The winter weather certainly hung around for a long time, didn’t it? Nobody likes to deal with snow that far into the year, but we’re finally hitting the warm weather stride here in June. If you haven’t arranged for a visit from one of our HVAC experts to give your air conditioner a pre-season tune-up and inspection, it’s definitely not too late! The hottest weather is ahead of us, and as long as you’ve got your AC in good condition with routine maintenance before it starts to put in the heavy work, you should be in great shape for the season.
Red Rock Mechanical, LLC Blog
June Isn’t Too Late for Air Conditioning Maintenance!
June 11th, 2018
How Leaks Happen in Copper Pipes
May 28th, 2018
Corrosion is one of the great enemies of the pipes in a plumbing system. It is the main cause of leaks in residential plumbing, since it weakens pipe metal to the point where leaks will start up in multiple places. Eventually, the corrosion will destroy the pipe entirely.
“But I have copper pipes for my home. Copper doesn’t corrode.” Sorry to tell you this isn’t correct. Copper is a corrosion-resistant metal. But the same way that a water-resistant watch isn’t the same thing as a water-proof watch (you don’t want to dunk your watch down in a pool if it’s only water-resistant), a corrosion-resistant metal is not 100%-free from the effects of corrosion. There is a specific type of corrosion that affects copper pipes, and it’s the principal cause of leaking starting in these pipes.
Test and Maintain Your Sump Pump Now
May 14th, 2018
Do you have a sump pump installed in your home’s basement? We recommend most homes in the area have one, since it’s the best plan to prevent damage from flooding due to weather or a burst pipe. A sump pump activates automatically to remove the excess water from the lowest part of a house and transport it out to the wastewater system, a well, or an outside drainage ditch leading to the storm drains.
You already have a sump pump? That’s great. But do you know if you can depend on it to come on and work in case of flooding? A back-up emergency system isn’t much good if it won’t work when it’s supposed to. This is why you always test your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors—and it’s why you should check your sump pump in spring and have it maintained.
Why Does Backflow Happen?
April 30th, 2018
The backflow preventer is a critical device for most commercial buildings, and is sometimes found I use homes and for larger residential structures. The backflow preventer is designed to protect the municipal water system from backflow, which is when waste water from the sewer system side of the plumbing ends up moving into the potable fresh water side, possibly contaminating the municipal fresh water supply. This isn’t something that’s a problem in most homes—there’s a simple air gap device to prevent backflow in the few places it can happen, such as a dishwasher—but it’s a major danger for commercial plumbing. Commercial plumbing has cross connections where there is the potential for backflow to occur and the fresh water becoming contaminated with bacteria and the microbes contained in waste water.
Why You Need a Professional for Kitchen Plumbing Repairs
April 16th, 2018
You’ve got trouble with the plumbing in your kitchen. It’s going to happen—there’s a lot of piping and appliances in this space, and it gets an enormous amount of work. But what do you do when you have a kitchen plumbing problem? Your first answer may be, “Get out the toolbox and that belt of special wrenches.” This is fine if you’re dealing with something like adjusting a loose washer in a leaky faucet. But for anything else, such as fixing a leaking drainpipe to removing a broken garbage disposal, we recommend you always call on a plumber. Not an amateur or “handyman.” No, a licensed professional plumber.
Last Minute Furnace Repairs—Don’t Ignore Them
April 2nd, 2018
The weather is still cool-to-cold here, and who knows what sudden shifts may occur through the rest of April and even in to May? You are probably still running your furnace during the evenings and sometimes the days as well. If you think your furnace is showing signs that something is wrong, like a loss of heating power or strange sounds from the cabinets, make sure you call a professional to repair the system right away.
When you read that last sentence, did a pestering voice in your head say, “Why bother? The furnace is about to shut down for the warm season. There’s not much point in hustling to get a minor problem fixed now. Wait it out.”
Please don’t listen to that nagging part of your brain! Ignoring furnace repairs, no matter the time of year, is bad for your comfort, your bills, and even your safety. We’ll explain further.
Start Considering Furnace Replacement Options
March 5th, 2018
“Spring hasn’t even arrived yet, and yet I should be thinking about replacing my furnace?”
Yes! Your current furnace is still working away, and will continue to do so until the warmth finally settles in. But the “spring/summer break” for your furnace is an ideal time to make plans to replace it. The point when you need the furnace the least is the time to have it taken out and a new one put in, because…
- You’ll be far ahead of the next cold weather and won’t have to worry about cramming in an installation in fall.
- Local HVAC contractors don’t have schedules that are packed during the spring and can find a convenient time to arrange for the work.
- You’ll have enough time to review your options carefully for a new furnace installation.
Let’s take a deeper look into that last point. Choosing a new furnace is trickier than it may seem, especially if you’ve never had to have one replaced.
Stuffy Household Air? An Energy Recovery Ventilator Can Help!
February 19th, 2018
Are you getting tired of the winter weather, and even looking at the calendar to see how many days until spring puts you in a deep funk? We understand. Cabin fever can be a serious problem during our cold winters.
But there’s no reason your home shouldn’t feel comfortably cozy with its heater running. If you find that your house is stuffy when the heat is on, and you long for some fresh air, what can you do about it? Opening up the windows doesn’t sound like a good solution—it will let ice-cold air gust in. This places extra strain on the heating system trying to fight back. Of course you could turn the heater off … but you don’t want to do that with the house open to the outside.
But we have a way for you to enjoy fresher air in your house without causing chills and running up your heating bill: an energy recovery ventilator.
A Ductless Heating Installation: A Good February Investment
February 5th, 2018
February is a strange time when it comes to HVAC work for homes. Winter is still here, but now that we’ve moved into the second half of the season, people feel less willing to make big changes to their heating systems. They’ll call for repairs if they need them (at least, they should!), but heating upgrades or new system installations won’t be a priority when warm weather is coming closer.
But we can recommend a few good February investments—aside from those vital repairs—for your heating in Burlington, VT and your home’s HVAC system overall. Today we’re going to focus on one of the best: installing a ductless heating system.
Mid-Winter and Your Furnace: Why You May Need Service
January 22nd, 2018
The middle of the winter is the point when you may have concerns about the performance of your home’s furnace. It’s wise to be on the lookout for potential problems. It’s not only the coldest time of the year, but the furnace has done a half season of work and has another half ahead of it.
There are a number of reasons why you may need to have professionals give your furnace a look and make fixes and adjustments in mid-winter. Schedule your heater service in Burlington, VT or the surrounding areas to ensure you don’t have a furnace that fails for any of the following reasons:
