Our home purchase in 2011 was equipped with the original furnace installed, 20+ years ago. A replacement was on the "To Do" list and after reviewing furnace brands and HomeStars listed contractors, I contacted CoreTemp regarding a furnace replacement. Richard was out of town attending a conference. However, that evening, Richard returned my call while on conference in the US and inquired about our original install! How many contractors do that? We talked Furnaces for about 20 minutes. He offered an estimate on replacement and arranged an appointment to inspect the furnace on his return. I was impressed. The following week, Richard arrived on time and had a look at our furnace. He said he knew this model of furnace well and from past experience, he suspected that we probably had cracks starting on the back side of the heat exchanger and suggested replacement as quoted. I had another quote arranged but assured Richard that I would be in touch.
In the mean time as luck would have it, the following week we had a "no heat" situation and called Reliance for the repair. I had their Protection Plan and the service was included. The tech replaced the high limit switch and installed a jumper that was not reinstalled during a previous service call. Concerned about Richard's thoughts on the heat exchanger, I had the Reliance tech perform a carbon monoxide test. He did not diagnose any issues. I hesitated. Did I really need to replace this furnace? Richard's concern about the heat exchanger seemed genuine. We decided to replace the furnace as planned and selected CoreTemp for the install.
During the install, Richard called me to the basement. He had the old furnace removed and wanted to point out not one, but THREE cracks on the exchanger, exactly where he suspected they would be! Having a family of his own, Richard indicated that we had made a wise decision on the replacement, despite the results of an inadequate test performed by Reliance.
The work performed by Richard and crew was clean and professional and he has impressed me with his courteous, almost "small town" like, customer service. I look forward to having them back for annual maintenance because I'm confident that when they inspect, it truly will be "peace of mind" protection.
- Approximate cost of services:
- $5,000.00