Downing Heating & Air Conditioning

The technician found that a malfunctioning condensate pump was the problem and so he replaced it with a DiversiTech CP-22T condensate pump causing the furnace to work. He also changed the furnace filters. While I was provided the labor cost (hourly rate) by the Downing office which I agreed to prior to the service call, the technician did not provide me with cost estimates and approval for the materials (filters and condensate pump) prior to their installation. Even after completing the work, I did not receive any call from the technician indicating what work had been done. ( I do not live in the house.) I had to call the Downing office the next week to find out the nature of the repairs and if the work had been completed. I asked the Downing office to send me the bill which I received via e-mail on November 17, 2016. Upon receiving the itemized bill, I noticed that we were charged $ 270.00 for 2 hours of labor which seemed reasonable. However we were charged $75.00 (before tax) for cost of one furnace filter which seemed excessive so I called a local HVAC dealer (Aeero Heating in Novato, CA) who quoted me a price of $55.00 (including tax) and I also found a price of $22.95 (no tax) from an online HVAC supply house for the same brand and performance-rated filter. I then checked on the price of the condensate pump. Downing charged me $210.00 (before tax) for the pump. I was quoted a price of $40.20 (before tax) from Gow Supply, an HVAC supply house in San Francisco. When I questioned Scott at Downing about the excessive materials markups, he firmly stood by his high prices and is apparently happy to overcharge customers in Marin County. FYI: Downing warrants its work for only 30 days.

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Downing provided misinformation with regard to warranty coverage.  Their charges were exorbitant; approximately approximately twice what other plumbers have charged for service in this neighborhood.
I would strongly advise getting their warranty coverage and potential charges in writing before they dispatch a technician.

Estimator, Kevin, came out to estimate the job.  We reviewed what needed to be done.
1. REMOVE AND REPLACE 2- THREE FOOT SECTIONS OF RUSTED DUCTWORK, CAP ONE SIX INCH DUCT
2. REPLACE MOLDY INSULATION ON SUPPLY PLENUM AND HOOK NEW THERMOSTAT WIRE
The air ducts were already exposed since I'm redoing my bathroom,  There were no dry wall to take down so it was to be a simple job of replacing rusted air duct work.
I called days later to remind them for the estimate.  It came back at $1140.   I was completely blown away by the cost of service.  I don't understand why replacing 3' of air duct and some insulation work would cost so much.  There's NO wall to take down so half the work is already done.
I had my general contractor do it, and he charged me $150 for materials and $200 for labor.

Job was completed in as timely manner as possible. Very professional and end result was excellent.

These guys were great. We bought a foreclosure house and were stuck with a rotting heating system, so we didn't have much of a choice but to replace everything. We could have gone with a slightly cheaper quote, but these guys are total pros - why mess with your heat??

John arrived on time and was very professional.He performed the maintenance, and added a self-crafted piece to reduce noise and improve performance. John reviewed the condition of the equipment with me.

I called to schedule an annual service of our furnace. The scheduler listed their normal procedures. They did what they said they would but I thought they were going to clean the gas injector jets ( a previous service man had done this). They didn't and explained that this wasn't routine - they check them to make sure their functioning.

Great experience with this company. I sent an email asking for info, got a call the next day. The technician came when scheduled - and they gave me a one-hour window, which is a rare thing! He was polite, professional, and thorough, if a bit chatty. He gave me information and explanations about what he was doing. He told me my 25-yr-old furnace was performing well, but that if it starts misbehaving, I shouldn't spend money on fixing it, but rather to replace it. And he informed me that he saw evidence of rats under my house. I appreciated that, even if I didn't like hearing it! They gave me an accurate quote for servicing my heater and A/C system, and performed all the work in about an hour and a half.

John arrives on time after the company called to say he was on his way, and enters the house after pulling protective coverings over his shoes. He lays a protective cloth in front of the heater and neatly sets out his toolkit. He opens the heater and inspects every part, testing some with his tools. He didn't find anything wrong in this visit, but in the last one he found and fixed many problems. He works in a quick and relaxed manner. He chats pleasantly as he works. He writes the company name and date of the visit on the front of the heater so we'll know when he worked on it. He thoroughly describes what he did, what he found, what he recommends going forward. Then he cleans up and picks up his gear, leaving nothing behind, writes his report and finishes his billing. My heater now works perfectly again. I wish all my service technicians were as professional and effective as John is.