Your outside HVAC unit needs room to breathe in order to function properly. You should keep bushes and shrubs trimmed so that they are not touching your unit. There is a fan inside the condenser than turns the blades and if a limb or small piece of shrubbery gets into the condenser it could cause the unit to stop working. If your air conditioner needs service, shrubbery should be trimmed back enough to allow a technician room to work.

Use caution if weed eating near the outdoor unit. A weed eater cord could clip the electrical line feeding the HVAC unit.

If grass clippings, yard work, or weed eaters harm your air conditioner, contact Temp Control LLC for service in Nashville, TN, 615-837-4449.

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You never know if you will be putting your home on the market, due to transfer, change in family size or retiring next few years. Being prepared and always keeping your home in the best possible shape is one way to stay in control and ahead of the game. Proactive homeowners have the ability to choose a professional painting contractor, select an up to date color and make cosmetic improvements.

www.maverickpaintingsandiego.com

Whether you plan on keeping your home for any length or fixing it up to put on the market, the smartest move a homeowner can make is reinvesting in painting. Painting is the most economical ways of updating a home for a fresh new look, retaining the value, or in many cases increasing the value.
In some instances, a home’s value can increase 15%, with only spending 10% of the 15%, making every dollar stretch, increasing a homes’ market value.
Example:
$400,000 home X 15% = $600,000 (new Market Value)
$200, 00 X 10% = $20,000 (investment amount)
Summary ~ An Investment of $20,000 can bring a $200,000 Market Value Increase

If you don’t have the time or think you can do a good enough job, consider hiring a professional painting company for either the exterior painting or interior painting of your home, or both. Painting the inside and outside of your home is definitely a worthwhile consideration and an investment of time and money if you want to increase its real estate appreciation and attract more potential buyers who are willing to pay the price you feel your home is actually worth.

Jamie Waller
Maverick Painting
San Diego & Orange County
1(855) PAINT-YOU

Besides multipoint inspections to locate worn and torn parts, the best maintenance agreements include outdoor coil cleanings (specifically ask because not all agreements include this). Regular cleanings will help maintain the cleanliness of your A/C coils and optimize your cooling efficiency. Your air conditioning system loses efficiency with dirty coils. Dirty coils make it harder for the unit to dissipate heat from the outdoor coil. A/C units can breakdown with severe buildup on outdoor coils. You can avoid this by having your cooling system serviced before the dead of the summer.

Recently the HVAC manufacturers have added a clause to the warranty information stating that you must have routine maintenance in order to validate your warranty. This means that if an air conditioning technician has to replace a part, the manufacturer could request a copy of your maintenance invoices before they will warranty the part. The same is true for labor warranties or extended service agreements given with a new heating and cooling system installation.

Check with your local HVAC company, some companies offer a discount on repairs to customers who have a maintenance contract. In Nashville, TN, Temp Control LLC offers a 15% discount to maintenance agreement customers. Maintenance agreements covering heating and cooling checkups may be less expensive than purchasing 2 separate maintenance visits.

Visit our website and check out our maintenance specials.

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1. If the thermostat contains batteries, change them and see if that brings back the display.

2. See if your breakers have tripped. This generally happens during an electrical storm, but can also happen if the breaker is weak. You will need to check both your indoor breakers and your outdoor breakers, and reset them as necessary.

If new batteries and breaker resetting do not bring the thermostat back to life, there could be another problem with your unit. You may have a defective thermostat. Another possibility is water collecting in the drain pan. Call your local HVAC professional, and they will dispatch a qualified technician to investigate the issue. If there is water in the drain pan, hopefully you have a float switch. The float switch is referred to as a safety switch and is designed to cut the system off if water reaches the switch. This feature helps to reduce the possibility of water damage to drywall, light fixtures, carpet and many other things. A trained HVAC technician can identify the cause of water backup and have your unit working properly soon!

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www.paintingsandiegopros.com

Congratulations! You’ve made the smart decision to improve your home’s appearance and value with a professional paint job. Now comes the daunting challenge of finding a paint contractor. Not to worry! These secrets will help you find a GREAT paint contractor in San Diego who’ll deliver a top-quality job at an excellent price and leave you with a satisfying home improvement experience.
A GREAT Contractor is Licensed
• Anyone performing construction work in California that totals $500 dollars or more in labor and materials must be licensed by CSLB.
• Licensed contractors must demonstrate at least 4 years of experience/education in the trade for which they are licensed, be fingerprinted, have an FBI background check, and be bonded.
• Unlicensed contractors are part of the $60-140 billion dollar underground economy that does not pay taxes, insurance, or follow safety laws

