Hammond Air Conditioning Inc

Great company and service. Amazingly honest and fair.

This has been a long time coming, but finally it’s here. I called Hammond A/C last June 5, 2016 to come out and investigate an A/C system that wasn’t blowing cold air. Some personal experience background that is pertinent is that one of my jobs working my way through college was managing an apartment complex and doing all of the maintenance to boot including repairing and replacing all A/C systems. Along with that, my university education in mechanical engineering affords me some additional theoretical and practical expertise as I have central HVAC design and construction installation on several of my movable bridges and other projects. My immediate guess was that I had a leak causing a drop in Freon and a resulting frozen coil in the air handling unit. I hand checked first before calling and the air handler was so very cold that what I expected had to be true. Hammond sent out a technician June 5, 2016 who looked at it, removed the front panel and discovered my frozen over coils. He talked of the expense of Freon 22 versus Freon 410A which is now being used and I wasn’t quite convinced that a whole new system was necessary until he used a hammer along with a screw driver as a chisel to attempt to accelerate removal of the ice. Not the brightest of moves as using the screw driver as a chisel only majorly breached my coil system letting all of the remaining Freon out into the open air. Was this intentional? When changing out a coil of an existing or whole new system, the remaining Freon is supposed to be recaptured and reused, or disposed of properly. However, that was now moot. More contribution to global warming. Of course, that just meant that the cost of repairing the existing coils and using the old Freon 22 would now be cost prohibitive. Seeing that I had now at least two breaches (1 major) in the coils, we discussed a new system. As the unit was ten years old I gave in, and expected and mentioned that they were to replace “in kind”. “In kind” is language that I and my associate engineers use when writing Technical Special Provisions on our design projects. We also use shall in lieu of should, will in lieu of may, and similar as this legal terminology is important in control of projects. Tiny little issues such as specific language is critical on multimillion and billion dollar projects as control is of utmost importance, not saying that all contractors would take advantage, but many do. I was taught by my mentor, and he by his, to always start from scratch on these documents in lieu of doing a cut and paste as some designers do in order to cut corners (which usually gets them in trouble as we no longer make the taxpayers responsible for poor design and documentation). When the tech came back the next day, June 6, 2016, with a helper, he unloaded a Carrier/Bryant system in lieu of the “in kind” Trane system I was expecting. As the Trane unit most likely would have been better, you really cannot predict how one specific unit will perform over another specific unit even amongst the same brand. As a simple example used especially with new automobiles, the Carrier might have been built on a Tuesday through Thursday where you’re most likely to get a better unit than that which is built on a Friday or Monday although that’s just a rule of thumb and not true in every case. Since he had the unit there, I accepted it as a replacement. As most of the installation was straight forward, the major objections were where they put the drainage tubes and, since the air handler was of differing size, the attachment of the duct work to the air handler which was executed by the helper and in very poor fashion. I was doubtful of the duct work attachment, but decided to give them a chance. The unit was turned on and some other worker was to come out the next day to install a new thermostat. Checking the unit the next day, I saw major condensation build up between the duct work and air handler. I contacted the technician and was told that was normal. Having had central air in my houses and apartments since 1964, and all of my engineering experiences on HVAC systems, I knew that was an outright lie. You should never have condensation at this interface so I called Brandon A/C to complain. Another tech was finally sent out July 6, 2016 apparently with a bit more experience and he appeared both surprised and embarrassed with the half hearted installation. He proposed a plenum between the handler and duct work to which I had no objection. I also had him fix the drainage tubes as I had placed levels at differing points along the tubes and found them improperly installed. Water doesn’t flow uphill except in a closed forced system under pressure and this was a simple gravity system. The tech told me to wait for an hour before turning on the unit to allow for the mastic to dry. Apparently, this must have been a new kind of mastic as the old type would take 20 hours or so to cure. I waited for three hours just to make sure, turned the unit on, and went out to inspect the installation. Some of the mastic dripped down the sides of the air handler causing incomplete sealing of the air handler/plenum interface inclusive of some minor, but problematic, clear openings. I contacted Brandon A/C again and was told that a message would be left for Brandon Hammond himself to call me. I did receive one call from Brandon and was told he would call me the following Tuesday about rectifying the situation. I never did receive a call from Brandon again even though I called once or twice a week for months only to speak with two different women who apparently are in the office to answer the phones and most likely have other duties. I was always told that a message would be put on Brandon’s desk so that he would not miss it, but apparently he did or just chose to ignore them. I kept on calling so many times I lost track of exactly how many times (except that I have a record of a reminder to call him in December which may have been my last attempt) eventually realizing that Brandon had no intention of completing the installation properly. After almost a year later I’m still waiting for him to call back, but not really expecting it to occur. You see, having an incomplete seal at the air handler/plenum interface allows cool air to escape into the garage where the air handler is when it should be traveling up into the duct work instead. On July 6, 2016 I began taking photos of the air handler interface and duct work just above in order to record the escaping energy. There should be no difference in temperature between the two areas, but I was able to record, using an infrared temperature sensor with laser pointer, temperature differentials of over 20 degrees. Photos were taken on all four sides of the air handler/plenum and of the outside ambient temperatures in both shade and sun (temperature differentials were worse on the left and right sides with differentials in front and back being about half the sides). To date there are almost 1,000 photos recorded with time and date. What really irritates me is the fact that they most likely treat all of their customers the same way. My advantage over most other customers is being an engineer and having both design and practical experience with HVAC systems. In other words, I know when the contractor is attempting to take advantage of me. Most of their other customers don’t (not that they are ignorant, but because they are involved in other professions than engineering and may not have had my practical experience). Because of their lack of experience, they may write pleasant reviews about probably less than acceptable installations. Based on my experience, I would never recommend Hammond A/C to do anything else although I feel kind of bad for the one technician that constructed the plenum. However, even he needs to read the mastic container instructions concerning cure time. I checked with several manufacturers about their mastic products and almost all of them had 18-24 hours of cure time. Those neighbors that may come to me for recommendations, just like other engineers and even heavy construction general contractors, will never get my thumbs up for Hammond. As an example, a heavy construction general contractor called Ballast Nedum from the Netherlands needed certain specialty sub-contractors for the Sunny Isles Movable Bridge Replacement project. Several FDOT employees pointed the finger at me for recommendations and I was able to assist the general contractor in employing those companies (from heavy steel fabrication and erection to electrical specialists who also did HVAC installation) who I knew would give them their best and never cut corners. I still provide recommendations, but Hammond is not on my list. (Please see attached photos; many more can be provided)

