Berkeley Parents Network: Central Heating Systems

Berkeley Parents Network

Central Heating Systems

Please note: this page contains reviews and opinions sent in by Berkeley Parents Net subscribers. Your own experience may be different. Please always check references before hiring!

Berkeley Parents Network > Reviews > House & Garden > Central Heating Systems

Need to get unreliable central heating repaired
Looking for HVAC specialist
Want to replace ancient floor heaters with central heating
More Reviews of central heat installation & repair
Heating Ducts cleaning, replacing
More Advice about Heating & Cooling

Need to get unreliable central heating repaired

Sept 2006

We need to have our unreliable central heating repaired (or maybe ultimately replaced). The recommendations on the bulletin board are a couple of years old, and I'm wondering if anyone has more recent experience with any of the following companies: Atlas, Harry Clark, Best Heating, Ceridono, or Walter Mork? Thanks for your help! rachel

Go with Atlas, we've had them replace 2 separate heating systems. They did our first house which had only an ancient floor furnace, they installed a new furnace and all duct-work, very professional and clean, and got the job done in a matter of days. They were so wonderful to work with that we hired them again when we moved into another house that also needed a complete heating system installed. warm in berkeley

I would HIGHLY recommend Val Betti for any heating job. Val Betti scheduled a same-day appointment for an estimate, which was HALF the estimate of the other company I had talked to. Then they scheduled the work for 2 days later. They gave me a 2 hour window in which their workers would arrive, but they arrived at the very beginning of the window and replaced my wall furnace and flu within 1 hour. They cleaned up nicely and did a perfect job on it. They are very professional and great to work with. I know they do central heating, air conditioning and plumbing as well. You can reach them at 232-5593 (in Richmond) warm and happy customer

Looking for HVAC specialist

Feb 2006

I have checked previous postings and nothing seems to be recent. I'm looking for a HVAC specialist in the Lamorinda area. Your recomendations are appreciated. Carole

For the person looking for an HVAC specialist in Lamorinda, we are in Walnut Creek and use LJ Kruse and are very happy with them. We found them on BPN, in fact. You can look them up on the web at http://www.ljkruse.com/. We had them replace both our furnace and our AC, and they now do our maintenance. Jeff Brown is the HVAC manager and he's just great. We've been pleased with the folks whom we've worked with since Jeff's initial evaluation of our project as well. Good luck!

We just finished having a new heating system put in by Kazen Heating and Air. They are a small, family run (father and son) business and they did a great job at a reasonable price. We had our old furnace removed from a hallway closet and a new furnace installed up in our attic so we can use the closet space to make our master bathroom larger. They work anywhere between Sacramento and San Jose. Matt Kazen, the owner, can be reached at 707-689- 7205. laura

Want to replace ancient floor heaters with central heating

Sept 2005

As winter lurks around the corner, I want to replace my 2 ancient floor furnaces (in a 70-yr old house) with central heating. Any recommendations?

We loved Atlas. They even were supportive of our doing the installation ourselves. Very nice company to work with. Elizabeth

To the person asking who she should call to replace her old floor furnaces, and in support of another person who recently praised their work, I recommend contacting Jeff Brown at LJ Kruse. He may be more expensive, but knows what works in our old homes to ensure efficiency and he is sensitive to maintaining the integrity of an old home. We had a heating and cooling system installed by LJKruse before the Indian summer of 2004, and we love it! (Who knew that you need air conditioning in Berkeley, but I am now a convert.) His crew is professional and courteous and he is a delight to work with.
Comfortable in Berkeley

More Reviews of central heat installation & repair

Dec 2005

We called AC Heating and Air conditioning (510-271-0771) to come take a look at our two heaters. They have the largest ad in the SBC Oakland Yellow Pages (pg 40). They told us that there would be a $45 charge for the service call to find the problem and if we decided to have them fix it the $45 would go towards the costs of repair. So, the guy showed up, did little more than just re-light our pilots (no parts, laughable labor time) and was done in 15 minutes. He then asked for $120!!! I was shocked. Needless to say I didn't pay him $120. But, the experience wasn't fun and everyone should stay far away from these folks. Almost Burnt

