
F.H. Furr Plumbing, Heating, Air Conditioning & Electrical
About us
F.H. Furr provides residential products and services in the plumbing, heating, air conditioning, and electrical business. They put their customers first and provide them with quality products from trained technicians. F.H. Furr has committed to the highest degree of professional development and training in the industry, to work diligently in exceeding every expectation of the client in need. Based out of Manassas, Va., the company has expanded throughout Northern Va., Rockville, Md., Richmond, Va., and Georgetown De. Whether you need plumbing, heating, cooling, or electrical repairs or replacements, call on F.H. Furr for "Absolutely The Best" service!
Business highlights
Services we offer
Heating, Cooling & Plumbing System Installations, Drain & Sewer Line Clearing, Location & Video Inspection, Water & Sewer Line Excavation & Replacement, Gas & Electric Furnaces. Boiler & Air Conditioner Repair, Maintenance, Replacement. Ductless Air System Installation, Gas Piping, & Water Heaters.
Services we don't offer
Duct Cleaning, Gas Fireplace Repair, & Major Appliance Repair
Amenities
Emergency Services
Yes
Free Estimates
Yes
Warranties
Yes
Accepted Payment Methods
- American Express
- Check
- Visa
- Discover
- MasterCard
- 3
Assorted photos uploaded by F.H. Furr Plumbing, Heating, Air Conditioning & Electrical
Number of Stars | Image of Distribution | Number of Ratings |
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86% | ||
8% | ||
2% | ||
2% | ||
2% |
Filter reviews by service
Technician showed up on time. Evaluated problem areas that I asked about and clearly stated prices for repairs. Repairs were conducted quickly and technician took the time to talk to me about maintenance to avoid future issues.
"Whoever you spoke to must have misunderstood what you were after, the ballpark provided to you was approximately what a new garbage disposal provided by us would cost. Sorry for the confusion."
"Sir, you were intoxicated when we showed up to do the HVAC install at 8am. We had a very clear proposal for the system we were installing to which you had agreed previously. We returned your deposit on the special order equipment and preferred to pay the restocking fee to the manufacturer rather than waste any more of our time."
I was thrilled when someone came within hours to install my dishwasher and update the valves. I was worried I wasn't going to be able to find a company to come to my home to do the work for several days. Worth the price.
In the future I would request for an itemized estimate. We were advised that they would be a day and a half and the cement repair was included but further details were not discussed. Once they discovered there wasn't a need for cement work, they did reduce the amount due, however, we were told that they have a $2200 per day minimum. The repair team was not at our residence for an entire day when the job was completed but we were charged for their daily rate according to company policy. I did mention my hesitation with the adjusted cost, and they did provide a small discount, but was not even 5% (or equivalent to the angieslist discount which was not requested or provided).
It took several hours for the technician to complete the job. I thought there was a problem since it was taking so long. It turns out he didn't know what he was doing. Several months later, there was a funky smell coming from the cabinet below the faucet. They came back out but couldn't find a problem -- but still charged me for a service call. A few weeks later, the sink pipe started leaking and the faucet became loose. I didn't have them come back -- I was finished with them, and will never hire them again. I hired another plumber who had to re-install a new faucet - he said the problem was that the faucet was not installed correctly. Since then, there's been no problem.
"We apologize for an unsatisfactory experience six years ago. Since this was so many years ago it's hard to speak towards this particular matter, however, I'm certainly not sure why the plumber would have charged you a second service fee since the labor would have been under warranty, and as for an improper installation, that also confuses me since our workforce is highly experienced. I'm not saying we never make mistakes, but we always do everything we can to promptly remedy them."
Since the furnace installation is only three months old, it is practically brand-new. Especially since today is June 1st. As I was inspecting the house, I took a closer look at the installation, since it is still likely under warranty. I noticed that there was documentation on the cold air return showing that Dwyer had pulled the permit. But I did not see any documentation showing that it had been inspected and approved by the county.
Also, I noted that the paper filter, used to catch and retain dust pulled in through the cold air return duct, was hanging approximately an inch outside of the return air duct and it could not be pushed any further in. In addition, there was a significant air gap around the filter. Like water, air takes the path of least resistance. So rather than drawing in return air from the rest of the house when the furnace is operating, a large amount of air is instead pulled in from the surrounding mechanical room. My concern is that less than two feet away from the furnace is an old school water heater. Normally, the burned exhaust from the water heater is vented up, through the metal pipe, to the roof. To prevent exhaust gases from being pulled into the house, an equivalent amount of make up air needs to be available to replace the exhaust gases.
