HawthorneVillager.com

Over the past few days I have spoken at length with half a dozen or so A/C dudes and visited the Toronto Home Show. What a fascinatingly inconsistent bunch in terms of their answers to my questions and "expert" advice.

After having all of these conversations I think I've got a pretty good handle on a topic I knew zero about 72 hours ago. But one nagging question remains...

Given that our home only closes late June and my preference is to have our A/C unit parked on the ground rather than mounted to the house in any way, is there reason to be concerned with ground settling beneath the unit? After some pressing on the issue, I've received half a dozen different answers ranging from "Nothing to worry about, don't sweat it" to "No way. No how. Do NOT install any time soon."

I can tell you that in our current home our back patio along the rear of the house litterally collapsed almost a foot about six months after we moved in. All is fine of course...not that unusual for a new home...but had an A/C unit been installed there...

Can I use a lifeline and ask one of you? Should we postpone the install becasue the house and ground around it are still so new in June?

_________________
Mark

Just think what your wife will say when it is 40deg C, no wind blowing and the inside temperature is hotter than the outside temperature.

I've been in my house in Aug/September and it was hot.

Save yourself the "trouble" and have it installed. If you get a good quality AC unit with low dB you should have no trouble installing it on the side of the house. After mine is installed I'll let you know how it sounds

If you can try to have a listen to other AC units. I know 4 seasons has more than a couple you can listen too in their show room.

The age old saying...you get what you pay for should come in handy, but what do I know. My last house I had a industrial AC/Furnace on a slab of concrete in the backyard.

Tim

Tim,

If I was on that game show (forget the name) with Regis or whoever the hell hosts it now...I really would use you as my lifeline for this question...sure I don't know your phone number, but Regis would.

Thanks Tim!

FYI...I'm the first to whimp out in the heat...not Christina...she's tougher than me in summer...but come winter...WHO'S YOUR DADDY?!...I love the house at about 17 degrees...

_________________
Mark

I just received these quotes for A/C units... I wouldn't mind some free advice on them

3 TON Carrier, 14 SEER Puron, 70db - $3150 less $150 rebate --> $3000.00 installed
$600 extra for
- Humidifier, Air cleaner, programmable thermostat, bracket, winter cover
- 10 year warranty

also received this one...

3 TON Carrier, 11.5 SEER Freon, 74db --> $2300 installed
$600 extra for
- Humidifier, Air cleaner, programmable thermostat, bracket, winter cover
- 10 year warranty

Thanks...!

I got it from Four Seasons.. I called all the referrals in this thred and was most pleased with them. The price seems reasonable for a Carrier AC.
Jeff

It's an old post, but I thought I would revive it.

_________________
http://spaces.msn.com/greensburg101/ website update...Feb 13, 2009

Good idea Tim&Sandra!

I have no shame-anyone want to share prices (if we can)? Maybe not names, PM for that.

My best is $1700 for a 13 seer 1.5 tonne for my 1130 sq.ft. Amesbury. This company didn't strike me as very professional, however.

I've also gotten $2000 as well, and will probably go with this company as they offer interest-free financing.

_________________

I think I'm gonna spend a bit more up front to save long term and get one of the 21 SEER no chemical ultraquiet models... the Dave Lennox XC21... has anyone else tried one of these?

Looking through this post, I've made a list of all the mentioned companies:

Sears
Home Depot
Four Seasons Air Control www.fourseasonsac.ca
Air Makers Inc. www.airworks.ca
Convertible Air www.convertibleair.com
Applewood www.applewoodair.com
Air Experts

Hopefully I got them all. Are there any others I should add, and also has anyone had particularly good or bad experiences with any of the above? I need to get some quotes... do the guys have to come right to your house to give a quote, or is it something done over the phone?

Thx peeps!

_________________