Ottawa and the 613
Furnace Repair in Ottawa
If your furnace has quit or it is not keeping up, call (613) 349-6646. We repair gas furnaces and heating systems across Ottawa and the surrounding 613 area, on all makes and models. Emergency heating service runs 24 hours a day. For quotes, bookings and anything that is not urgent, the office is open Monday to Friday, 8:00 am to 5:00 pm.
Common furnace problems we fix
A furnace usually gives you some warning before it stops for good. Here is what the common signs tend to mean. None of them can be diagnosed properly over the phone, so if you are seeing one, call and we will find out what is actually going on.
No heat at all
The furnace runs but the house stays cold, or it will not start. It could be the thermostat, the ignition, a safety switch that has tripped, or the gas supply.
Blowing cold air
Air moves but it is not warm. Often the ignition or the flame sensor, sometimes just a thermostat set to the wrong mode. A short blast of cool air at the very start of a cycle is normal.
Short cycling
It turns on and off every few minutes and never settles. Usually airflow, a dirty filter, or a safety limit doing its job. It wears the furnace out faster, so it is worth looking at rather than living with.
Strange noises
Banging on start-up, screeching, rattling or a low rumble. Each one points at something different, from delayed ignition to a blower or a worn bearing. A loud bang every time it lights is worth a call.
Burning or unusual smells
A dusty smell on the first run of the season is normal and fades within an hour or two. A sharp electrical or plastic smell is not, and it means shut it off and call.
Water around the furnace
A high efficiency furnace makes condensate, and a blocked drain is the usual cause. In summer, water near the furnace is often the air conditioner's drain line, not the furnace at all.
Higher bills for the same heat
A furnace losing efficiency, or running longer than it should to hold the temperature, often shows up on the gas bill before it fully fails.
A few things to check before you call
Some no-heat calls have a simple cause you can rule out in two minutes, and none of these involve opening the furnace or touching the gas.
The thermostat
Set it to heat, and a few degrees above the room temperature. If it takes batteries, a dead set will stop it cold.
The furnace switch
There is usually a switch that looks like a light switch on or beside the furnace. It gets flipped off by accident more often than you would think.
The breaker
Check the panel for a tripped breaker on the furnace circuit.
The filter
A badly clogged filter can shut a furnace down on its safety limit. If it is grey and packed, that alone can be the problem.
If all of that checks out and you still have no heat, that is our cue, not yours. Call (613) 349-6646 and we will take it from there.
If you smell gas, this comes first
If you smell rotten eggs or sulphur, treat it as a gas leak. Leave the house, do not touch light switches or anything electrical on the way out, and call Enbridge Gas at 1-866-763-5427 from outside or from a neighbour's. Call us afterward, once it is safe. The same goes for a carbon monoxide alarm: get everyone out, call 911, and do not go back in until it is cleared.
What happens when we come out
We start with the symptom you are seeing and check the whole system, not just the obvious part, so we are fixing the cause and not just the sign of it.
We find what failed and why, and check whether anything else is on its way out while we are in there.
You get the real price before any work starts. If the repair is not worth it, we tell you.
With your go-ahead we do the repair, usually in the same visit when the part is a common one.
We run it under load and do a quick safety check on the gas and the exhaust before we leave.
Emergency service
No heat after hours
Emergency heating service runs 24 hours a day, on the same number. If the house is cold and it cannot wait until morning, call (613) 349-6646. During office hours, Monday to Friday from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm, we also handle quotes, bookings and anything that is not urgent.
Repair or replace?
We would have to look at it. Age matters, but it does not decide it on its own. What the repair costs, how efficient the current furnace is, and how many times it has already broken down all come into it. We will tell you plainly when a repair is the smarter buy.
What a repair costs
We do not put a price list against a repair nobody has looked at, because the number would change the moment we arrived. What it costs depends on the part that failed, how easy it is to reach, whether the part is common or has to be ordered, and whether it is a scheduled visit or a middle-of-the-night one. You get the real number before we start the work, not after, and the quote is free. If a repair turns out not to be worth it, we will tell you that too.
Furnace maintenance and tune-ups
Most no-heat calls trace back to something a yearly service would have caught: a clogged filter, a dirty flame sensor, a part that was already on its way out last winter. A tune-up costs less than a breakdown, and most furnace manufacturers require a documented annual service to keep the warranty valid, so it is often protecting a warranty you have already paid for. The quiet time to book one is now, before the first cold snap, not in the middle of it.
The furnaces we work on
We repair gas furnaces of every major brand, high efficiency and older units alike, including Carrier, Lennox, Trane, Goodman, Amana, Rheem, Bryant, York, Napoleon and KeepRite. You do not need to know the make or model before you call. We will sort that out when we are there.
Local, not a call centre
Why call us
We are a local Ottawa company, not a call centre. Rami, the owner, is based in Barrhaven. When we look at your furnace we tell you what it actually needs, and a repair we do today is worth less to us than a customer who calls us again in ten years. We work on all makes and models, and you do not need to know yours before you pick up the phone.
Furnace repair across Ottawa
We cover Ottawa and the communities around it: Barrhaven, Nepean, Kanata, Stittsville, Orleans, Gloucester, Manotick, Riverside South and the rest of the greater Ottawa area, out to Kemptville, Smiths Falls, Arnprior, Casselman and Rockland. We work in Ontario only. If your cooling needs attention too, we handle that as well: see our AC repair page, or the full list on our services page.
Common questions
Why is my furnace blowing cold air?
The common causes are a thermostat set to the wrong mode, a dirty filter, or a problem with the ignition or the flame sensor. A short puff of cool air right when a cycle starts is normal, while the heat exchanger warms up. If the air stays cold, the filter and thermostat are worth a quick check, and after that it is usually an ignition part that needs a technician. Call (613) 349-6646 and we will find it.
How long does a furnace last?
A gas furnace usually lasts fifteen to twenty years, and Ottawa winters tend to push equipment toward the lower end of that. Age on its own is not a reason to replace anything. A well maintained furnace can run well past twenty, and a neglected one can fail early. It is a reason to have it looked at, not a countdown.
Is it worth repairing an older furnace?
Sometimes yes, sometimes no, and it depends on the specific furnace. What the repair costs against what a replacement costs, how efficient the current unit is, and how often it has been breaking down all matter. We will give you an honest read when we are there. We would rather fix it than sell you something you do not need.
How much does furnace repair cost in Ottawa?
It depends on the part that failed and how hard it is to reach, so we do not quote a repair sight unseen. What we will do is give you the real price before we start, not after, and the quote is free. If a repair turns out not to be worth it, we will tell you.
How often should a furnace be serviced?
Once a year, ideally before the heating season. Most manufacturers require a documented annual service to keep the warranty valid, and most no-heat calls trace back to something a yearly service would have caught. Booking it in the off season means you are not waiting behind every breakdown in January.
Do you offer 24-hour emergency furnace repair?
Yes. Emergency heating service runs 24 hours a day, on the same number, (613) 349-6646. For quotes, bookings and anything that is not urgent, the office is open Monday to Friday, 8:00 am to 5:00 pm.
What should I do if I smell gas?
Treat it as a gas leak. Leave the house without touching light switches or anything electrical, and call Enbridge Gas at 1-866-763-5427 from outside. Call us once it is safe. If a carbon monoxide alarm goes off, get everyone out and call 911 first.
Get your heat back on
Call (613) 349-6646, or if it is not urgent, send us a note through the contact form and we will get back to you during office hours.