I came home at 10:30pm last night and walked into my house .. aka an 88 degree sauna. The air conditioning was blowing air, but it wasn't cool. I changed the filter and cranked the temperature down hoping it would cool down. It didn't. So at 8:20am this morning -- a Saturday that has now reached 98 degrees outside in the San Fernando Valley -- I called the main Applifix number, was greeted by a friendly receptionist who said she'd transfer my info to the on-call AC serviceman. Mark returned my call within 5 minutes and asked what the issue was. He said he was totally booked that day already (due to the extreme heat) but had an appointment near my house and would try to arrive by 11:30am. He also instructed me to turn the AC system off (so as not to damage it anymore than it already was) but to keep the fan running.
At 1:30pm, Mark called to apologize for the delay, and said he was just finishing up at the appt near me and would be at my house within a half hour, which he was.
He immediately checked the thermostat and then asked where the exterior unit was. He first checked the fuses and electrical to make sure nothing had blown. Then opened the unit and started checking it. He added freon to it, re-pressurized it, cleaned it and had it run for a while, checking the temperature of the air flowing in and out of the vents inside the house, which was immediately cooler. He also went up into the attic to check the interior unit and found no issues there. Once that was done, he went back outside to make sure the exterior unit was running properly still/not making any odd noises, which I'd heard the night before. The noises were gone, but before he left he said if I heard them again to call him immediately and he'd come back. He also showed me how to hose the exterior unit's grate off myself (because it's sitting in a very dusty area) and suggested maintenance timelines.
For sake of disclosure, this was the second time I'd used Applifix/Graymark, who were the preferred AC service company for the condo complex I used to live in. Back in 2000, Mark also installed an entirely new exterior AC unit and thermostat for me, which included bringing in a crane to get it on the roof of the complex. That was my first major 'homeowner" repair issue and I was really nervous (especially when I heard a crane would be involved). He was calm, informative, courteous and took care of everything. So when the AC in my house went on the fritz last night, I didn't think twice about calling Applifix/Graymark again, and have also recommended them to friends in need of AC repair.
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August 10, 2014 UPDATE: I don't know what's going on here (I've emailed Yelp about it and am waiting on a response), but this page that used to be for Applifix/Graymark when I wrote my original review in 2010 is now another AC company not affiliated with Mark Joerg (who just came out today on his day off to replace my squealing AC motor on a 90 degree day so my 3 dogs wouldn't have heat stroke!) or Graymark. If you need to contact Graymark, the dispatch # is 818-509-0093. read more