Guthrie & Sons Heating, Air, & Solar

The overall project was handled professional, on schedule and with excellent communication along the way. During the week their staff was on site working on every detail they had explained and in the order we expected. Every Sunday the Sanctuary was clean and orderly for the service. They handled the project from evaluation, installation, roofing sub contractors to the final setting of the programmed thermostats. All aspects of the project were completed and communicated to our project team at each phase. They truly went the ?Extra Mile? to insure our congregation would be comfortable and that our project goals were met.

Great! Best service we've ever had with our furnace.

I thought they did a good job and were reasonably priced.

Ben showed up early, performed the 26 point maintenance checklist promptly, explained to me and my husband any problems, issues and recommendations (he recommended yearly maintenance on our system that had been installed by someone else). He knows HVACs backwards and forwards. He is licensed in the trade, extremely knowledgeable, courteous, honest and hard working. This price was a special, and I feel that it would be worth it at twice the price. We have used several HVAC companies prior to finding Guthrie and Sons, and none was as competent or knowledgeable. We always ended up with something not working correctly and, after many attempts to fix the problems, and a lot of $ later, we were told we would just have to live with it. I'm so pleased to have found Guthrie and Sons, --I just wish we had found them sooner! I recommend them to everyone--they are the very honest and very competent A-Team. Ben also performed this same service on a rental home we own. Again, he was prompt, courteous, extremely competent and reported back to me the next day as to any issues. Before Guthrie, no one ever told me that we should have the heating and airconditioning checked each year. I'm glad they told me this, and I'm glad we are on schedule, so that our systems will be maintained savely and properly and we will save money in the long run by discovering any problems early.

The price seemed over the top, though the rep was very straight-forward as to why. Simply put, they cost up the job and then tack on 30% or so for the shop, and then another 10% for the rep (approximate numbers). While I expect that they do fine work, this put the job out of the realm of possibility for us. I was able to contract an electrician and a sole-proprietor A/C installer to do the job for about 1/2 of what Guthrie estimated. If you've got the money to spend, my expectations are that they will do a good job in a timely manner. But, you'll likely be paying for a lot of overhead as well.

The scare tactics of the technician telling me what basically amounts to a lie about the condition of my furnace made this a very negative experience. I paid not only for this "tune-up" but also for the second opinion, and I spent several (cold) sleepless nights, only to find that my furnace is in working order.

Another HVAC company, sent by the AC TIMe Program (administered by SDGE under the auspices of the CPUC), came out to do a "duct test & seal." The technician said the test would not pass because the return air was incorrectly installed, and there was a gap allowing dirty air from the attic to be sucked into the return air grill. He also said we would need a new return air and his company could do this for $375. We called Guthrie & Sons to come assess the problem. Ben said we did not need a whole new part. He closed up the gap by securing the sheet metal to the wood framing and then sealed it with duct sealant--all for $25!! I'm always going to use Guthrie & Sons and will recommend them to family and friends.

Very professional, informative and enthusiastic.

