Ordered a 2-stage Goodman furnace with ductwork (moving the unit more central to better distribute the load to rooms) and later decided to add on a humidifier on the supply side. Prices are generally lower than the competition overall, no issues there. Briar (the one that does the quote) was polite. No problem there.
But the installation had issues. First, they promised "Next Day Install" - but when the tech showed up he said they were out of stock of the unit. Which means another day's delay. It's one day, I wasn't sweating it, but they shouldn't advertise something they can't deliver. Tech does a walk through and says, quote, "yep, pretty straightforward, should be easy."
Well, it wasn't. Should have been, but wasn't.
It took the installer basically two full days to complete the work and by the near end, he was clearly rushing and frustrated over points he was getting stuck at. I offered to help with the ducting (he basically cut it to the wrong size. Not sure how that happened and why he didn't just cut a larger piece because he had tons of spare material, but I digress), and he said, quote, "you can't help me with this." (it's just pulling back the existing trunk a bit so he could fit his piece in. It's on hangars and he only needed a half an inch. This was his ego getting in the way, so he made himself struggle for 30 minutes rather than accept help from the homeowner.)
PVC not properly glued ( and as a result the combustion pipe was loose and rotating outside), ductwork not installed straight, loose wiring hanging, A/C not reconnected, bare basic done on the humidifier water line, sloppy sealant, gaps not taped over, unclean runs, etc. By the end of day 1 I had basic furnace use, but he hadn't done any of the duct work. Day 1 was just the basic furnace itself. Day 2 he didn't install new hangers until I called him out, and the section he aded is not straight.
They neglected to tell the electrician about the outlet/switch box on the side (if you're going to install a new furnace, that's kind of a given that you need to leave things the way they were). I paid the guy out of pocket because it wasn't fair to him, but basically Huffman dropped the ball on him.
I was on the verge of giving them the water heater business but it took Briar too long to reply with the quote so I gave it to the plumber that installed the copper lines. That plumber is who identified the PVC issue, and even fixed it for free since they were working near it anyway. They also redid his water line connection from a needle valve punctured into the existing hot line, hanging under the joists (has not been code compliant for years) to a proper quarter turn shutoff valve from a new pipe branch that rises above the joist line.
The plumber had to do a new gas line for his work just like Huffman had to do a new line for theirs, and the plumber's work is much cleaner than Huffman's installer. Huffman's line is not in any way attached to joists or walls or anything, just suspended midair, while the plumber made sure to do J-hooks and properly secure the gas line; then add a second shutoff valve upstream.
When I reported the install issues with Briar he never replied, but the installer came back out and at least corrected the A/C not being plugged in. But neither could tell me about the permit or inspection - which implies they didn't request either. A huge problem if they didn't.
Bottom line: if you just want the cheapest price, Huffman is absolutely it. And Goodman is a good brand. It's a quiet unit, it's a powerful unit that completely resolved my issues with inconsistent upstairs performance vs. downstairs, with a significantly quieter blower for the return vents. I have nothing but good things to say about the unit so far.
However...if you're one of those homeowners that want quality, or you care about the visual of the install, or code compliance, or efficiency/speed, or accuracy of cuts...look elsewhere. read more
