The beauty of your home will majorly depend on its maintenance and of the assets in it. Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems are expensive assets with complex installation needs. To handle the HVAC system, you will, therefore, require the services of experienced technicians.
A wrong HVAC contractor can put your safety at risk, so you have to get it right. The contractor can also lead to the improper installation of the unit, loss of money, and inconvenience in re-fixing the system. To save you money, time, and frustration, below are some of the facts to consider before selecting a contractor.
Do a Thorough Research About the Contractor
The first step in getting the right HVAC contractor is to research both online and offline. You can do your research by visiting or calling various contractors in your town or going to Google. From the company website, you will learn about the kind of staff they have, their history, the type of work they have done, and the charges for their services, among others.
Checking the company reviews on Google is also very important to know the level of professionalism they have. A high-ranked contractor will understand their business well and have an excellent work relationship with clients. While still on Google, you should also look at the customers’ complaints about the company. Of course, a contractor who receives so many customer complaints should be a no-go zone for you.
Your research should also involve asking for references and calling referrals to inquire about matters such as the completion time that the contractor takes and the budget, among other inquiries. After researching from all available sources and armed with enough facts, it is when you can decide on the next action to take. Remember, some online reviews might be fake, hence the need to do research from all corners of the world.
Ensure You are Dealing with a Licensed Contractor
Finding a licensed HVAC contractor is the first step in finding a great contractor for your work. As a contractor who deals with various risky areas of your home, such as electrical lines, while fixing, among others, air conditioners and air conditioning systems, a license from the authorities is a critical requirement.
So how can you know if the HVAC contractor has a genuine license? Ask the contractor for proof of their licenses and other certifications. You can also find evidence by visiting their websites. As seen at daigleplumbing.com, a licensed contractor will be proud to display their work on the sites for easy access by clients. However, if you do not see any on their site, it might mean they are not licensed, so please look for an alternative. A licensed technician should have a license number, which you can also confirm with the licensing body in your locality.
Anything can happen while the contractor is working in your home. It will be a plus for you to get a contractor who is insured and has both liability insurance and workers’ compensation insurance.
The Level of Experience
Even after purchasing the best air conditioning system in the world, a non-qualified technician will not be able to fix it.
The contractor’s level of experience will depend on whether they are new, how long they have been in the industry, and the personnel’s training. Can the contractor work with the system you want them to fix? How versed is the contractor’s knowledge in the current industry technological adaptations? The number of skills will matter a lot in answering these questions.
The level of experience will determine whether the installation work will be above par. Instead of hiring an inexperienced contractor to work on your heating system, you can improve it by changing filters, among other ways. A shoddily done installation job may cause the following problems:
- When an HVAC contractor does the improper installation, it may lead to an increase in power consumption
- Poor installation may lead to the performance of the installed systems
- When a contractor poorly installs an air conditioner and other systems in your home, it may shorten their lifespan or lead to frequent breakdowns. The reduced installation will incur costs that you could have avoided by getting experienced and qualified contractors
The safety of your home should be top of your priority list as you look for an HVAC contractor. Getting skilled and experienced HVAC professionals is the only sure way to ensure your home remains safe during the installation or even maintenance.
Home Evaluation
Don’t trust any HVAC contractor who wants to send you a blind quotation. The contractor needs to do a home evaluation before quoting for the job. The home evaluation may include an inspection of the duct system for indications of airflow and leakages.
Therefore, you should get a written quote based on the home evaluation and a list of products and parts needed. A professional HVAC contractor should be able to meet this requirement.
Know the Cost
Ever heard of the saying ‘cheap is expensive’? Great! When it comes to cost, please don’t just settle for an affordable contractor. Weigh in more factors. The right contractor should be moderate in cost and not too expensive, only to exploit you.
A cheap HVAC contractor might compromise on the quality of services rendered and products used; hence, they should not always settle for the lowest bid. It might also mean the contractor is not licensed, and the workers may not be well trained. Unless you want to get poor services, the cost is a factor that you should consider in your budget. The cost of hiring a reputable contractor will always be high, but some can offer discounts that you can explore.
Consider the Warranty Plan
A warranty is very critical for systems like HVAC, and it costs a lot of money. Though not all contractors have such arrangements, it should be one of the considerations when selecting one. A good warranty policy should clearly state the terms in matters such as maintenance and replacement of the HVAC system.
