Lafayette is a city where the housing stock tells its own story. Older ranch homes on large lots, mid-century split-levels, newer custom builds, and a handful of small commercial properties all sit within a few miles of each other. The equipment inside them varies just as much: systems that were installed when the house was built and have never been replaced, additions that the original ductwork never properly reached, and a growing number of homes where cooling was never part of the original plan because the regional climate made it feel unnecessary for decades.
That is changing. Recent heat events across the Bay Area have pushed first-time cooling installations to the top of the list, and wildfire smoke seasons have made indoor air quality a genuine concern for households that never thought about filtration before. We handle the full range of heating and cooling work in Lafayette, from a furnace that stopped firing overnight to a first-time ductless install in a home that has never had air conditioning. Every call gets the same attention, whatever the job size.
Call (650) 899-6391 to get a quote, and we will go through what the visit covers before anything is booked.
A room added to the back of a house, a garage converted to a home office, a bonus room above the garage: these spaces almost never sit at the end of a duct run that was designed to reach them. Extending the existing system can work, but it often means the rest of the house ends up underserved, because the original equipment was sized for the original footprint. A ductless mini-split handles the new space independently, without touching what already runs through the rest of the house.
For a home that has never had air conditioning, adding a ducted system means opening walls, running sheet metal through finished spaces, and finding somewhere to put an air handler. A ductless system avoids all of that. The indoor unit mounts on the wall, a small conduit connects it to the outdoor compressor, and the work does not require major construction. Multi-zone setups let different rooms run at different temperatures, which matters in a house where one side gets afternoon sun and the other stays cool all day.
We size the equipment for the space, walk through the options on the call, and confirm the full scope before scheduling. If ductless is the right fit, we explain why. If it is not, we say that too.
When a property has no heat or no cooling, the call does not wait. We are available every day from 7 AM to 8 PM, including weekends, and urgent calls are treated as such from the moment they come in. The person who answers knows the trade and can scope the problem on the phone, so the visit is focused before anyone arrives.
For a rental property or a business that cannot close for a day, that matters. We work around occupied spaces and confirm what access is needed before the visit. Tenants do not need to be displaced, and a business does not need to shut down for a repair call to move forward. The scope and the price are settled on the call, and the visit starts from there.
Straight answers on the phone. Real HVAC work. Quick to respond.
This is one of the most common calls in a region where cooling was added to an older home rather than built in from the start. A system that runs continuously but cannot bring the temperature down is usually pointing to a refrigerant issue, a dirty or blocked coil, or a compressor that is losing capacity. We diagnose the cause before recommending parts. A refrigerant leak and a failing capacitor produce similar symptoms and very different repairs.
A heat pump handles both heating and cooling from a single unit, which makes it a practical fit for the Bay Area's climate and for California's push toward electrification. When a gas furnace reaches the end of its life, replacing it with a heat pump is a conversation worth having. We size the equipment for the home, assess the existing duct condition, and handle the full installation. If the switch makes sense, we explain what it involves. If it does not, we say so.
A furnace that will not fire, blows cold air, or runs without warming the space is a starting point for a diagnosis, not a parts order. We check the igniter and burner assembly, inspect the heat exchanger, test the controls, and trace the fault back to its source. Catching a furnace problem before the first cold stretch of the year is easier than calling on the night the temperature drops and the system refuses to start.
Wildfire smoke seasons have made MERV-13 and higher rated filtration a practical upgrade for homes and offices across this part of California, not a specialty item. Standard filters do not capture the fine particulates that cause the most irritation. An upgrade starts with checking whether the existing air handler can move enough air through the denser media without straining the blower, then selecting the right housing and filter configuration for the system. We also handle whole-home air scrubbers and other indoor air quality systems for properties where filtration is a year-round concern.
When a room is added to a home and connected to the existing duct system, the results are often uneven: the new space is too hot in summer and too cold in winter, and the original rooms may feel the difference too. Proper duct design for an addition accounts for the load the new space adds, the capacity of the existing equipment, and how air needs to move through the system as a whole. We assess the existing ductwork, design the extension, and handle the installation.
Second opinions are a normal part of this work, and we take them seriously. If a previous technician recommended a replacement and you want to understand whether repair is still a viable option, call us and we will go through it. If a repair was done recently and the problem has come back, we start from the beginning rather than assuming the previous diagnosis was correct.
Taking over work that someone else started is also something we handle. If a job was partially completed and the contractor is no longer available, or if the work was done and the system still is not right, we assess where things stand and explain what it would take to finish or correct it. We treat your home and its system the way we would our own. That means the assessment is honest, even when the honest answer is that the previous work was close to correct and only needs a small adjustment.
Uneven temperatures across a property rarely have a single cause, but a few things come up repeatedly. Duct leakage is one of the most common: conditioned air that escapes into an attic or crawl space before it reaches the room means the system runs longer and the room stays uncomfortable. A duct run that was undersized for the space it serves produces the same result. So does a system that was replaced without checking whether the new equipment matches the existing duct layout.