Don’t be fooled by “handymen” offering too good to be true prices. A great painting contractor has taken the time and invested money into becoming a licensed contractor.
Visit the California State Licensing Board to verify license status ~ https://www2.cslb.ca.gov/OnlineServices/CheckLicenseII/CheckLicense.aspx

 A GREAT Paint Contractor Presents Proof of Insurance
While a good paint contractor may tell you he’s insured, a GREAT contractor presents a copy of his policy, proving the amount of coverage he carries for both property damage and bodily injury that may result from the contractor’s work. By nature, paint materials are highly flammable and, should a tragedy occur, you need to know your contractor is sufficiently insured.
Maverick Painting carries a $2 million general liability, $1 million bodily injury, $1 million property damage policy.
A GREAT Paint Contractor Offers Great Warranties
You can tell a lot about a paint contractor by his warranty. Well-known contractors with established reputations are respected by paint suppliers who, in turn, pass on extended – even lifetime – warranties on their paints because they know the product will be applied right. For any number of reasons, less experienced contractors may not have valuable relationships with suppliers. On the labor side, a GREAT contractor works with solid, experienced painters whose work he knows he can stand behind with an extended labor warranty.
Maverick Painting offers a 4 year warranty on all interior and exterior work.
GREAT Paint Contractors Go the Extra Mile
Because GREAT contractors have learned the value of a satisfied customer, they’re able to focus on service and offer extras that show you how important your business is to the contractor. Check to see if your contractor offers the following:
• Professional color consulting
• FREE color try-ons
• Two coats of paint – as a standard offering!

GREAT Paint Contractors Give Professional, Detailed Quotes
A good painting quote includes a detailed list of ALL aspects of work to be done:
• Caulking, sanding and priming
• Details of products and application – GREAT contractors know the right products for every job
• Touch-ups and clean-up
In addition to the quote’s content and accuracy, is it presented professionally?
• Is the quote printed on company letterhead?
• Does the sheet show the contractor’s license number?
• TAX I.D. number?
• Work guarantee and relevant product warranties?
Inexperienced contractors, using standard business forms purchased at office supply stores suggests they haven’t invested much in their business and may not be properly licensed. Also, they may not be paying income taxes.

GREAT Paint Contractors Care about Their Communities and Industry Associations
Being active in local Chambers of Commerce, committed to area charities and having a presence in the Painting and Decorating Contractors Association (PDCA) shows that GREAT paint contractors have professional integrity and care about their communities. Fly-by-night contractors avoid connections to civic or professional organizations.
GREAT Paint Contractors Provide References in Your Area – Both Old and New
Good paint contractors may have references from local work that was completed in the past few weeks. GREAT Paint Contractors will provide multiple local references from both recent and past work. References from a year ago or longer show the paint job’s durability and confirm that any necessary follow-up or billing issues were handled correctly.
 GREAT Paint Contractors Invite You to See a Job in Progress
If a contractor is confident about the way they work, they’ll prove it by asking you to judge for yourself. Things to look for:
• Work vehicles – are they clean, organized and professional?
• The painters – are they neatly dressed and groomed?
• Materials – are ladders, scaffolding, drop cloths and electrical equipment in good condition?
• Is work being done carefully so as not to damage landscaping or property?

Maverick Painting usually takes photos and videos of each jobsite. We proudly display photos of our project transformations, before and after

Bottom Line: GREAT Paint Contractors treat a home – and its homeowner – with respect at all times.
 GREAT Paint Contractors Have a Professional Website
While it is certainly possible to be a good paint contactor and not own a Website, GREAT contractors are also successful business people who understand that today’s consumer is looking for instant information. A GREAT contractor’s Website will include all the details homeowners are looking for – references, before & after photos, details of services, contact information and history of the company and its owner and staff.
Visit www.maverickpaintingsandiego.com for an example of a Great website

Some of the symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning are headache, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, sleepiness and blurred vision. If you experience any of these symptoms and suspect carbon monoxide poisoning, you should contact 911 immediately.

An inexpensive and easy way to help prevent carbon monoxide poisoning is to purchase a carbon monoxide detector. Carbon monoxide detectors are available at many local hardware stores. If you need someone to install a carbon monoxide detector for you, contact your local HVAC contractor who will probably carbon monoxide detectors on hand. Once you have the detector installed remember to change the batteries twice a year each time daylight savings begins or ends.

Another way to help prevent carbon monoxide poisoning is to have your heating system, water heater, and any other gas appliances serviced by a qualified technician every year. Qualified technicians are trained to notice signs of carbon monoxide leakage into your home from gas appliances. If your carbon monoxide detector shows that carbon monoxide is present, call your local HVAC professional for service as soon as possible.

