Well, Yelp fans, I just had to write this while it's fresh. It's my followup epic saga that I promised.
Brian and his crew started the project at the perfect time this morning 2/22/13. Mama bear was still asleep when they started unloading and was completely awake with a latte' under her belt and milling about the cave by the time the noisier work started. When mama's happy, EVERYBODY'S happy!
Let me say that Brian and his crew got the job done in very short order. My furnace, condenser and and coil were all replaced with an American Standard Platinum 16SEER 13EER variable speed split system. The outdoor unit is tall, but attractive and VERY quiet not to mention it puts out a ton of air.
Brian and his crew added a short run of new duct work and made sure each room was balanced(something that our original builders should have done 13 years ago, but didn't). The furnace is barely audible when running at stage 1. The AC is almost the same at Stage 1. Quietest system on the market I'd wager is the American Standard 2 Stage Platinum. The two speed system is something I think I won't regret paying a little more for in the long run.
Rather than go all the way with a new dedicated air return in the master bedroom, we just cut 3/8's off the bottom of the bedroom door. I'd say the amount of return air we are getting now basically tripled with this small amount of material taken off the door. Let me say Brian is pretty darn steady with a circular saw. The cut on the bottom of the door was PERFECT. He rehung the door and that was a MUCH simpler AND less costly solution. This was our solution to the hot spot issue in the master BR rather than installing an active dedicated air return for it. Nice innovative move it was. Not trying to sell you as a light carpenter to the people Brian, but your on the fly work in that category was pretty impressive on this project. When July rolls around, we'll likely see the dividends being paid with that minor alteration to the door for added airflow.
That wasn't the end of the extra mile Brian was willing to go for us. After playing "Harry Houdini" and wiggling through an opening not much bigger than a port hole on the SS Minnow in his initial consult, he decided it would be "cool" to cut a more beneficial attic access in our closet. That's exactly what he and his crew did with the same prowess they displayed on the HVAC install itself. C 'est magnifique, it was. So skillful was the carpentry that I decided to award him a new saw blade and a set of four walkie talkies as a bonus; not that he ever asked for one extra dime or special favor for going that extra mile.
Brian also installed a dampering system so that we can adjust the amount of airflow going to the different rooms from the attic. Another much appreciated and innovative move. We probably need one more damper for our son's room and he recognized that right away when we did the walk through after the install. He offered to come out early next week and install it and bring in a case of Joe Fly Filters which he also threw in and was covered by the bid price. How freakin' stellar is that?!
We are doing a bunch of stuff to our house and other people were in and out and Brian and his crew just went about their business and remained very focused in spite of the added traffic.. So quiet were he and his crew, it was as if nothing was happening, but, oh how it was. I left the house several times with just Brian and his crew there and no one else and perfectly comfortable in so doing. I'd probably lend him my Sierra Denali if he needed it. That's a pretty high level of trust in my world.
In the final analysis, I can say I got what I paid for and then some. It wasn't cheap, but the service from start to finish was worth every nickel. From the initial phone call, to his site visit and assessment, to his timely and competitive bid, to the final expertly installed product, I'd put the experience in the nearly flawless category.
Now, on to Angie's List to give this great dude and his awesome crew some much deserved "Angie Love." After all, man cannot live by Yelp alone.
Seriously, here's to a job VERY well done. I found a diamond in the vast HVAC coal mine in Mr. Cool. Give him a shot if you're in the market for some stellar HVAC work and if you're lucky like me, he can work you in. Thanks for making the trek to P'ville.
Godspeed,
D. Schiller read more