They took their time assessing the problem. He was very thorough. He was an older gentlemen. I was quite confidant he knew what he was doing. I stood out there the whole time he was working on it. He was confident. He called his boss to see if he could do the electrical socket, because he was willing to do it. I was very happy with their job.

He was unable to get inside and clean coils, he was very nice but hard to assess the project without any professional experience. He did a good cleaning, i liked the guy and he seemed to give a good impression. He was thorough.

They installed a new water heater pump for us and they come by twice a year to inspect our units.

I highly recommend them. The tech Paul is great and does his job quickly but long enough that you know hes doing his job correctly.

Great! A technician responded about a half hour after the call late in the afternoon and within minutes he determined it needed a new circuit board and came back the next day with the part and was finished in about 10 minutes.

I have had a geothermal heat pump for years. The one I had finally quit working. Hammond Heating and Air installed a new unit, There were a few small problems, but were quickly and efficiently corrected. The new heat pump is working wonderfully, but I need to register it with the manufacturer and I need Hammond's email address. I can't seem to find it anywhere in my paperwork nor on their website. I have been a customer of Hammond for years and have always been happy with their work. I have not found any other heating and air conditioning companies that work well on geothermal units.

The owner Brandon offered us a refund, we said yes, thank-you. He mailed us a computer check a week later, with our last name spelled wrong; could not be altered. Called to tell him on 8/31/16 that he had spelled our last name wrong on the check and we couldn't cash it. He laughed, and told me to mail it back, and he would issue another refund check, once he got the check back. I mailed it back to him, certified mail. It was delivered back to him in 2 days. That was two weeks ago. UPDATE: We just received another refund check today 9/15/16.

I called Hammond Air Conditioning at 5:30 p.m. on 8/15/16 and the owner called me back and said they CLOSE AT 5:00 p.m. BUT would call Angie's list to change their hours AND he stated he would honor Angie's lists listed work hours as 9-6 and NOT charge us for EMERGENCY after hours, but unfortunately after the fact, they did charge us. AND I had the coupon for a "free service call with repair", and their hours, as per Angie's list, listed them open until 6:00 p.m., and we didn't have an emergency and it could wait until the next day, and we told the owner this on the phone. However, he insisted on sending out one of his serviceman and said he would honor the free service call coupon on Angie's list and wouldn't charge us emergency/after hours service. I called their office about 5:30 p.m. and the owner called me back and said they CLOSE AT 5:00 p.m. and would call Angie's list to change their hours AND he stated he would honor Angie's lists listed work hours and NOT charge us for EMERGENCY after hours, but they did. :( Well, their serviceman was very personable and prompt, but he ended up charging us "$133.25" for just unclogging the drain pipe on our unit with a small plunger and running our bleach through the line. Thus, their free service call AND plunging out a drain pipe, and using our bleach had a $`133.25 price tag. Ridiculous.

Great. Very responsive and service guy was awesome. Bought service contract.

We purchased a coupon from this company on Angie's list. This company did not call us to schedule an appointment to repair the air condition. We had to call another company to repair our unit.

It went okay. The fellow came out and did the inspection. I had some other work done, I needed some refrigerant put into my A/C. He said if I would leave a Google review, a 5 star, they would give me $10 off, for every 5 star review that I left, while he was there. I said, "Well, even my kids?" He was like, "Yeah, yeah." My kids are 15 and 12. I think they did good work, but now, I'm very uncomfortable. I'm just more critical about what reviews mean. The guy did a good job, he didn't need to buy a positive review, even from kids, who had nothing to do with it. I thought it was kind of skeevy. They came within 48 hours after I called them. They could have not offered to purchase positive reviews with a discount, I thought that was not very ethical. Hammond Air Conditioning is probably a pretty good service provider, but I'm a little bit unnerved about the way they go about getting positive reviews from Google. I wouldn't rely on their positive reviews from Google.