Lastly, avoid running a car or truck in your attached garage even with the door open. Garages are not airtight, so it is possible exhaust from your automobile could seep into your living space from your idling car or truck.

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If you need your HVAC professional to spend time diagnosing a problem with your heating and cooling system, then you need a repair service call. In many areas of the country, you will be charged a diagnostic fee. The diagnostic fee pays for the company’s travel expenses to visit your home, their technician’s time, and other company expenses. In most cases, after the diagnosis, you will know the problem and the repair fees associated to fix the problem. You can decide to immediately hire this heating and air conditioning company to repair your system or call other companies.

If you know the problem with your system, you can request a free estimate over the telephone. In this situation, a company can give you repair pricing without spending time and travel expenses diagnosing the problem. Thus no trip or diagnostic fee is charged to give you pricing. Be sure to have paperwork from the original diagnosis handy including the model and serial number of your HVAC system. If you hire this company, they should perform a confirmation diagnosis before performing the repair. You may be able to negotiate whether you are charged a second diagnostic fee.

If you are skeptical of the original diagnosis, and you would like another diagnosis prior to accepting a repair proposal ask for a free second opinion. Some companies will offer a free second opinion as an opportunity to earn your business if these criteria are met:
• You can present the original diagnostic paperwork showing the first company’s diagnosis.
• The free second opinion is performed within a short timeframe after the original diagnosis.
• You hire the company for repairs after the free second opinion.

For a larger project such as replacing an HVAC system, a representative would most likely visit your home to assess details of the project. This visit should be free.

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If you have spent any time at your heat pump’s thermostat, you will notice an indicator for auxiliary heat. Usually the light is just a signal that the back-up electric coils in your air handler are energized. There are two completely normal situations when this happens.

First, heat pumps build up ice on outdoor coils. If the ice disrupts the refrigerant cycle, the heat pump will enter defrost mode. In defrost mode, the system switches to air conditioning mode for a short period of time to melt the ice on the outdoor coil. During this time, the heat pump cannot heat the home, and the auxiliary heat fills in.

Second, there may be times when the temperature in the house is more than 2 degrees below the thermostat heat setting. If you just raised the set temperature, the back-up heat will come on until the room temperature reaches the thermostat request. This is completely normal. If you haven’t changed the set temperature, the auxiliary heat is kicking in because the heat pump cannot achieve the set temperature. If the outdoor temperature is very cold, the auxiliary heat is assisting the heat pump, which is normal. The colder the outside temperature, the more often you will see the auxiliary heat light come on because the heat pump cannot produce enough heat by itself to maintain the indoor temperature.

Please be aware that if your heat pump unit is running in auxiliary heat mode when the outside temperatures are mild you should contact your local HVAC company. There could be a problem with your system.

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It depends because many, many factors affect the answer.
• First, was the unit sized correctly for the load of the house? If it was undersized, the unit will work harder to cool the house in the heat of the summer.
• Was the unit installed correctly with properly-sized ductwork? Ductwork not following Manual D calculations can restrict air flow back to the unit. This can cause heat exchangers to crack and indoor coils to freeze over. Cracked heat exchangers can release carbon monoxide into the home posing a serious health threat.
• Have tune-ups been performed on a regular basis? Just like your automobile needs maintenance, so does your unit. You should have maintenance performed twice a year by a licensed HVAC professional. The maintenance is generally done once in the fall to check the heating portion of the system and once in the spring to check the air conditioning portion of your system. Heating and cooling maintenance generally includes coil cleanings, Freon pressure checks, gas pressure checks, burner and blower compartment cleanings, and multi-point inspections.
• Have the filters been changed on a regular basis? Once a month your should check and change filters if needed. A good rule-of-thumb is to check the filters every time you pay your electric bill. Clogged filters can interfere with the refrigeration cycle causing a system to ‘freeze-up’ and stop cooling. Clogged filters can also cause cracks in heat exchangers.

Generally speaking, these factors play into an average lifespan of 12 to 15 years. Any extreme treatment related to the issues described above could shorten the lifespan of an HVAC system.

When to replace an HVAC system is a difficult decision. Some people feel better prepared for the transition if they plan for the purchase. If you have an older system, you may find yourself with a surprise breakdown. Then, you must decide between repairing and replacing the heat and air system. Similar to an aging car, the older the HVAC system, the more expensive (and the more frequent) the repairs become. With cars, at some point you cut your losses and upgrade. Likewise, with an older HVAC system, you must draw the line somewhere. If a system is 10 to 12 years old and the repair is greater than 10% of the cost of a new HVAC system, we generally recommend putting the money toward a new unit.

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