Furnace and HVAC service in Caledonia

01

Edinburgh Square and Caithness Street, village era

The oldest houses in Caledonia stand around Edinburgh Square and Caithness Street, from the town's early village years.

Most were built for wood or coal and later moved to oil or gas boilers, gravity heat or add-on forced air. Expect worn boilers and radiators, tight retrofitted ducts, and old wrap on pipes or ducts that may contain asbestos. The technician checks the chimney before any equipment change, because a new appliance often needs a liner. Leave old pipe wrap alone and have the system looked at before you plan a change. See furnace installation and replacement.

02

Shetland Street, north of the river

North of the Grand River, the Shetland Street area grew enough to need Caledonia Centennial Public School, which opened in Canada's centennial year.

These houses usually started with a standard-efficiency gas furnace vented into the chimney. When that furnace is upgraded to a side-wall vented model, the water heater can be left alone in a chimney that is now too big for it, where it may condense and draft poorly. The original ducts are often too small for central air as well. Before you replace anything, ask for the chimney and ducts to be checked with the furnace. If the ducts need work anyway, look at heat pumps.

03

Avalon, the newest homes

Avalon is Caledonia's newer subdivision, built under a draft plan that Haldimand County approved.

These homes have high-efficiency condensing furnaces with plastic side-wall venting, and tightly sealed shells with a mechanical ventilator. The usual faults are a blocked or frozen condensate drain, intake and exhaust pipes buried in snow, and a ventilator filter nobody has changed. The technician clears the drain, checks the venting and the ventilator. After a heavy snowfall, clear both pipes outside by hand, and keep the drain and filter on the yearly list. See furnace and AC maintenance.