Sept 2005

I know we haven't had a crazy hot summer so far (2005), but my hubby and I decided to install air-conditioning in our house this year. We hired Ceridono Heating/Cooling. Our "3-4 day job" ended up taking 30 days and by the time they left our house not only did we end up with half of the things they promised us, only half of our house is cool. Sadly, it's not the half that needs cooling. Our bedroom on the top floor was 92 degrees the other day with the "air-conditioning" running. And they are still expecting us to pay in full. We've called in Jeff Brown from LJ Kruse to be our salvation and are just kicking ourselves that we didn't hire LJ Kruse from the get go. Jeff and his team can be reached at 644-0260. (Oh, and several postings from the last couple of years list Jeff Brown at Ceridono - he doesn't work there anymore... now he works for LJ Kruse.)
disgruntled and HOT in Oakland

Sept 2005

We have had great experience with RD Heating & Air Conditioning. They installed a heater for us a year and a half ago and an air conditioner this spring. I would definitely use them again. Their phone number is 1-800-606-6456. Pam

Dec 2004

GREAT HEATING CO.!

Our furnace/heating system just died a few weeks ago! Unexpectedly and in a real bind, my husband called a few heating companys. WE LUCKED OUT BIG TIME and came across a company that is small; family owned for many years and they were a God- send! BEST HEATING AND AIR CO. OWNER JOHN HALSEMA is smart, respectful, pleasant and knowledgable as well as fair and straight! He came over that night, put in a NEW furnace that next day, worked his butt off late into the night to get our heat back on and running! We were SO happy and just want to spread our good fortune to anyone who is in need of help with your heating or cooling system in your home! Relax and call... * JOHN HALSEMA * # (510 ) 530-2092 john AT bestheating.com www.bestheating.com Happy Holidays! Melinda

Nov 2004

Central Heat Installation

Last year we ripped out our old forced air central heating system and had a whole new one designed for us. We got many bids and talked to many companies, and ended up with Atlas Heating in Oakland. We were impressed with them and I highly recommend them. They are a local, family-owned business with lots of experience. Ours was not a simple job, but they did a fine job with good follow-up. And the heating works great! You can call them at 800-750-0074. -- Warm & Happy

Nov 2002

Does anyone have hydronic heat in their house? We need to replace our heating system and I'm interested in hydronic heat. Specifically because my husband has allergies and asthma. I need recommendations of heating companies that can install it. If possible, please email me personally as well as posting on the newsletter. rcohen

We replaced our in-floor furnaces with a central heating system last winter, and used Harry Clark. Absolutely no complaints -- they stuck to their schedule, cleaned everything up, and the job captain was polite and professional. And I'm just absurdly, disproportionately, happy with the benefits of central heating and a programmable thermostat! Anne

Sept. 2002

We need to update heating system in our house-- are having trouble finding contractor/ company who isn't wierd or scary. If you have used someone and it was a good experience please share! Thanks. Maria

Hi, We have an old heating system of two floor furnaces with metal grills. Now that we have a toddler, we would like to move up to the 21st century and get forced air heating (and maybe cooling too).

Atlas (893-1343) installed forced hot air in our house. It was excellent. The estimator explained everything, there were no surprises. The work was very well done. There was one small mistake, but they corrected it well. Jim

I would recommend Walter Mork Co. at 845-0992, 2418 6th Street, Berkeley. They replaced our 30+ year old gas furnace with a new, quiet, reasonably priced efficient model. They did it quickly, professionally and crawled into a very tight space under our house to do it. The owner's son also happens to also be a friend of ours, so I can vouche for his excellent character and high work quality. He does the estimates/bids for the company and specs out the job. His name is Berkeley Choate. Jana

August 2002

We need a new furnace and have already gotten an estimate from Atlas Plumbing and Heating. I'm interested in hearing from anyone who has had them do work, as well as getting suggestions for a company that might give us another bid. Some duct work may also be part of the job. Thanks.

J.M.Campbell Company just installed a furnace system in our house and did a fantastic job. They showed up when they said they would and did the work in the time frame they promised for the price they quoted. AND they did quality work putting in a quality furnace for a reasonable price-- much less than quoted by Atlas and/or Harry Clark. They even cleaned up after themselves! I recommend them highly; telephone 533-2044

Feb 2002

We are installing a new gas furnace and would like any recommendations for gas furnaces. Two well-recommended HVAC companies independently have suggested Carrier furnaces; does anybody have an informed opinion on that furnace brand? Kate

Response to person replacing furnace: We did this and used Roeber's and were NOT happy. We had to call in someone else to fix things. We were VERY happy with them. You could speak to Danny at Lavine Heating and Cooling. I believe they are located in Berkeley. Colleen

March 2002

Can anyone recommend a good heating contractor who could add a vent to our existing central heating system? We felt that the contractor we engaged to do the original installation was very pricey. We live in Emeryville.