Thermostat placement and zoning also matter. A thermostat that reads the temperature in one part of the house will keep the system running or shut it off based on conditions that do not reflect what the rest of the property is doing. In a home with a single zone and a thermostat in the hallway, rooms at the far end of the house may never reach the set temperature before the system cycles off.
We investigate the cause rather than assuming it. An honest recommendations on repair versus replacement, never an upsell, applies to duct work and controls just as much as it does to equipment. The cause of an uneven house actually investigated is worth more than a filter swap and a bill.
The price is confirmed on the call before anything is scheduled. What moves it is what the fault turns out to be, what has to be accessed to reach it, and whether the right answer is a repair or a replacement. A straightforward repair on accessible equipment costs less than one that requires working through a finished ceiling or pulling a system from a tight mechanical room. A replacement involves equipment selection, which depends on the size of the space and what the existing infrastructure can support.
We go through all of that on the call. No-pressure estimates, priced up front. If the visit turns up something that changes the scope, that conversation happens before the work continues. Ask what the visit covers and you get a straight answer.
Preventive maintenance is part of the same conversation. A seasonal tune-up is priced and scoped the same way: you know what it covers before it is booked, and the rate is confirmed before anyone is dispatched.
We serve Lafayette and the surrounding communities throughout Contra Costa County. That includes Orinda, Moraga, Saranap, Acalanes Ridge, and Reliez Valley.
If you are in one of those areas and unsure whether your address falls within our current range, call (650) 899-6391 and we will confirm it on the call.
Coverage means the work is done here, not that we pass calls along. Whatever the property type and whatever the job, the scope is settled before the visit and the work is handled locally. What the work involves is covered on our HVAC service list.
Yes. The indoor and outdoor units work as a connected system, and a problem in one affects the other. A proper service visit checks both sides, including coil condition, refrigerant levels, airflow, electrical connections, and the controls that coordinate the two units.
Yes. Knowing the condition of the HVAC system before tenants move in means you are not dealing with a repair call in the first weeks of a tenancy. A pre-tenancy check covers the key components and flags anything that needs attention before the property is occupied.
Compatibility depends on the air handler and the duct configuration already in place. Some systems can take a higher-rated filter media with a straightforward housing change. Others need a media cabinet added to the duct run, or a separate air scrubber if the air handler cannot move enough air through denser filtration without strain. We assess the existing setup on the visit and go through the options before recommending anything.
Yes. If a landlord or property manager wants to set up an arrangement where tenants call us directly for service, we can go through how that works on the call. The scope and authorization for the work still needs to be confirmed with the property owner or manager before anything proceeds.
A system that runs without satisfying the thermostat is often dealing with a refrigerant shortfall, a dirty coil, an airflow restriction, or equipment that is undersized for the space. It can also point to duct leakage sending conditioned air somewhere other than the rooms it is meant to serve. We diagnose the actual cause rather than adjusting settings and hoping for improvement.
Call us and describe what is happening. A recurring fault sometimes means the original diagnosis missed a contributing cause, and a follow-up visit can look at the problem with that context. We go through what the follow-up visit covers and what it will cost before scheduling it.
It starts with a site assessment that covers the layout of the home, where the outdoor compressor unit can be placed, and how many indoor units the space needs to condition properly. Homes without existing ductwork vary a lot in what they require, and the assessment is what lets us give you an accurate scope and price.
Call (650) 899-6391 and we will walk through what the visit involves before anything is scheduled.
Describing what the property is doing is enough. The system is not cooling, the heat is not coming on, one room is always ten degrees off from the rest: that is all we need to start. We scope the job on the call, confirm the price, and explain what the visit covers.
Call East Palo Alto HVAC Company at (650) 899-6391, every day from 7 AM to 8 PM.
Careful with your home. Clear about the work. Straight on the price.
Neighboring areas in range: Orinda, Moraga, Alamo, Piedmont, Danville. Everywhere else we go is in our town-by-town list.
Below is a plain-language look at the heating and cooling work we handle in Lafayette and the surrounding area. Each service is described by what it covers, who it fits best, and a practical note worth knowing before you call. If a job does not fit neatly into one row, call us and we will scope it on the phone.
| Service | What's Included | Best For | Things to Know |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ductwork Repair & Sealing |
| Homes with uneven temperatures room to room or energy bills that have crept up without an obvious cause | Leaking duct runs waste conditioned air before it reaches the room and can account for a meaningful share of heating and cooling cost |
| Full System Installation & Replacement |
| Homeowners and property managers replacing an aging or failed system with a new unit | When a repair cost approaches a significant share of replacement cost, a full replacement often makes more financial sense over the next several years |
| Seasonal Maintenance & Tune-Ups |
| Homeowners and property managers who want to catch developing problems before they cause a system failure | A spring AC tune-up and a fall furnace tune-up each follow a set checklist, and scheduling before peak season keeps wait times shorter |
Every job starts with a call, and every call gets a straight answer on what the work involves and what it will cost. Call us for a quote and we will go through what the service covers before anything is scheduled.
(650) 899-6391