My husband and I moved to a different region of the country (Madison, Wisconsin, area) buying a 20-year old house in 2020. The house is a fixer-upper. The six-year old furnace was low-end and 'marginally okay.' The AC condenser did us a favor by lasting a year, but was on its last legs. Kaput. Shot. Done for. We were very lucky that the condenser did not die on us.
I did a LOT of research--months,-- looking for a heating/cooling company that matched the wonderful company we relied on at our old house. I sorted through at least thirty companies. We already knew the manufacturer we wanted (from past experience): Bryant. Bryant is Carrier without the highfalutin name, and cheaper.
If the contracting company had no website, or Web 1.0, I eliminated them right away--if they can't keep up with technology, they aren't competent over time.
The second tier was to scour the Internet to read previous people's reviews. I spent weeks. We had three contractors over to the house--then looked at the proposed companies contracts' fine print and was horrified. Their contracts were all FOR THEM, leaving the homeowner in the lurch. There were so many holes in their contracts, I nearly puked. It came down to the contractor took all the rights for themselves and gave the responsibilities to the homeowner. It came down to no responsibility to the contractor and no benefit to the homeowner. In case of disagreement, the contractor could charge whatever he wanted during the project, and the homeowner had to pay through the nose, or the contractor would walk away (threats). It was bad.
You really must sit down and spend a week reading, and mulling over, the back side of the contract that contractors try to make you hurriedly sign. These three were swindlers but after a month of not hearing from us, they knew we were not an easy mark and they gave up. "Taking one's time to decide" has its merits--it eliminates contractors who are in the game for a fast buck.
That said (first one), the third tier was to go through my short list. There were about five, but I narrowed it down to two. The first, I discovered, had decided that, whatever their reasoning, we were not good enough a client for them. We had cash in hand, knew exactly what models of furnace and AC condenser we wanted replacing, outright offered them the job, and after a couple days trying to hear back from them, they did not have the courtesy to email us saying, "We are not interested." We removed them from the running--arrgh!
THAT said (second one), there was one company left on my short list: Pharo Heating & Cooling (more specifically, Clint Pharo). Maybe God or the universe was watching out for us because we did indeed contract with Clint at Pharo, and the company did indeed do an excellent job. Because of the pandemic, they needed several months to accumulate all the equipment and requisite doodads, but we didn't mind--one has to be patient.
On "the day," Pharo+company hauled away the old cra_py, God-awful heating/cooling equipment. They installed the new high-end Bryant stuff: furnace, magnificent AC condenser, air purifiers, and Evolution® Connex thermostat with auxiliary controls, coordinating with ducts the house has. We could not be happier with the result. So far, the house's temperature is heaven. Clint had anticipated every detail. Connex itself is a marvel.
Do I recommend Pharo Heating & Cooling? Yes, you betcha. They are our "go-to" heating/cooling guys. I also recommend the manufacturer Bryant--it is Carrier. Carrier had been in the top three regarding quality + well-trained installers for a long time. Carrier is Buick (or maybe Cadillac), whereas Bryant is Chevrolet.
In one word: SUBERB! read more