To the person looking for a good heating contractor, I highly recommend L.J. Kruse. The service is great, the people are great--couldn't give a better recommendation. Got jerked around by other companies on quotes, not showing up when they said they would, etc. With Kruse, I got efficient and friendly service. The number I have for them is 549-5314.

2000

Furnaces are supposed to be inspected annually. We have ours done by Atlas Heating and Ventilation in Oakland. They originally installed the furnance (before we owned the house) so we just kept with them.
Fran

I have no idea how often furnaces should be serviced, but I am confident that it is more often than every 15 years. We had a new furnace put in last year, and used Harry Clark Plumbing and Heating. We thought they did a fine job. Also recommended is Atlas Heating.
Wendy

Right now Lavine & Co Heating and Air Conditioning, 5933 Foothill Blvd, Oakland, 632-0203 is having a special, I think its about $250, half price. We just had our furnaces cleaned on Monday. They did an excellent job. Its a family owned business. Really nice and professional folks. He told us its good to have it cleaned about once a year depending on use, whether or not you have pets and so forth. I felt they were really honest. We will have them come back to fix one of the pipes.

What ever you do, DO NOT CALL COMFORD. They are a rip off. When I was 9 months pregnant they insisted our funrnace was no good, and that gases were leaking into our home. Their furnace cost was $8. He was really pushing a sell. We ended up calling PGE. They came out right away. And informed us that there were no gases leaking into the home. That our furnace is old but ok. I would not recommend them....
Cindy

It would be better not to repeat our experience, so here it is. We had an old gravity Atlas heater when we bought our house, and didn't do anything until about 8 years later. We called Atlas and they came out and told us we had to shut it off immediately because it was very dangerous. The combustion chamber had rusted through in places, and we were getting gases into our house, I presume carbon monoxide. I don't know if it was a fire hazard or not. In any case, we got a new heater right away from Atlas.
Susan

I can also recommend Atlas Heating, which is also a long-time Bay Area company and family owned. They inspected the ancient floor heater that was in my house when I bought it last year and ultimately replaced it. I would like to caution against relying solely on PG&E for assurances of safety, particularly with an old unit: Atlas found a leak that PG&E did not. The second PG&E inspector acknowledged that it had been overlooked the first time, because the PG&E technicians did't carry mirrors with a handle long enough to reach down to reflect the bottom of the floor heater, which is where the crack was. I gave PG&E person #2 a ruler and some tape to extend the reach of his mirror, and then I had to point out the leak, which he did at last observe and confirm.
LORRAINE

I get my furnace checked each year by PG&E. They come and check it for free for safety. If you want something more than that, I would suggest Atlas Heating and Air Conditioning.
Linnea

From: Debbie

I've also used Berkeley Plumbing and Heating to repair my furnace when a cheap programmable thermostat fried it and they were very very nice and did a great job. And they were reasonably priced.

From: Wendy

We have just had a new forced air heating system installed in our small house in Oakland, and used Harry Clark Plumbing and Heating. We have no history with the heater, but Harry Clark's people were very helpful and pleasant to work with. We also got a bid from Ronnie at Atlas Heating; Atlas is more expensive, but it's a union shop and is highly regarded.

From: Tamara

I want to chime in with Wendy on 9/1's Parent Digest regarding Harry Clark Plumbing & Heating. We had them install a new heating system in 2 homes with great success. We also used their plumbing services for both minor repairs and major pipe replacement/installation and found them to be excellent. We also got bids from Atlas Heating -- they are highly regarded and more expensive. However, after having used Harry Clark since 1988, we still have the same plumbers coming to our home and they seem quite satisfied with their shop. Albert Nahman has also serviced us for plumbing, and is equally good.

From: Debbie

My furnace and heating ducts were supplied and installed by Ceridono Engineered Heating in Berkeley. They are in the yellow pages under heaters-sales and service. I had one of those small floor heaters in my downstairs so that the heat never made it upstairs. My furnace is in my attic (the crawlspace under my house wasn't big enough) and the vents are in the ceiling. They were pretty inventive about placing the ducts because I have an old house with few places to hide stuff, but they managed to do it.

The original furnace and installation cost about $3500 10 years ago.

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