Baltimore HVAC Contractor - MG Mechanical Services - Excellent!
Two weeks ago, just as it was starting to get very hot in Baltimore, we walked past our thermostat and noticed that the display had gone out. We checked the usual things: breakers at the main panel, breakers at the HVAC subpanel, and fuses by the outside A/C compressor (although I believe the latter would have had no effect on the display on the thermostat).
All the breakers checked out fine, so I decided to see if any voltage was actually making it to the Thermostat. Since I’m no HVAC expert, I looked online to find a wiring diagram. I found this great article on HVAC color coding that was a real help. I set up my voltmeter, touched it to the correct wires, and…. nothing. The system didn’t have any juice.
At this point, I figured it was probably a control board in the main furnace, and out of my league to fix. Kim suggested that we call an old friend from her work, Mike S, who had installed a new outside compressor and indoor furnace at our prior house. Her friend owns a small company called MG Mechanical Services that he uses to perform HVAC repair and replacement work on the side.
Mike was extremely courteous on the phone, and came to our house within 24 hours. He quickly diagnosed the problem as a blown fuse in the indoor furnace in the basement. He replaced the fuse, gave us a spare in case this happens again, and charged us only $85 for the visit. (In our area, that’s an excellent price. Repair work from other companies can start at $150 for the visit, plus parts).
Mike left his business card with us, and based on his excellent service, I wanted to give him a shout out here and say a little about what his company does from his business card:
MG Mechanical Services specializes in: Heating and Air Conditioning Services, Ventilation Systems Installation & Service, Gas Fitting Installation & Serivce, and Chimney Liners and Duct Work Installation.
If you’re in the Baltimore area, I hope you’ll consider MG Mechanical for your HVAC needs. Mike impressed us; I’m sure he’ll impress you. If you’d like his contact information, just e-mail us at oneprojectcloser@gmail.com.
What do you think? Do you have a trusted small 1-2 person company who does work on your house?
June 7th, 2008 at 4:36 pm
The first really hot day of this year, maybe the same day you had issues, our AC in our upstairs zone stopped working. The fan would run and circulate air, but it wasn’t cold air! The outdoor unit wasn’t running. I went outside and listened, and sure enough I heard a click and buzz every few minutes when the thermostat would send the signal to the compressor to start up to cool the house to the target temperature, but the outdoor unit would just hum and not start.
I called a local company, after pricing some others in the area (Midlothian, VA), and ended up going with Bradley Mechanical. They charged me $89 just to come out and diagnose it. Then when it turned out to be the capacitor that had blown, I had to pay another $134 for the part and installation of a new capacitor. The worst part is that I watched him pop it out and replace it with a new one in all of about 5 minutes! At least he recharged my system by adding a little frion (at no charge). And we’re good as new now! Good thing, because today it’s about 100 degrees here in Midlothian, VA!
I have a thought for discussion. May be worthy of a whole post by you guys with your thoughts and experiences.
Are HVAC annual maintenance plans worth the money, or rip-off? I decided that I am better off saving my money now (instead of spending about $300 each year for them to come out twice a year, check on things and clean the coils, etc… Because even if it breaks, I will still have to shell out big bucks to fix it. What do you all think?
June 7th, 2008 at 4:47 pm
My first post maybe wasn’t exactly clear. I didn’t mean to complain. I was very happy with Bradley Mechanical. They did great work, and their prices are fair. The tech, Leigh (sp?), who came out was very nice, and even explained to me everything he was doing, and patiently answered all my questions (I’m a curious person so I asked quite a few). I’m just a little bummed that the repair seemed so simple and something I could probably have done myself if I had known what to look for! The blown capacitor was obvious just from looking at it: instead of a flat top, it was all bulged up and rounded.
June 8th, 2008 at 9:51 am
@Scott, Your idea about annual maintenance is a good one. I’m always curious about how suggested maintenance and weather or not a warranty is worthwhile.
June 24th, 2008 at 7:31 am
[...] ran a post about a great experience with a local HVAC contractor earlier this month. One reader, Scott, had a few questions about annual maintenance and warranties. [...]