Contacted this company's office. Advised that I was calling due to rating on Angie's list. Received a call back from the individual who was to come to my home and scheduled an appointment for this company to come to my home after 4th of July weekend on 07/07/2016 at 9:00 am. Awaited arrival and no one showed. Awaited a call with some form of explanation. No call was received. Very disappointed with this company that had a decent rating.

Jeff arrived right on time. He went strait to work diagnosing problem. Gave me several price options/ solutions. Called Lannoy to see if my unit was still under warranty to help cut cost even more. Will definitely use these guys again.

Fast to respond, placed a trouble call on a Sunday and was not charged for overtime. He checked common issues first like water drain backup and then tested the suspect capacitor and found it to be bad. Had it replaced in just a few mins and everything was back to normal. Check the website they offer a free service call with any repair. Only had to pay for parts!

We just purchased our home and purchased a maintenance plan. Jeff walked me through my home's system as he checked it and gave me pointers to be certain we take good care of the system.

System was not blowing cold air....service was excellent and cost was very reasonable. Would recommend!!

Brandon called to let me knew what time to expect him. He arrived on time. He was friendly and fast. He checked with of my units, gave me information about contracts, updated me on my unit. He did a great job.

Fantastic. The gentleman performing the work was very personable. He walked me through the steps and showed me how I can keep the A/C running longer. Provided very informative information. I would recommend Hammond to anybody needing A/C work to be completed.

The price was higher than expected but I also understand that is not Hammond's fault due to the R22 freon needed in my unit. I am hopeful the sealant used will seal the leak in the system and the unit will continue on with a long life. I also understand if this doesn't work a new unit will most likely be required. Jeff was very professional and was very clear with what our options were before completing any work. The work was completed quickly and the system is now pumping cold air into the house. We would use Hammond again for future AC system needs.

Brandon Hammond provided me with excellent guidance regarding a new system that would thoroughly meet my needs. I had been without AC for a year due to financial reasons, and the house had developed a mold problem. Brandon educated me on 3 different systems that could be used to help clean the air in my home for my health, and that of my pets. I decided to have an air scrubber installed with the air handler. This is the same type of system used in hospitals and by NASA to provide cleaner air and remove mold spores and microscopic pathogens. Brandon had a team of two men come to my home the day before the AC installation to do a thorough air duct cleaning for an additional charge. I did have to pay a little extra for additional labor due to the time spent bleaching all of the air vents to get rid of the black mold. The men made sure those vents were shining and completely dry before replacing them! The actual HVAC/air scrubber installation was completed the following day by a different two-man crew. Both teams worked quickly and efficiently, reviewing their work, the paperwork, and invoices with me. Hammond is a smaller, family owned company that is built on integrity. They had repaired my old system 2 years ago, and Brandon gave me a bid last year to replace my system, although I could not afford to do so at the time. He even went as far as trying to find a good used air handler for me, but was unable to find one. When I approached him this year about replacing the system, Brandon's quote was the same, even though there was an increased equipment cost from the manufacturer. I sincerely appreciate him looking out for me as a customer, given my circumstances. I have given his information to several people and hope they will use Hammond for their HVAC needs!

Service was great. They were able to come out within a few days, throughly inspected the units, quickly repaired the issue. Costs were minimal and the service tech (ask for Jeff!) was super helpful, showing me what additional steps to take in the future. They're my new go go to a/c company!

The day of the scheduled appointment I attempted to call to let them know I was available earlier if it was more convenient for them to come earlier than the scheduled time, but again, no human being. Two choices are leave a voice message or send them a message through Angie's List. I voiced my concern that for a person looking to do business with a local company, not being able to contact a human being is a huge turnoff. Most customers, I'd assume, would want to contact a human being when the need arises, not wait for a call back which could very well occur while I'm in a meeting and we'd end up playing phone tag. When Brandon from Hammond Air contacted me he stated the following,"Sorry for inconvenience... I am not a large company and do the best I can with resources available to me. It sounds like you will be much more comfortable with a larger HVAC company, with a dedicated office staff. I will be happy to provide recommendations if interested. Thanks for the opportunity and good luck with replacement. Thanks Brandon Hammond Hammond Air." I don't normally take the time to write reviews but I thought it may benefit someone else down the road that if you decide to do business with this company, be aware the quality customer service isn't a priority for them. I did let them know that I actually appreciated their honesty in essentially saying take it or leave it. There are far too many A-rated companies on Angie's List available to choose from, so Hammond's loss is going to be someone else's gain. It goes without saying that almost any customer would want to be able to contact a live person when needed instead of voice message. You do have the option to speak with a calling service that takes emergency calls for Hammond, but since my call wasn't for emergency repairs, that wasn't a viable route either. I received my one and only phone call from Hammond after I posted this review.

I had the company conduct a 20 point inspection of the heating and cooling system. I was concern because my air handler fan failed last year and the outside system piping was coated in ice. The tech conducted a thorough check of the system and gave it a thumbs up check.