Problems that Service Technicians hate but run into ALL the time. Read why these problems are so troublesome! 

SHERIDAN MECHANICAL SERVICES
    Serving the perimeter of Denver, CO.
  (303) 669 - 3876

Englewood, Colorado.
Office Hours: 8:00 A.M. to 4:30 P.M. Monday-Friday. Closed Sat. & Sun.

  Servicing Arvada, Westminster, Northglenn, Thornton, Wheat Ridge, Sheridan, Lakewood, Englewood, Centennial, Littleton, Aurora, Castle Rock, Highlands Ranch and surrounding communities. Counties served are: Douglas, Arapahoe, and Jefferson Counties. We do not service the City or County of Denver at this time.

Articles:
Lung Cancer and YOUR Furnace or Boiler

UNDERSTANDING SERVICE PROBLEMS.

TYPICAL SERVICE PROBLEMS.

NUMBER 1 PROBLEM:  Noises

There are many times that our service technicians get to a service call only to hear " The furnace or air conditioner makes a noise, but it isn't always there". We HATE this type of call because if the "noise" isn't there while we are there we obviously can't fix the problem! We will always try to make the noise appear but it may not happen. Most clients have had this sort of thing happen when they bring their automobile to the garage for repairs. They get there and the noise is gone! The car mechanic KNOWS the client has heard a noise so what he has to do is either have the client try to bring the vehicle back when it makes the noise again, an annoying inconvenience on both the client and the mechanic, or try replacing All parts that could cause the problem. This latter cure for the problem could be looked at as the mechanic trying to sell unneeded parts. Since not all mechanics or service technicians are honest, this could be a valid point. The best cure for this is to ask your friends who they use for service work to help you find a company you can trust.

NUMBER 2 PROBLEM: Having the part to make the repair.

Most service companies carry a large selection of service parts. This includes our company. We shift the emphasis on which parts to have on the trucks depending on which season we are in, either heating or air conditioning. However, even doing this it is impossible to carry every part for every furnace, boiler or air conditioner that is on the market! This is especially a problem with an emergency late night call for a heating problem. We will do our best to get the client heat but sometimes it is a manufacturers part such as a printed circuit board that has to be ordered. On occasion, our supply houses and manufacturers distributors are themselves, out of a certain part and it has to be shipped to Denver from sometimes the east or west coast.

NUMBER 3 PROBLEM: Scheduling the service call.

Our office tries very hard to schedule each call to have the client's service problem corrected in the fastest manner for the client and our service technicians as well. This all depends on many things happening in a certain way. For one, our service tech has to arrive on his call on time. Anyone who drives in the Denver area knows all too well the traffic in the area will often times dictate if this happens or not. Next is our service techs don't know how long they will be on each call or what problems they will run into. Each tech keeps close contact with our office if they see there will be a delay so that our office can call the next client and keep them informed. This is of little comfort to a client who has taken the day off to meet us. This same thing happens to us when WE have service companies come to our facility or our homes, so we understand the problem. We often end up paying our service techs overtime because of this, even though we didn't get paid overtime! Another problem is when a client " forgets " the appointment to meet us. This last problem is why we call before we come out. If we get an answering machine and we leave a message to call us and we don't get a reply we move on to the next call so as to not disrupt every client's schedule. So please be there for the appointment or notify our office if a change in the schedule is required as soon as possible. 

NUMBER 4 PROBLEM:  Bringing existing furnaces, boilers and air conditioners up to code.

The best example of this we can give is the following.
A homeowner has a bad furnace and wants us to replace it. We discuss the different efficiency options they have along with options to different brands they may have interest in. The next thing we have to look at is whether or not an existing piece of equipment will measure up to the latest national, state and local codes. One of the biggest code issues that comes up when talking about furnaces is the lack of enough combustion air in the furnace equipment room. The new codes require a certain amount of combustion air be brought in via (2) pipes, one high on the ceiling and one low near the burner section of the furnace. These pipes are usually 6" in diameter. Once a basement has had a finished sheet rocked ceiling installed, it is sometimes impossible to do this! Clients often say " It's been this way for 30 years ". What they are not thinking of is that they may have divided off their basement into living areas, playrooms and the like. If this has happened the furnace or boiler is now being starved of combustion air and the furnace is making carbon monoxide as a result. This may or may not be deadly but it is irrelevant to us since we have to supply combustion air per the new codes. At one time not much attention was given to combustion air since houses used to be very loosely constructed which allowed for air infiltration through air leaks around windows and doors. There are other code issues we run into but this will give you an idea of what we are up against.

NUMBER 5 PROBLEM: " I don't want to pay permit fees.

All communities we serve demand any equipment that is being changed or new equipment being installed be done so with a Permit from the local authority. We are licensed in all areas we serve and wish to do this the correct way.
However, it does raise the cost of doing the job. Also, there have been some jobs we have done that have ended up costing our clients more money than anticipated because when the local Inspector came out, other things about the building didn't meet code, even though it had nothing to do with the job we were doing. Our view however is that if it were OUR home we would want the Inspector to let us know if there were other unsafe things in the home! Not everyone shares our thoughts however. Our office can explain this to you at length.

You are visitor number 

All photos and text are original material published by Sheridan Mechanical Services and can not be distributed, or republished without written permission from Sheridan Mechanical Services.