McMaster Heating & Air Conditioning, Inc.

I met with 5 companies, was most impressed with McMaster, and am happy I chose them. I don't use heating/AC much, so was looking for a basic replacement system. Ron, the owner, still conducted a thorough assessment, answered all my many questions, recommended solutions to concerns that other companies ignored, followed up with a written proposal to address my needs, and promptly responded to final questions via email and second visit. I was equally impressed with the efficiency and professionalism of the office staff, installation/service team, and how I was guided through the HERS efficiency test and city inspection. They made everything very easy and worry-free, and all at a very competitive price. I also plan to sign up for their annual ongoing maintenance program.

The service tech from McMaster was efficient, knowledgeable, and friendly. I always fear service calls because so many times you feel taken-advantage-of. That was not the case here. I will be keeping their number for future needs!

We had our unit installed from them. Based on the installation the quality was a “B”. We would use them again for the maintenance. The installation experience wasn’t so positive. I would speak on the last person who came to do the maintenance, they were very professional, very thorough. The very last person who came out was very good and very thorough.

I love my new Air Conditioning system. The installation team was wonderful. However, there were a couple small questions that I needed answered and never got a response. Also some minor trim work was promised and did not get completed. Therefore, I can only give them a B on professionalism and responsiveness.

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It is now 2 months later and I don't think I want to trust this company.

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McMaster was one of three bids I got for installing air-conditioning in my house, which only had heating. McMaster was not the lowest bid; however, I was impressed by their professionalism including attention to detail, workmanship and timeliness.  I also was impressed by the fact that they were the only one of the three bidders that used email to provide me a typed estimate. They were on time when they showed up to do the work, did it efficiently and answered all my questions while the work was ongoing. They then walked me through the process by which I needed to get a city inspection done and how I would be able to obtain a rebate from the utilities companies. All this came to pass as I passed the city inspection and obtained the maximum rebate. I was very pleased with McMaster and would definitely recommend them to others.

McMaster was one of three companies I had provide an estimate for a new HVAC system (furnace, fan, evaporator and condenser); ductwork and thermostats were not replaced
The estimate appointment went well - Ron showed up on time, looked at the existing installation, including getting into the crawl spaces and looking in the returns to check out the ductwork. He noticed two small issues with the ductwork that neither of the other estimators saw. I had a lot of questions about the SoCal Edison rebate program and how air conditioning theory has changed in the 15 years since the house was built. The existing unit was 5 ton but he said that a 4 ton would work, and a subsequent load test determined that a 4 ton was the appropriate size. Ron was very knowledgeable and made me feel like the job was in good hands. He left a brochure, gave me ballpark figures on several options and promised an email quote within two days
After several days, I had to email Ron for the quote, which I promptly received. The quote provided three options (good, better and best) along with a comprehensive list of everything that was included and excluded. After signing the proposal, I was told that I would get a call from the office to schedule the install. After a few days, I pinged him and soon received a call to schedule the install
The install went great. They covered everything from the front door to the mechanical closet with drop clothes and were very careful when moving equipment up and down our fairly narrow stairway. There were two main crew members, with another three in and out to help as necessary. They cleaned up well and took all of their trash with them
A couple of days after the installation, the office called to schedule the HERS test. The testers showed up on time and the install easily passed. There were no problems with the city building inspector, either
At this point, the A/C has only been on a couple of times (initial install and HERS test) but the furnace works great and provides much more even heating than the old unit, so I have high hopes for the A/C when the time comes
McMaster was a few hundred dollars more expensive than one of the other quotes but, as I said earlier, I really felt that Ron was the right person for the job. The third contractor was many thousands more expensive and didn't stand a chance
The only, very small, negative was that I had to prompt them a couple of times during the process to get the next step done. But when I did, they quickly responded, so it wasn't an issue at all
Overall, I was extremely happy with McMaster

Ron was the second person we called on our list, and he looked like the right choice from the start. He took measurements, asked the right questions, and had the patience to suffer through all of the questions we had for him (my father, brother, and I.) After two visits, we were able to settle on the project specs. We needed a zoned system for upstairs and downstairs, and a lot of ducting.
Once paid, Ron and one of his men came to do a load calculation, thoroughly measured the space, windows, and insulation quality to size our AC, a 3-ton system. The following week, work began.
Installation took 3 days, and during that time they did all of the work from the specs, laid out new lines to a new compressor on the side of the house. Dust and debris were not issues, and the staff was very clean the whole time. Though Ron initially advised against it, they willingly installed the Nest thermostats we wanted (they tend to confuse some users). By 5 PM on the third day, the system was running at 100%, everything seemed fine, and there was no debris or litter anywhere in the house, or on the driveway. Unfortunately, due to some framing issues with the house, we couldn't have the gas line hidden in the wall on its way up from the old furnace's connection, and we weren't very happy with the A/C lines in the way of our gate, but we didn't want to spend more money chasing these issues, and they were nice enough to put a paintable metal channel over the lines to avoid damage by the gate.
Overall, McMaster Air was very responsive, had lots of helpful information for us, and did a high quality job. The price wasn't amazing, but we'll call it fair given how good the work was.