Guthrie & Sons did what no other company was able to do. We bought out house new from a well-known tract builder 15 years ago. Because of the way the house is situated, one side of the house gets hot while the other side is cold. We have had 5 different HVAC companies over the years try to solve the problem. They have tried moving thermostats, installing baffling, and doing other mechanical stuff I can't even describe because I don't have an engineering degree. Nothing we tried worked. One summer day while my bedroom was freezing, I walked into my son's room, and he had the ceiling fan going, the air conditioning on full blast, and he was sweating at his desk wearing nothing but boxers, but with a light blanket on his shoulders because the air from the register would shoot right down on his body (the registers were not adjustable). My neighbor has the exact same problem and he couldn't find a proper solution either. Guthrie and Sons to the rescue!!!! I hired Guthrie to perform our annual service this year, after I had recently discovered them. When Ben came out to perform the annual service, I asked him if he thought he could fix this problem that no other HVAC company has been able to solve. He suggested that we leave the downstairs air conditioning unit alone, and work only on the upstairs which is where we have the problem. I appreciated that he wasn't trying to sell me something I didn't need, so we only replaced the upstairs unit. He said that most HVAC units last about 15 years, and we were at the 15 year mark. But he suggested we leave the downstairs unit as is and wait until it dies. As for the upstairs, he suggested replacing the condenser, installing variable speed fans and mechanical dampers with a "zoning" system, so each room could be separately regulated. Since we have allergies, we always keep our windows closed and the fan running. He said that our existing fan costs about $80 a month to run, while the new variable speed fans would run about $4. Our existing fan had only one setting: on or off while the new fans are quiet, ramp up and down and are adjustable as to air flow. Ben said he would have his brother Matt call us and give us a proposal. Matt kindly agreed to meet with us on a Saturday morning so that he could accommodate my husband's schedule. It was a beautiful day and I'm sure he would have rather been with his famliy at the beach. He proposed a system outlined above using Trane products. Trane makes wonderful products if you can get past the "It's Hard to Stop a Trane" slogan. He explained the rebates/credits available to us: $200 from the gas company, $300 from California Cash for Appliances and $1500 federal tax credit. He also gave us a 2% discount by paying cash (and I'm not talking quarters--they accepted a check instead of a credit card). For three days at least two of the guys were here working very hard and barely taking a break--at first it was Andrew and Boen, and one day all three brothers were here--Ben, Matt and Andrew. They always asked my input whenever it was needed (such as where to place thermostats--where to place the condenser so we would still have room for our trash cans to pass--where to place wiring on the outside of the house so it would be least visible. At one point we had a miscommunication, and Andrew had to redo some of the work, but he redid it with a smile, even though I know he lost several hours of worktime. After he painted, you could not tell that any new wiring had been installed. The overall installation was smooth, painless (for me), and relatively quick. When these guys work, they begin and don't stop until they are finished. They do not leave a job half done to go to another job. They were in constant contact with me at all times--I have each of their cell phones and email addresses. When finished, they asked us to try out the system, and call if there were any problems. Meanwhile, Andrew provided me with all of the information I needed to fill out the rebate and tax credit forms. I called the city inspector, who spent over 2 hours at the house looking for problems to justify his existence (okay maybe an optomist would say he was just trying to do a good job and keep my family safe from the evils that would befall us for lack of a gas sediment trap to the furnace--hey, Guthrie didn't even work on the furnace!), and found two very minor issues that were done by the original builder and not Guthrie. While the inspector was at my house, I called Ben's cell and asked him if he would mind talking to the inspector so that we would all be on the same page. They spoke and when the call ended, the inspector said to me "Wow, he is the nicest contractor I have ever spoken to in all my years with the City." Did I mention that they are very clean, always lay down tarps, wear booties, clean up after themselves, and they did things I didn't even think of--like remove artwork on a wall that they obviously thought they might bang in to. They are so honest, I had no problem leaving the house to run errands while they were working. There was one day when there was a mix-up in scheduling. Ben was supposed to come to the house to repair the infractions the inspector cited, but showed up at our rental house instead. But hey--I once pinched another man's backside thinking it was my husband, so I don't hold that against him. (My husband veered off and the other gentleman veered in when I wasn't looking and their slacks were similar). Ben came out and fixed the two problems, at no charge, even though these items were not his doing--they were done by the original builder. A different inspector showed up to ensure the the repair work was completed properly. He told me that had he been the original inspector, he probably would not have cited any infractions. Then he said "Who did this work? This is some of the best work I have ever seen in my entire career. They did a fantastic job." He also gave me the name of the doctor who performed his knee replacements in case you are interested (I'm not there yet!). My husband tested the system thoroughly by sleeping in all of the rooms upstairs (I think he was really watching football, but I digress). He called Ben and said all was fine except sometimes the air flow was too great and sudden in two of the rooms. Ben came out and fixed it the problem. Apparently there are 4,327 switches on the system (okay, this might be an exaggeration), and one of the dipswitches was in the wrong position (not to be confused with dipstick or dipsh*t). It was up instead of down or down instead of up. He fixed it and the system is working beautifully. By the way, the condenser is super quiet. When I go outside to get the newspaper in the early morning, when it's very quiet on our cul-de-sac, I can hear our neighbor's condenser two houses down from us. It sounds like a jet taking off, while you can't even hear ours. We are so happy. Our regret is that we didn't find Guthrie and Sons 15 years ago to solve this problem! I am convinced they can do anything---even make 30 minute brownies in 20 minutes. I would and will hire them again in a heartbeat and I would recommend them to anyone--even my worst enemy!

