Complete Home Renovation Heating and Cooling
When meeting the owner (Cody) the first few times, I had a good impression and after reviewing a few other quotes from HVAC contractors we decided to give the job to the young entrepreneur even though his offer was not the most competitive we received. The scope was supply and installation of a hydronic in-floor heating system and four ductless air conditioners.
Initially all went well when the job started. However, even then were some workmanship issues and his young crew needed a good bit of supervision. Cody himself was nowhere to be seen anymore once the job started. In the six month the project took to execute, he was on site twice. Once to collect a payment and the other time to commission the system after countless phone calls and multiple attempts to do it by one of his inexperienced staff.
When things get heated, he does not pick up the phone and emails are not being answered. The crews that come to do the work nothing but complain about their boss. One guy even quit and walked off the job when working on our project due to issues he had with the owner.
I would not work with Climate Experts again as it seems to me that the workload they take on is not being managed or is simply too much. The owner is very knowledgeable but the workers installing the system come straight out of Durham College, are very inexperienced, and have no idea about hydronic heating, and deliver below standard workmanship.
Update May 2023: the ductless system installed by Climate Experts had to be filled with refrigerant every spring due to a leak. This was done by their technician every spring without complaining for a couple of years. They tried to find the leak but were unable to do so. The problems cause was alway blamed on the drywaller punctuing the copper pipes. In 2022 we were told that this was the last free fill we'd receive for a system that never worked properly.
We hired another mechanical contractor who pressure tested the system and identified the culpret head. We then had to open walls and siding to follow the copper piping until we found the leak. It was a connector that was never tightened properly. A quarter turn on it fixed the issue. Our system works now flawlessly and we know which mechanical contractor to use going forward.
- Approximate cost of services:
- $33,000.00
- Company Response
Hi Stefan,
The timing of the review comes as a bit of a surprise to me. We have been completed this installation and have not heard from you since commissioning it months ago. I am very sorry to hear how upset you are and I wish this was brought to my attention sooner. I have tried calling you but there has been no answer. I talked to a technician that was out at your home after the holidays (called directly without my knowledge) for a leaking pressure relief due to someone closing the shut off to the expansion tank. I wonder if this is where the frustration is coming from?
I’ll be the first to admit this project did not go as smooth as either of us would have liked but sometimes construction can go that way.
When we first met I thought you were a nice guy and this would be a great work relationship. To be honest, you have been one of the most difficult customers I have dealt with in 7 years and over 10,000 clients. I was onsite many more times then two for site meetings with the guys... you were not there. I can admit I could have been there a few more times through out the project but my technicians are trained to work on custom homes and renovation installations all the time with little supervision or issues. I have a business to run and many jobs that require my supervision. I cannot be at one place all the time.
The technicians did not want to go to your home after meeting you a few times due to the way they were talked to and how difficult you could be. There was no consistency with your temperament from day to day which I experienced first hand. One technician even called me and asked me never to send him to your home again due to the way he was talked to. I was shocked to hear that when he refused to provide his phone number you looked it up on line after he left and called him directly.
To set the record straight, my technicians are NOT straight out of Durham College. I believe your confusion comes from the fact that the two main technicians that were on your site (4 years experience in the field plus 2 years at Durham College) went to Durham College together. The technician that installed all the hydronic paneling had over 10 years experience and is very knowledgeable, so much so you called him back in to your home directly without calling Climate Experts for the pressure relief valve issue. The technician that quit did not walk off the job site. He was instructed not to preform anymore work on site that day because he had found another job and we did not want a carless worker with a bad attitude working on your home. Maybe this is the technician that was talking poorly about me.You have even told one of my workers onsite you “like to complain about stuff for the sake of complaining”.
I always do my best to pick up my phone and answer my emails. I had prioritize emergency no cooling service and calls before your thermostat selections. I wanted to make sure I had enough time to research all avenues because you were very particular about what you wanted. This was not good enough and you wanted an answer immediately. You talked to me a few weeks after I explained this to you and agreed it made sense because the thermostats were months away. I was also on vacation for a week which you were aware of when you tried to get a hold of me repeatedly. My office was available to take calls and handle any issues there may have been, but yet that was not good enough.
I see above there is no mention that you were your own contractor and errors were made on your part that caused our scope of the project to drag on much longer then it should have . We had to install, remove, reinstall, reconfigure and redo multiple parts of our installation (at no additional charges except the ductless head relocates). We even had to bring drywall onsite to mount our units, when I asked when you would have drywall onsite you replied “How am I suppose to do that?” and dismissed the conversation. We reconfigured all the boiler paneling after asked to tighten up the mechanical room instead of reattaching to the existing boiler panel that was in our estimate. Even though this was more materials and labour there were no additional charges to you . Lastly, we removed and re-installed all the rads on the main floor (1.5 days not in our scope of work) and I did not even invoice you to try to keep you happy, which I am now convinced is impossible.In the end all I can say I’m sorry your not satisfied with our installation but we cannot solve problems and take care of issues that we are unaware of.
From the Owner: Cody Johnson