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I got five different quotes from local HVAC installers and we chose McMaster based on what we felt was an honest and straightforward approach.  No gimmicks or attempts to up sell, just solid advice around get the best and most efficient system for our home.  Installation was done exactly as we were told and the team was very clean and tidy.  McMaster took care of all the inspections and paperwork needed for different rebate programs that we qualified for and we ended up getting over $3,000 back in rebates, which was more that they had originally estimated.  In fact, we had been quoted on a rebate back from Carrier but unfortunately it was miss quoted.  Rather than just blame Carrier, we receive a gift certification for the difference from McMaster which really was above & beyond.  Overall great experience and would definitely recommend.

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Their price is about the same as everywhere so I would say they're reasonably priced. They had one guy who was a new young guy and he was not very good. He drilled up into our ceiling and the stuff just came pouring out. He wasn't very good but everybody else was okay. We really like the main sales contact it's just not he's not very good at getting back.

In  nutshell, horribly.

• Dealt with James and getting him to respond to emails or phone calls took multiple requests.

Wanted to charge me in advance for the repair in case Carrier didn't honor the warranty.

Even after I agreed I had to make multiple calls and emails to ask him when I could get the work done.

I eventually gave up based on the fact that he said that it may not be a warranty issue after all and the fact the reapir would only be warrantied for 3 months.

As it turns out it wasn't a bad compressor, a competitor who came out to give me a bid did a simple test and determined that it was a capacitor so instead of spending close to $2000 to repair something that wasn't broke, I got a repair that cost less than $300.

These guys are great. Very professional in manner and in the quality of their work. They are also very down to earth with their recommendations. Great quality installation.

James, Anthony, and the crew were polite, professional, and did a outstanding job. The crew was on time, did not take a break until the job was complete. I would recommend McMasters Heating & air for your home.

Let me state right off the bat that I would not hesitate recommending McMaster to anyone. I contacted two other contractors on Angie's List (both with A ratings) and let me tell you they didn't even come close (so buyers beware). I met with James Maloney and the very first items he discussed with me was the SCE/SoCal Gas rebate program. I was surprised to hear about this since the other two contractors did not mention one  word about this program.  I guess that they did not want to have their work inspected which is a requirement for the rebate. BTW, how would anyone not want to know about a rebate that pays them $2000. Depending on what is done, rebates can go even higher.  After evaluating my situation and discussing my needs, James came up with three different levels of equipment. He also discussed other options such as moving the furnace location, replacing vents and other equipment upgrades.  Having done a lot of research on my own, it was obvious that James was knowledgeable and honest in his responses. It was an easy decision to give the job to McMaster Heating and Air.  
Before the actual installation James and Anthony came out to the house and took a bunch of measurements. Turns out all this work was needed to develop the Manual J report.  If you research online you will find that all reputable sources will tell you to make sure the company performing the work creates one of these report. Oh, second BTW, those other two Angie's List companies don't offer this report.  As they would tell you their many years of experience is somehow better (don't believe them).
The installation team was led by Mike and covered a period of three days. It was clear that they knew what they were doing and they had a clear plan as to what they wanted to accomplish each day. They arrived on time and took all necessary measures to keep the house as clean as possible (I have white carpeting throughout my house).  They consulted with me in regards to all installation options prior to doing the work. Anyone who researches Heating and Air knows that the key to success is not so much the equipment but the installation.  After inspecting Mike and his team's work, it's very clear they know their stuff.  I am extremely pleased on how things turned out.
As you can tell, I am extremely pleased that I choose McMaster Heating and Air.  My interactions with all of their employees (including the person who answers their phone - sorry can't remember her name at this moment) was nothing but a pleasure. 
Again, I can't stress enough that I contacted two other Angie's List A rated companies and it truly wasn't close. Make sure you give McMaster a call.

It went fine!

I wanted to replace the entire heating and AC system in my home.  I was also interested in replacing ducts and possibly finding other ways to conserve. 
Ron and his team were awesome.  I had four different estimates and while his was not the least expensive, it was the most thorough and he provided some alternate solutions I hadn't even considered (my furnace is now in my attic: less work on the furnace, quieter, and with better airflow).  I went with them because I had the highest faith in getting a high quality result.
I couldn't be more satisfied.  We talked through every thing they were doing in my house in detail - I was never worried about anything they were doing.  They were on time or early every day.  They were in constant communication so I knew when they were doing work or not.  They kept everything very clean to the point where you wouldn't have even known they were working on the house during the day.
At the end of it, when it was time to actually get the rebates, they handled the testing and made it completely painless for me.  Even the inspector was impressed when he looked at the work they did.
I don't expect to need any work like this again any time soon, but this team was great and I would absolutely have them do work for me again.

McMaster Heating and Air Conditioning was very professional and performed all work as quoted.  We have used them in the past and found them to be very reasonable priced and extremely professional.  We originally were looking to add an A/C unit in a specific room but McMaster recommended we replace our attic ducts first (47 year old home and they had never been replaced); they would re-route air flow to solve our cooling problem upstairs.  We have been extremely happy since they finished the work and we were able to save money by going with the less expensive solution first.  The work crew cleaned up very well, no mess for us to clean up afterwards.  Overal my husband and I highly recommend McMaster Heating and Air Conditioning.