We own a small home that we rent out The tenant mentioned that the condenser, which is just outside the living room area, was very noisy. Since the tenant works at home, I wanted to try to lessen the noise the best I could. Ben swung by the home when he was in the area and adjusted the "feet" beneath the condenser, which helped. He said the unit is not the greatest (the home was a cheaply built tract home), but he said it was not worth replacing--that I should wait until it dies. I loved his honesty as he was not trying to sell me anything. I asked him about a condenser blanket which he tried to talk me out of as he said he didn't think it would make much difference in the noise, and is relatively expensive. I decided to go ahead anyway, as then I would have done everything short of putting in a new unit to reduce the noise. He ordered a condenser blanket to insulate it. Since they come in many different shapes and sizes, it took them a while to receive the proper one. Guthrie kept me in the loop the whole time, telling me when they ordered the blanket, when it was to arrive, and Ben called me today as he was leaving the rental property to tell me the blanket was installed. You can't find a better company than this one!

We had a good experience with Guthrire & Sons. I think their pricing was fair, but hard to tell b/c they carry a brand that very few other heating or a/c companies do. They were very informative & patient with our situation. My only negative comment would be that I wish I heard from them a few days after they installed the system ... just to ask us how things were going etc. After all, we did spend $13k!

We decided to look into replacing our air conditioning system since it was 32 years old and had never given us a problem. We felt that the problems were "right around the corner" and with the system rebates and energy efficient rebates and tax credits that were out there it would be more beneficial for us to be pro-active. I did a great deal of research and narrowed down the systems I was interested in and after bringing in three different companies to quote and give their opinions on what was needed, we selected Guthrie & Sons. From the estimate up through final inspection, they were with us and walked us through the entire process. The Guthrie brothers were professional (we met all three), they and their "adopted" brother were like family after the two day installation. They made sure to take special care around our animals. The guys suffered in the heat of the attic and never complained...except that they did say that they wished we had a pool. I recommend them highly and would use them again if need be, hopefully though not for another 32 years.

Ben was on time at 8:30 am. He first checked out our air ducts, told us what was wrong with them, and even took my husband up into the attic to show him the problems we had. Gave us a reasonable quote, and then cleaned and performed maintenance on our air conditioner. He was very friendly and professional, and even made friends with our dogs. I would hire this company again for any repairs or maintenance we needed. Great company!

Overall I felt gouged. Ben had first quoted me $540.00 for the repair which I thought was quite a coincidence as that is what my first repair cost in September. In the end he discounted the latest repair by $100.00 after I had said I thought that was a bit much for the amount of time it took him...he thought so too. I paid the bill and was still upset at the amount and the fact that the price of the part was not included on my bill. I looked on the internet and found the part and it was $110.00 for the Rheem fan center. I then called Guthrie and Sons to speak to Ben about the bill. He called while we were on vacation and I called upon my return but didn't hear back for another two weeks. I called again this past Friday and he called this Monday morning at 7:00 AM. I asked the price of the part and he said he had no idea. "He picks them up and the girls in the office pay for them". I then asked how he determines his labor charges and he said they have a book with all the labor listed and I said I never saw him look at a book and he said "it was in the truck and I do things so often that I know the labor charges". I told him I thought the price I paid was excessive and he said we lose money on the $95.00 service call charge which was included in my $440.00 bill which surprises me as well. My first repair included refrigerant and a new contact for my condensor for $540.00 so I am very amazed that this August, Guthrie & Sons can service air conditioners for $79.00 including refrigerant. Why did mine cost so much????? I will not call them in the future. We plan to replace our heaters and air conditioners after we have solar installed but we won't be calling Guthrie and Sons to give us a bid!

Technician was on-time, polite, thorough and spent a lot of time with me to go over the results. If I ever need HVAC service, I will call Guthrie and Sons first. I would recommend these guys to friends and family.

These guys were great. The brother's had a fun personality, showed up as scheduled and did a great job getting our old A/C to actually blow COLD air...Don't know why we didn't think to service it earlier...Sure would have had far $maller cooling bills and far less time getting the house cool! We will be purchasing a new A/C unit from them in a few months when we do our backyard renovation. They are straight-forward on pricing, didn't try to up sell us on unnecessary stuff and we felt they were very honest. Call these guys and get your A/C tuned up! It's so worth the money to do so!

