I had been in the market for an additional mini split for my home since I moved in and had CalFirst completely upgrade our furnace and install air conditioning. Living in a 3 level downslope home with no attic and a westward exposure of floor to ceiling windows, central AC is a must have on sunny days and I was looking to add zoned cooling since the upper level gets significantly hotter than the lower levels. Unfortunately, the duct work in my home was too convoluted and inaccessible to figure out the proper zoning shunts, and Haddon (4 stars) forced a change order in the estimate for an additional 35K during installation. Absolutely not; I can get a mini split solution later.
Fast forward 10 years, the summers were getting unbearable on any level other than the middle toward the street facing side of the house (which is basically like a cave), so I started shopping around for mini splits. On several vacations to various countries in Asia, I had grown a liking for Daikin mini splits, so Cali HVAC being a Daikin authorized distributor and installer was a huge plus. Still, I shopped around and got around 6 or 7 estimates for a 3 handler mini split with what I calculated to need 24K / 9K / 12K btus. Some of the estimates didn't meet this base expectation, and I was amazed to get a quote from one installer of over 35K for a mini-split system I can buy online for 6-7K. Absurd.
Daniel immediately parroted my desired configuration before I mentioned it, suggested a more efficient outdoor condenser and was one of 3 installers who said they could pull off the installation simply using ladders and not scaffolding, as the highest handler unit would be nearly 30 feet off the ground on a slope. He also confidently suggested a quad breaker to replace my existing dual pole oven breaker. All in all, with the complexity of the job, he was by far the most knowledgeable and even provided me a quote for installation of equipment I could buy myself for them to install; only 2 other installers offered this service while others rejected owner supplied parts due to "inability to guarantee installation." Right (eye roll). Also, his estimates were the cheapest and his company offers 3rd party financing as well as takes credit cards like Amex.
His crew was among the cleanest contractors I've ever had service my home, cleaning and vacuuming where ever they worked. They consistently wore booties over their shoes when in the house which was absolutely necessary since it was rainy and muddy during the 3 day install. One of them even found my wedding band that I had lost somewhere in my study toward the beginning of COVID shelter in place restrictions.
The only issue I had was perhaps partly my fault; I chose to sign the estimate for the installation during the holidays, and while his response time was very quick whenever I asked for updates, I had to press him for said updates during the scheduling and permit application phase. Once everything was negotiated and scheduled, he came on time each day and tried his best to be accommodating of my annoying guard puppy and the 3 flights of stairs inside and outside my house. Also, make sure the crew uses a stud finder before drilling holes for the line-set. On the last unit, they hit a stud but luckily didn't damage it and was able to repair the wall.
Today, the installation passed inspection, and the heat pump works great (although the unit on Auto tends to switch to cool once the room gets to temp). I'm certain that I'll finally be able to work from home in the heat of the summer without an issue now. read more