HVAC Service in Vancouver
Almost everything interesting about HVAC in British Columbia is gated behind a gas ticket, and we do not hold one. What we can do is tell you accurately which side of that line your job sits on, and coordinate the people licensed for the other side.
Gas work and Technical Safety BC
Work on gas appliances and gas piping in BC requires a ticketed gas fitter, and permits for that work go through Technical Safety BC. There is no grey area and no version where a general handyman is the right person for it.
If you smell gas right now, stop reading, leave the building, and call FortisBC's emergency line from outside — not from inside the house. That is not a next-available-appointment situation and no contractor should be your first call.
Annual service intervals
Gas appliances want annual attention, and the reason is safety as much as efficiency: combustion, venting and the heat exchanger all need eyes on them each year. Heat pumps and air conditioners want their coils, filters and drainage checked annually too, though the consequences of skipping are financial rather than dangerous.
Book off-season. Everyone calls for heating in the first genuinely cold week of November and for cooling in the first hot week of July, which is exactly when availability collapses. Late summer for heating and spring for cooling gets you a better date and an unhurried visit.
Signs your system needs attention
Worth acting on: short cycling, where the system starts and stops repeatedly rather than running a proper cycle. Rooms that used to heat evenly and no longer do. A noticeable rise in running cost with no change in weather or habits. New noises, particularly grinding or a hard bang on start-up.
Worth acting on immediately: a yellow or orange flame where it should be blue, soot marks around an appliance, a carbon monoxide alarm sounding, or headaches and nausea that improve when you leave the house. Those last ones mean leave the building and call the gas utility — not book a service call for next week.
What we refer to a gas fitter
Anything involving gas piping, the burner, the heat exchanger, venting or combustion air goes to a ticketed fitter. So does commissioning a new gas appliance. We do not touch any of it.
What we handle is the surrounding work: replacing filters, cleaning and clearing return grilles, ducting for ventilation fans, condensate drain routing, and thermostat installation where it is not line-voltage. That is real work and it is well within what we should be doing.
What this costs
$420–$780 service · heat pump installs $11,000–$24,000
Annual service and diagnostics are a fixed visit. Installs are quoted after a heat-loss assessment — an undersized system is a more expensive mistake than the price difference between quotes.
Materials are always separate from labour and passed on at cost. Quotes are free and written, and the full rate card is published rather than given out on request.
Common questions
Who is legally allowed to work on gas appliances in BC?
A ticketed gas fitter, with permits through Technical Safety BC. That is not us, and anyone without the ticket offering to do it should be declined. If you smell gas now, leave the building and call FortisBC's emergency line from outside rather than calling any contractor.
How often should a furnace be serviced?
Annually for anything gas-fired, and the reason is safety before efficiency — combustion, venting and the heat exchanger all need checking each year. Book it in late summer rather than November, when the first cold snap sends everyone to the phone at once and availability disappears.
Do you handle gas lines?
No, and we will not. Gas piping, burners, heat exchangers, venting and combustion air all belong to a ticketed fitter. We coordinate them and handle the surrounding work — filters, return grilles, ventilation ducting, condensate routing and low-voltage thermostats.