ABS HEATING & AIR COND

They were the most responsive with comparable prices. They did not try to oversell.

We go back to them.

the team showed up punctually and finished the work ahead of promised time.  They did everything that was promised and was very patient in answering my questions.  They checked the furnaces and cleaned up everything before they left.

In a word, fabulously. I found out about ABS from a property manager, so immediately the value of that referral went up (a property manager can't afford to fool around with any old company when doing jobs for apartment/condo owners). Besides having worked with ABS before, this property manager friend also had a new furnace installed in his own home by ABS. So it was a double-referral if you will. We have been planning to do a major remodel for a few years now, and had plans in hand, but one thing after another delayed the project.
Finally we decided to just put the project on long-term hold. I tell you this because Bob (owner of ABS) came out on three different occasions before actually doing this job. The first time was because our existing A/C compressor wouldn't stay running (a 20 year-old Lennox system) - it would start but almost immediately trip the breaker. Bob came out and found something simple wrong. He didn't even charge us, saying that he would just call his visit a sales call (i.e., that the reason he came out was to provide a quote). And at that moment in time, we weren't actually requesting bids. So our old A/C was up and running again for no charge. Pretty nice :-) Very good business practice too :-) Anyway, to cut the introduction part shorter, Bob came back two more times about a year apart to provide a quote for a brand new system.
Once we realized that our big project wasn't going to start anytime soon, we decided that we really wanted central A/C again (the old Lennox compressor had failed again a few months after Bob's visit, now tripping the breaker every time, even after replacing it with a new one). We asked Bob for a quote, along with two other HVAC companies. Bob's quote wasn't the cheapest, but also wasn't the most expensive (it was right in between). I wrestled with the idea of spending so much money, and called back the low bidder asking for a detailed quote (his original low price was just a number with no detail, and as an engineer, I like some level of detail). The low bidder was slow to respond, sounding almost a bit indignant that I wanted a quote for a job that was going to cost more than $10,000.00. So I contacted the high bidder in an effort to see if he would lower his price or perhaps provide some upgraded equipment. I never heard back.
Now I was rushing against a deadline - California enacted new tough standards for the HVAC industry with the desire of saving the planet by reducing the cost of running a home HVAC system by reducing leakage in the system. Consumer Reports and other sources rate the average loss of heat at somewhere between 25% and 40%. In other words, most duct work is so leaky and/or poorly insulated that as much as almost half the heat escapes into the attic or under the house before ever reaching the duct work. 40% is a lot of heat to lose due to leaks!!! This all sounds great, but like most perfect stories, there is a price to pay somewhere. That price is in the bottom line cost to the homeowner when replacing a furnace. That's because every new HVAC installation must be pressure checked for leaks by an independent company! I understand that some HVAC companies would see a reason to cheat on their numbers and say there was less heat being lost than actually was. But I think that is kind of unfair to pain all HVAC companies as cheats. Plus, it adds a significant cost to replacing your furnace (I have seen estimates of as much as $2,500). I am not sure if new duct work is required, and if it is (as opposed to just taping up all the leaky joints), that will double, triple, maybe quadruple the price.
Back to ABS. So I am sweating this deadline and I finally call Bob back to book the job. Thankfully, he is able do the job the last week in June (right down to the wire!). I have a little bit of trouble getting in touch with Bob over the period of time between the original quote and the start of the job though. We decided we wanted a better, quieter A/C compressor than the one quoted, plus we want the next line up of furnace (such that both the furnace and the A/C are from the Infinity line of Carrier), and because Bob is very busy and is not a giant business, it takes me about a week to get answers to questions each time I request something new. But this is a small inconvenience compared to how well the job came out. Oh, we had one other item we upgraded - the thermostat. Originally I wanted the Nest thermostat, but Bob advised me that using the Carrier 'stat would be much better because Carrier (like everyone else) uses a proprietary communications protocol to accomplish extra tasks besides just switching the A/C or furnace on and off (things like fan speed, humidity, and gas flow rate.
Still one more thing. Bob suggested that we steer clear of the fanciest high-end 95%+ efficiency furnace. Why? Because, well, just like any other brand, the more complicated the stuff and the more different circuit boards they have, the better the chance there will be a problem (a repair). In other words, Bob was suggesting lower-maintenance equipment. By choosing to buy a standard 85% variable-speed motor (and 2 stage gas valve) furnace versus the considerably more expensive 95%+ furnace, and instead choosing to gain efficiency by getting new R-8 duct work, we will end up saving more money in natural gas costs. Plus, our existing duct work was un-insulated, and not as big as would be optimum for the volume of air needed for central A/C. The same went for the air conditioner. Instead of buying the fancy multi-stage model, we cose a single-stage Infinity model.
Okay, last paragraph. Bob and crew arrived on time and began the job the last week of June (June 23rd). He designed the new ductwork while his crew removed all the old ducts. He confirmed the design with his most senior crew member (wise in my mind - this is called a and quot;peer reviewand quot; in the engineering world, and is a great way to be sure everything is just right). Before he started the job, he asked if we wanted to get R6 or R8 insulation for the alumi-flex ducts. Although R8 cost more, it was one more energy-saving thing we could do.
The job went well but a little slower than expected (they had to do some digging in the crawl space so that all the pipes could be installed perfectly per plan), so on Thursday afternoon, Bob told me that his crew might need to work Saturday to get everything done and would that be okay with us (the home owner). But on Friday, the crew successfully finished the job and around 5:00 pm we tested the furnace (that was unpleasant given it was 95 degrees out) and then the air conditioner. They both worked perfectly. So everything worked out just right and everyone lived happily ever after. And the A/C works *so well* that every room is within +/- 1 degree, e.g., the largest spread is 75 to 77 with a 76 degree set point. The flow rate is fantastic, and the variable-speed furnace motor is really nice, making start-ups nice and slowly ramped-up rather than coming on all at once full blast. We haven't needed the furnace yet (it's only September now) but based on how well the A/C works, heating should be great. And I love the Carrier Wi-Fi thermostat!!!