Electrical nightmare. Buyer beware and run away as fast as you can! I recently had my A/C unit assessed for annual maintenance, after taking over property. My sister had hired Ken with Murdoch's to install a central air conditioning unit into our two-bedroom condo. My contractor and a new HVAC company I found on Yelp independently evaluated the air conditioning system and pointed out several significant issues: 1) this unit is not up-to-code (later found it was highly illegal). In fact it lacks several required features to be properly permitted in SB county (like a sediment trap), 2) structurally not sound: built on indequate cavity, not bolted down, not cocked; 3) dangerous- hose made of plastic that isn't insulated and runs right next to water heater; 4) half-complete job: unit installed in closet and attached to a flu with asbestos, and additionally not secured to the roof; 5) missing fuse box. When I contacted Ken with my concerns, he came to evaluate. After treating me very poorly in, what I perceived to be, a patronizing condescending way, I put him on the phone with the HVAC approved-by-Yelp owner, who explained the issues. Ken tried to minimize all issues and said "these are all little things" and "I can fix these for you." I pointed out to Ken that it was missing a sediment trap and he pointed at the PVC trap and said that was the sediment trap. Thankfully at this point my husband came home. While it is 2021, Ken didn't treat me like it was, so I'm happy my husband came home and reinforced the issues. When my husband pointed out that the PVC was not the sediment trap, he said "it's not necessary." According to the 2016 California Plumbing Code CPC, it is 100% required. Needless to say, I have opted to have the errors resolved by the Yelp-approved-HVAC company instead. I would never ever recommend this company. Bad business. Severe FIRE danger. Additionally, I had the unit repaired and surprise! Worse then imagined! Repairs revealed further issues: the unit was surrounded with COMBUSTIBLE material, and there wasn't a separation between the unit and shower in the wall. Ken also chose a 2-ton unit and should've chosen a 3-ton, but that's a minor detail. I'm more upset about electrical wiring system which was also done inaccurately and could've resulted in fire. I contacted Ken, who offered to fix the issues he didn't acknowledge seeing and downplayed in the first place. I asked if he'd be willing to cover the expenses for the external company I went with. He declined. What he did right was coming out to visualize and offering to take care of it. What he did wrong- not acknowledging the significant errors, apologizing, and not treating me with respect. read more
