AC Repair

From diagnosis to cool air, usually in one visit

$75 diagnostic

Brands we service and install: Daikin · Goodman · Carrier · Lennox · Trane · Mitsubishi · Rheem · American Standard · York · Cooper & Hunter See all brands we carry →

Most AC repairs in the Bay Area come back to the same short list: a failed capacitor, a worn contactor, a refrigerant leak, or a clogged condensate line. We show up with parts for all of them. We also bring Fieldpiece diagnostic gauges, so we read your system’s actual performance instead of guessing from symptoms.

Getting the refrigerant charge right, not close:

When a system is low on refrigerant, topping it off by feel is how you end up calling us again next month. There is a leak to find first, and once it is fixed the charge has to land on the manufacturer’s target, not a guess. On a system with a TXV we set the charge by subcooling; on a fixed-orifice system we use the total superheat method and cross-check it against the indoor temperature split. It matters in both directions: an overcharged system runs high head pressure and wears the compressor, while an undercharged one freezes the coil and ices the suction line. Charging to spec is the difference between a repair that holds and one that does not.

Pricing and protection at a glance: $75 diagnostic (credited toward any repair over $200), written estimate before any work, $150 to $450 typical for common repairs, $450 to $1,800 for major component replacement. On full installs we provide a 10-year manufacturer parts warranty plus 10-year ADRIUM labor warranty (labor coverage requires keeping the equipment on a bi-annual maintenance plan).

What’s included:

• Full system inspection (indoor + outdoor units)
• Refrigerant pressure and temperature readings
• Electrical component testing (capacitor, contactor, relays)
• Airflow and condensate line inspection
• Written estimate before any repair work
• Common repairs completed same visit
• Performance logs saved for next visit comparison

Repair vs replace:

Repairs under $500 on a system under 12 years are almost always worth it; you’re buying years of life cheap. Repairs over $1,500 on a 15-plus-year system or one running R-22 refrigerant push the math toward replacement. We give you the numbers at the estimate so you can decide. We don’t pressure either way.

What typically goes wrong on Bay Area AC systems:

• Capacitors are the most common failure ($150 to $250 to replace). They degrade with heat and California summers age them faster than spec.
• Contactor pitting is next, especially on systems past 8 years.
• Refrigerant leaks on R-22 systems usually mean replacement is coming. Reclaimed R-22 runs $100 to $200 per pound and the system will leak again.
• Condensate clogs are common in coastal cities (San Francisco, Berkeley, Richmond) where humidity is higher.
• Control board failures happen on aging high-efficiency units. We don’t replace boards blindly. Most “bad board” calls are actually wiring or sensor issues.

Bay Area brand notes:

Older Bay Area homes most often run Trane, Carrier, Lennox, or York systems installed in the 1990s and early 2000s. We carry parts for all of them. Cooper & Hunter and Mitsubishi are common on newer ductless retrofits. We don’t push customers to switch brands. We fix what you have when fixing makes sense.

What makes us different

Second opinions welcome. If another company quoted you thousands to replace a working system, call us. Most of those quotes are wrong. We charge $75 to show you what's actually going on.

Owner reviews every estimate. Every estimate gets my personal review before it reaches you. For installations and complex service, I meet you on-site. For routine calls, our trained technicians arrive with my license number on the invoice. No high-pressure sales scripts. No passing of accountability.

Performance logs, like a doctor. We record your system's readings on every visit. Next year, we compare. You get early warning on problems before they break your summer.

What to expect

Every job, repair or install, follows the same rhythm. No upsells dressed as "package tiers." No "today only" pricing. If the answer is "wait six months and re-evaluate," that is what we will say.

1. 01
   On-site visit

   Andrew measures, photographs, and asks questions about your existing system. $75 diagnostic, credited toward any repair over $200.

2. 02
   Written estimate

   Line-itemed, model-named, sized to a Manual J calculation. Sent same day, never verbal-only. Walk-aways are fine; no pressure.

3. 03
   Scheduled install

   Same crew start to finish. Permit pulled where required. 10-year parts plus 10-year labor warranty with bi-annual maintenance plan in force.

4. 04
   Follow-through

   We check the install at six months. If your utility bill did not move in the right direction, that is on us; we go back and find out why.

The diagnostic is seventy-five dollars and we credit it toward any repair over two hundred. If the answer is ‘your system is fine, here are the logs, call us next year,’ that is what the estimate will say.

AC Repair: common questions

Cities where we do this work

Tier-1 service area for ac repair: Danville · San Ramon · Alamo · Blackhawk · Pleasanton · Dublin · Walnut Creek · Lafayette · Alameda · Piedmont · Pleasant Hill · Atherton · Hillsborough · Los Altos Hills .

Also across the Bay Area: Livermore · Concord · Orinda · Moraga · Martinez · San Jose · Santa Clara · Cupertino · Los Gatos · Saratoga · Sunnyvale · Mountain View · Palo Alto · Los Altos · Menlo Park · Oakland · Berkeley · Richmond · Fremont · Hayward · Union City · Newark · San Leandro · Castro Valley · Milpitas . See full service area.