My concern is that the opening around the furnace filter, in the cold air return, will pull hot water heater exhaust gases back down the exhaust pipe, into the mechanical room and then into the furnace, causing the exhaust gases to be circulated around the house. Not good at all. People get sick from that kind of stuff. To prevent that from occurring, I was expecting a cover/door to be installed over the opening.
So noting the phone number on the Dwyer stickers, I prepared to call them with my concerns and see if these two issues could be properly resolved.
My first contact was with one of the Customer Service Representatives. Her name is Marcella. She was pleasant, but as it became clear to her that I was asking for things to be fixed and inspection concerns addressed, it seemed to me that some dodginess was introduced into the conversation.
Specifically, when I stated that I would like to know if the inspection had been done because there is no documentation showing that it occurred, she first stated to me that it is the customer's responsibility to schedule the inspection. I started thinking to myself, "Is this their modus operandi?" Her statement would be true if I (or the previous homeowner) were to have pulled the permit. However, that was not the case. Since Dwyer pulled the permit, it was their responsibility to schedule the inspection. I shared that thought with her.
Rather than a clear and decisive, "You're right.", I was again dealt some more dodginess. She said that she would need to pull the paper file to see where things stood with the inspection. I thought to myself, "Why is this information not readily accessible, either on a computer or a file?" I got this vision of a huge warehouse, in the closing scene from the movie, Raiders of the Lost Arc, chock full of lost antiquities, and in the far corner was the file for my house. In my mind, that would explain the delay. With regards to the missing filter door, she stated that she would have to refer me to the HVAC Manager, Julio.
We got off the phone. I went on the internet and did a Google search for the county permit process. Boom. Done. Too-easy. I called the correct office and spoke with someone there. She was able to tell me that the permit was indeed pulled for the furnace and that it had been inspected. That's good news. Then she also gave me the name and phone number of the inspector. Bonus round information. I noted the contact on paper, thanked her and hung up.
A little while later, I received a phone call from Marcella. Since it was her that I had spoken to, I felt that she had done the right thing to call me back and introduce me to Julio. So kudos to her for that. Next. Julio came on the phone.
I explained my two concerns to Julio and told him that in the intermediate time, I was able to verify that the inspection had occurred. Personally, I was surprised that I, as a novice, was able to more rapidly gather up the inspection information by looking up the government contact information, call the listed phone number, wait on a brief hold to speak with someone, and then wait as they looked up the information. Perhaps Dwyer's paper file needs to be moved to a more easily accessible location. Perhaps it could even be scanned.
Then we moved onto my second concern, as listed above, about the filter housing. I was told that this is the normal way things are done and that if there was not a little bit of the filter hanging out, it would be hard to get a hold of when it came time to change it. I told him that in my previous home there was a cover over the hole and that the filter did not get stuck. He also mentioned that the filter could get sucked into the furnace if it were all the way inside the duct. I did not argue that point. If it were properly installed, there would be large metal rods that would hold the filter in place and prevent that from occurring. So I mentally noted that there are probably not any rods to retain the filter in place.
I also mentioned my biggest concern about the back drafting of exhaust gases into the house and this was dismissed. He suggested that I could cover the gap using duct tape. Now that sounds really professional. Not.
Clearly, I was not going to get anywhere with this guy. So rather than arguing, I thanked him for his time, but also told him that I completely disagreed with his assessment of the situation and that I did not consider the installation to be complete.
That's okay. I don't want them to fix it now. I don't trust them. Exhaust gasses are no concern... hmmph! Yeah, right. Well, I'm putting my concerns on Angie's. So I'm suggesting that you save your money and frustrations by avoiding these guys. I'll use Angie's List to get someone else who I can trust to clean up the mess.
"You’re asking us to solve a safety problem that doesn’t exist, and one of the easiest ways to prove that is your system passed county inspection. The amount of air entering through that rack is not dangerous, hence it's not code enforced. If something had come up we would have gladly resolved it. The previous owner who paid for the installation did not want their filter rack replaced; we offered to have a door constructed for you for a fee, but given that the previous owners had never had such a filter rack and didn’t want to replace one we’re not going to install one for free for a new owner. Duct tape is a quick fix for the unreal problem and will achieve the same results for less money. You will likely find many things all over your new house that are different than your previous one, but that doesn’t mean they’re wrong. To clear up some other things: his name isn’t Julio, it’s Jalil; he’s been working for Dwyer since 1994, and we’re fairly confident he knows what he’s talking about. Marcella answers phones and schedules calls, she then directs other matters to the proper person. Some of us can electronically pull up exactly what you asked about inspections, but it’s not something everyone in the office needs to know how to do since it’s not a common request."
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