Service calls
AC repair, done properly the first time
Most of what we do is repair, and most of it we can finish the same visit. You get a real diagnosis, a written price before any work starts, and a technician who has seen your exact failure a hundred times on this coast.
What it usually is
In this climate, in this order. Roughly nine out of ten calls land in this list.
Running but not cooling
Usually a failed capacitor, a low refrigerant charge from a leak, or a frozen evaporator coil caused by a blocked filter. The capacitor is a same-visit fix. The leak needs finding, not just topping up — refrigerant does not get consumed, so if it is low, it went somewhere.
Water on the floor or a ceiling stain
A clogged condensate drain, and in Florida that is the failure that does the expensive damage. If your air handler is in the attic and there is no working float switch, a $12 part is all that stands between a blocked drain and a ruined ceiling.
Breaker keeps tripping
A hard-starting compressor, a shorted contactor, or a genuine electrical fault. Reset it once. If it trips again, stop resetting it and call — repeated resets on a shorted circuit are how equipment fires start.
Short-cycling
Turning on and off every few minutes. Often an oversized system, a failing thermostat, or restricted airflow. Frequently misdiagnosed as a dying compressor, which is an expensive mistake to make.
Humid but cold
The temperature reads fine and the house still feels clammy. Almost always an oversized system cooling too fast to dehumidify, or airflow problems in the ductwork. Fixable without replacing anything.
Loud outside unit
Screeching is usually a fan motor bearing. Grinding is a compressor. A hard electrical hum on startup is typically the capacitor again. Which one it is changes the price by a factor of twenty, so it is worth diagnosing rather than guessing.
Repair pricing
Common repairs
| Diagnostic visit | $89 — waived with repair |
|---|---|
| After-hours / weekend diagnostic | $149 |
| Run capacitor | $180 – $320 |
| Contactor | $190 – $340 |
| Condenser fan motor | $420 – $780 |
| Blower motor | $480 – $950 |
| Condensate drain clear | $160 – $240 |
| Float switch fitted | +$60 – $110 |
| Refrigerant leak search | $220 – $450 |
| Evaporator coil replacement | $1,400 – $2,900 |
| Compressor replacement | $1,900 – $3,600 |
Every price is confirmed in writing before work begins. If we find something different once we are into it, we stop and re-quote — we do not discover expensive surprises halfway through.
When a compressor fails on a system past ten years old, we will usually tell you not to do it. Three thousand dollars into a system with a few seasons left is rarely the right call. We would rather lose that repair and earn the replacement honestly — see repair or replace for how we run the numbers.
What “current equipment” actually means
Friendly is not a substitute for accurate. Our vans carry the diagnostic tooling that separates a real answer from a guess:
- Digital manifold gauges with live superheat and subcooling — the difference between measuring a charge and estimating it.
- Electronic leak detection and UV dye, so a leak gets located rather than topped up annually.
- Static pressure measurement across the air handler. Most airflow complaints are duct problems, and this is how you prove it instead of arguing about it.
- Combustion analysis for gas furnaces and thermal imaging for finding blocked or disconnected duct runs.
Our technicians hold EPA Section 608 certification, and continuing education is paid for by the company — because refrigerant standards changed recently and a technician who stopped learning in 2015 will put the wrong charge in your system.
Questions we get asked a lot
Can you repair any brand?
Yes. Carrier, Trane, Goodman, Rheem, Lennox, American Standard, York, Amana and the rest. We stock the common failure parts for all of them, which is why most repairs finish on the first visit rather than after a parts order.
My system is low on refrigerant. Can you just top it up?
We can, but we will tell you plainly that it is a temporary measure. Refrigerant is a sealed loop — it is not consumed, so a low charge means a leak. Topping up without finding the leak means paying for refrigerant again next season, and R-410A is not cheap. We would rather find it.
Do you work on systems you did not install?
Almost all of them. There is no “we only service our own installs” policy here.
What if it breaks again after you fix it?
Repairs carry a one-year warranty on our workmanship and whatever the manufacturer gives on the part. If the same failure returns inside that window, we come back and there is no second diagnostic charge.