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Maybe you’re looking to install a new air conditioner? Perhaps your furnace is in need of repair? In any case, you’re hoping to hire a licensed HVAC contractor.
The question you have, however, is: how do you find one? It’s really fairly simple. Let’s get into the details below.
Search for HVAC Contractors on Google
Begin your search by looking up HVAC contractors on Google. This is as simple as typing “licensed HVAC contractors near me”.
Google will detect your location and will then supply you with a variety of HVAC contractors in your particular area.
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From there, you can comb through each result and determine which ones are best suited to you. To make this determination, utilize the star rating next to the contractor’s name.
If the rating is 4 or greater, the contractor is worth pursuing further; if the rating is under 4, the contractor likely provides a sub-par level of work.
Regardless of your location, you should receive results for contractors in your town and in surrounding towns. Most HVAC contractors will travel a little way. So, you don’t necessarily need to stick to the ones in your town.
Make a list of all the contractors that look good to you and keep it handy. You’re going to need it for the next few steps.
Ask Friends and Family
In addition to searching for contractors on Google, you should also consider asking your family and friends for recommendations.
There might be someone in your circle who has utilized an HVAC contractor within the last few years. If so, they might have a solid recommendation for you.
This can be a good way to find viable candidates, as it’s often easier to trust our friends and family than it is to trust strangers online.
Ask your work friends, your gym friends, your mom and dad, your brothers, your sisters, and everyone else you know. Someone has to have some sort of lead.
Verify Licensure
Just because Google indicated that a contractor is licensed doesn’t necessarily mean that he or she is licensed. Google isn’t sophisticated enough to make such verifications alone.
For this reason, after having created your list of viable contractor candidates, you need to verify their licensure yourself.
How do you do this? It depends on the resources you have available to you.
Most states have a license lookup tool that allows you to search for a contractor’s current licensure. For instance, here is the Texas license lookup tool. To utilize this tool and other tools like it, just enter the contractor’s name and see what pops up.
Wondering how to find the license lookup tool for your state? Just Google “[name of your state] license lookup tool”. It should be one of the top results.
If your state doesn’t have a license lookup tool (again, most do), you’re going to have to call its Department of Labor. They should be able to verify a specific contractor’s licensure.
Make Sure the Contractor Has Insurance
Licensure is hugely important. However, it’s not the only thing that your contractor needs. He or she also needs to have liability insurance.
Insurance will protect you, the customer, in the event that damage is done to your property. It will also protect you in the event that the contractor’s employee is injured on your property.
If your contractor doesn’t have insurance, there’s a potential of you ending up in a legal battle (should something go wrong). You don’t want to have to deal with this.
Instead, make sure to see proof of both general liability insurance and workers’ compensation insurance. Call up the contractor and specifically ask to see these items.
If he or she won’t show them to you, you’re advised to look for a different contractor entirely.
Inquire About HVAC Training
If you want to get the best HVAC service possible, make sure that your HVAC contractor has the proper training. Only those who have received national HVAC training can provide the requisite level of service.
This training indicates not only a standard level of knowledge but a standard level of skill as well.
Before hiring any contractor, make sure to inquire about this training. Not only should the contractor have this training under his or her belt, but his or her employees as well.
Get Some Quotes
There are a lot of licensed HVAC contractors out there, and each one of them charges something different from the others. As such, before you make a hire, you need to get some quotes.
This is as simple as calling the candidates on your list and asking them for a quote of the work you need to have done. Any reputable HVAC contractor will provide you with a free quote without argument.
If a contractor won’t give you a quote, you should avoid him or her like the plague.
Once you have the quotes in hand, compare them to one another. Be a little cautious of quotes that are particularly lower than the others.
If a contractor is charging extremely low rates, there could be a bad reason for it (for instance, the contractor might rush his or her work, or not provide warranties for labor).
Your best bet is to choose a contractor whose rates hang around the average. This way, you’ll get a good bang for your buck without sacrificing anything in the way of reliability.
Finding a Licensed HVAC Contractor is Easy
As you can see, finding a licensed HVAC contractor is easy. Just follow the steps above, and you’ll have a trained professional working on your HVAC system in no time.
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