts and print them for you and your contractor to use.  This file can be exported to include in a builder’s set of drawings.  Changes in register locations can then be executed in real time and with an assurance that it will not affect the performance.

This is extra work, and it’s worth it.  proper air flow design can lower the installation cost of ducts and reduce the size of ducts while making the equipment last longer and operate at higher efficiency.   Sounds like a win-win for our customers!

We see this more and more.  New homes are going on the market with a line-set installed and  air conditioning coil installed.  Often marketed as Air Conditioning ready, Contractors and real estate agents like the solution because it offers a perceived increase in value for the buyer.

There is more to the story.  Some of this thinking really depends on what you want to do when you actually buy the outdoor unit and have it installed.  In other words, what would your goals be for efficiency, overall cost, adaptability to new technology, etc.  Here’s how it breaks down.

• If all your goals align and the answer is weighted toward low overall cost.  It will save you some money if you go ahead and have the coil and line-set installed during rough in.
• If you are the person who weights the efficiency side and new technology higher, consider waiting until you are ready to do the install.  You will likely have more flexibility with new products and more available high efficiency matches to your furnace and coil.

As always, you can can ask anyone on the Mountain Sheet Metal team for help in wading through this decision.  We are proud to have a team who listens and can be creative with solutions.