Air Conditioning Contractor

Ask for the Arizona ROC license number and confirm it covers HVAC. Arizona licenses contractors through the Registrar of Contractors, and the number is verifiable — a company that hesitates to give it is telling you something. Ours is AZ ROC #355929. Ask about liability insurance and workers' compensation too, because an uninsured injury on your property becomes your problem.

Then ask who performs the work: employees or subcontracted crews, and whether the person diagnosing is paid on commission. Commission-based diagnosis is the structural reason so many Arizona homeowners get a replacement quote for a capacitor failure. We are a small family company — the person who diagnoses your system is the person who repairs it, and nobody's pay depends on selling you equipment.

Ask what measurements they take. A real diagnosis includes superheat and subcooling, suction and liquid pressures against outdoor conditions, capacitor microfarads against rating, amp draws against nameplate, static pressure, and temperature split. A contractor who describes their process in those terms is measuring; one who talks only in symptoms is guessing.

Ask whether pricing is flat-rate and written before work begins, whether the diagnostic fee is credited toward the repair, and whether there is an after-hours or weekend surcharge. Ours is flat-rate, written and approved before installation, credited toward the repair, and carries no overtime surcharge at any hour — because a system failing at 7 p.m. in July is normal, not a premium event.

And ask whether they will quote the repair alongside a replacement when the decision is close. Seeing both numbers at once is the only way to make that call yourself, and any contractor unwilling to show both is managing your decision rather than informing it.

Ask if they perform a Manual J load calculation or size from the old unit's nameplate. Ask if they measure static pressure before quoting equipment. Ask what commissioning numbers you will receive at the end. Those three questions eliminate most poor installers immediately, because the honest answer from a low-bid operation is no, no, and none.

Ask whether the permit is pulled and the inspection handled, whether the manufacturer warranty is registered on your behalf, and what workmanship warranty covers the labor. An unpermitted installation can complicate a home sale and leaves nobody independently verifying the work.

Ask what happens if the ductwork cannot support the new equipment. The right answer is that you hear about it before the project starts, with the correction quoted separately and honestly. The wrong answer is silence followed by a system that never performs as promised.