They were great. They worked fast and cleaned up well after themselves. I have been exceptionally satisfied with my new units. I have recommended them to my neighbors.

The oldest son (Ben) of the Company's founder arrived shortly after the appointed time. He proceeded to 1st check the furnace area in our attic re: A/C hookups, evaluated the ducting / filer system, etc. Previous inspection(s) have not even vertured into this area re; annual tuneups. Surprisingly, Ben noted probable building code violations (not corrected / reported by City inspectors / = shortcuts by Beezer Homes / builder) when we purchased the residence. Although these were not of any immediate concern, we were pleased to have them pointed out re: future repair / replacement / property sale, etc. considerations. Ben proceeded to inspect the exterior A/C unit. Checked all the bell(s) / whistles re: pressures, air intake / exhaust, etc. Added over a pound of refrigerant and cleased the unit. Truly a detailed job on the Company's part. I would estimate Ben was here approximately 2 hours. Absolutely, no comparison to prior tune up service. A detailed write up of his entire inspection, i.e., readings before and after, possible concern(s) was provided. Ben did provide a (no pressure involved) discounted service information for future service of both Heating / A/C. Answered all questions, totally professional, open and above board, clean, neat. What more can be said? Quite sure we will contract with this outfit for future A/C and Heating maintenace/repair/replacement(s). Would highly recommend to others.

This was an Angie's List Big Deal. Service was prompt, professional, knowledgeable, and thorough. Ben Guthrie, who performed our service, pointed out to us that our furnace installation, done by the builder, did not meet code, a condition apparently missed by the home inspector we hired when we were buying the place. We had a concern about leaks from the drain pan under the evaporator coil, something that had happened when the house was occupied by the original owners, and Ben allayed our fears, saying he found no evidence of a leak. In response to our questions, he stated they could install a secondary drain pan and safety switch to prevent leaks. He also told us that, at no charge to us, Guthrie & Sons would perform an assessessment of our current heating and air conditioning system and let us know the cost and energy savings of installing a newer, more efficient one. Ben took the time to answer all our questions, never giving the impression he was hurrying off to the next client.

Excellent. Tech showed up on time, found issue and repaired. Entire service call was only about 30 minutes. Very efficient.

Believe all the good things you read in previous reports--this company is great! Matt answered the phone when I called and gave me a good idea of what the problem was. Although I called during the one and only week of warm weather we had in July, Ben came out within only a few days (even arrived early after calling to be sure it was OK), fixed the problem, and also checked the compressor motor and charge level.

I was out of town and received an email from our tenant saying the A/C didn't work. Guthrie and Sons had been out 4 months prior for a full service, so I wasn't sure what could be the problem. I called them on a Friday afternoon and talked to Wes, the Dad (this is a family owned business) and he explained that they were absolutely slammed because the weather had turned hot, everyone was turning on the A/C, and many were discovering problems. He said he would work me in on Tuesday. Ben, one of the 3 sons, four the circuit breaker to be defective and that it was badly burned. He relaced teh breaker and tested it and the A/C worked fine. These guys are great--very professional and know what they are doing!

I am very pleased with the work that Guthrie and Sons provided. From beginning to end they were professional, honest, informative, tidy and competent. The guys that did the installation all had a great attitude and did a great job.

Outstanding in every way!!! This company is a family-owned business, and they take pride in their reputation and their workmanship. They were also extremely clean and took extra care to lay down protective tarps on my carpet and hardwood stairs. I will definitely use this company again for ongoing maintenance of my HVAC system and I highly recommend them to everyone else.

Our furnace failed to light during the recent storms. Matt Guthrie returned my call promptly, and came to the house the same day despite the nasty weather. It turned out that the burners needed cleaning, not major repair. Matt performed the necessary work quickly and professionally. I really appreciated that he made a point of showing me everything that he found, and explaining what he was doing and why. He tested the work thoroughly to make sure that the problem was resolved. Matt was courteous and seemed to really care about doing a good job. We will probably call his company in the future for furnace maintenance.