Licensed and Insured Furnace Repair in West Vancouver
The two furnace calls we take most in West Vancouver once the weather turns are a fan running with only cool air at the vents, and a burner that lights, runs a minute, and shuts off again. Both are usually repairs. Our licensed gas fitters have repaired furnaces across West Vancouver for 20-plus years, same day, on every residential brand. The diagnostic visit covers the whole furnace, and any repair is quoted before the work starts. Every repair carries six months warranty on parts and labour.
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Most of the houses between Marine Drive and the upper slope went up in the 1950s and 60s. In Ambleside, Dundarave and Hollyburn the majority of them heat with a gas furnace. That furnace is rarely the original. It is usually the second or third the house has had, installed in the 1990s or early 2000s, so it is 20 to 30 years old today. Those are the units we see most on West Vancouver repair calls: mid-efficiency furnaces with an igniter, a flame sensor, the small fan that pushes exhaust out, and a control board. Each of those parts has a working life, and each is a repair, not a replacement. Whether it is a Dundarave bungalow or a British Properties estate, the diagnostic is the same.
Higher up the slope the houses are bigger and the furnaces run longer hours. The British Properties, Caulfeild and Cypress Park were built out mostly between the mid 1950s and the mid 1980s, and a furnace up there heats a lot of square footage through long duct runs. Most of those furnaces sit in a lower-level mechanical room, and when a house changes hands that room is the last place a new owner looks. So by the time we get the call, the furnace has often gone years without service. That is normal, and most of the time it is a repair. We find the failed part, replace it, and tell you plainly what shape the rest of the furnace is in. If it has reached the end, you hear that from us in the same visit. Our West Vancouver furnace installation page explains what a replacement involves and what it costs.
A 25-year-old furnace fails differently from a 10-year-old one. On the older units the calls are heat exchangers, blower motors and rusted burner assemblies rather than a dirty flame sensor. Heat exchangers crack after years of heating and cooling, and a cracked exchanger is the one repair we will not do: the furnace gets shut off and replaced. After two decades the bearings in a 1990s blower motor dry out and the motor gets loud, then stops. Parts for those furnaces are still available for most brands, and we use OEM or CSA certified equivalents. Where a part has been discontinued, we say so before you spend anything. Long-tenure owners in West Vancouver, and there are many, often still have the service records from the day the furnace went in. Bring them out. From those we can see what has already been replaced and what has not.
Every repair starts with the diagnostic. We start at the thermostat and follow the problem through the furnace: is it getting the signal to run, does the burner light, does the flame stay on, is the heat exchanger sound, is the exhaust venting properly, is the blower moving air, is the filter clean. Then the repair is quoted before the work starts. Nothing is replaced until you say yes. Parts are OEM or CSA certified, and every repair carries six months warranty on parts and labour. Eaton's Heating is TSBC licensed (LGA0200006), a Home Performance Contractor Network member, and holds a 4.9 rating across 400-plus Google reviews. We repair Carrier, Trane, Goodman, Lennox, Bryant, Rheem, Amana, KeepRite and every other residential brand. Same-day furnace repair is available across West Vancouver.
On a furnace that has passed 20 years, the diagnostic visit includes two checks that a younger unit does not need. The first is the heat exchanger, the metal chamber that keeps the burner flame separate from the air going to your rooms. After two decades of heating and cooling it can develop a crack, and a cracked exchanger is the one part we do not repair: the furnace is shut off and replaced. We check it on every diagnostic visit on an older unit, and if it is sound, which most are, you know the furnace has years left in it.
The second is venting. Many 1990s mid-efficiency furnaces in West Vancouver vent into the original masonry chimney, often shared with the hot water tank, and after 30 years the liner and the draft both need confirming. We check that the exhaust is drawing up the chimney the way it should and look at the pipe from the furnace to the chimney and the liner inside it. If the furnace has already been swapped for a high-efficiency unit that vents through the wall, the hot water tank left on the chimney needs its own look, which our hot water tank page covers. Either way, a carbon monoxide alarm outside the mechanical room and one near the bedrooms is the cheapest safety measure in the house.
Licensed Gas Contractor (LGA0200006)
Authorized Dealer and Installer
Certified Fireplace Dealer
Have a question about your HVAC system? Book an appointment using the form below, or call (604) 535-8434 for immediate help.
Same-day furnace repair is available across West Vancouver. In the first cold week of the season the calls stack up, so call as soon as the furnace acts up rather than waiting for the weekend. We cover the full district, from the Ambleside waterfront to the top of the British Properties and out to Horseshoe Bay and Gleneagles. Tell us the brand and the age of the furnace when you call. On a 20-plus-year-old unit that saves time on the day.
A full inspection of the furnace, not just the part you called about. That means checking that the thermostat is sending the furnace the signal to run, that the burners light and stay lit, that the heat exchanger is not cracked, that the exhaust is venting outside, that the blower is moving air through a clean filter, and that the safety switches shut it down when they should. At the end you get an upfront quote for the repair, and the diagnostic is the same whether the fix turns out to be a flame sensor or a blower motor. If we find the furnace is unsafe to run, we shut it off and explain why before we leave. For a furnace in a finished lower level, clear the access panel before we arrive and the visit goes faster.
Repair it if the part is available, the heat exchanger is sound, and the repair costs a fraction of a new furnace. Replace it if the exchanger is cracked, if this is the second major repair in two winters, or if parts are discontinued. Some long-tenure owners in the British Properties are choosing a heat pump at replacement time instead, since CleanBC and FortisBC rebate programs can cover part of the cost. As a FortisBC Trade Ally we confirm eligibility during the visit rather than promise a number. See our BC rebates page and our heat pump installation page. We give you both quotes and the decision is yours.
All of West Vancouver, covered on our West Vancouver HVAC services page. Ambleside, Dundarave, Hollyburn, Sentinel Hill and Cedardale on the lower slope; the British Properties, Caulfeild, Cypress Park, Eagle Harbour, Horseshoe Bay and Gleneagles above them and out along the water. Steep driveways and gated lots are normal for us; give us the gate code when you book. Many of those homes have the furnace in a lower-level mechanical room next to the water heater. We work around whatever is in there.
That is short cycling. The most common cause is a plugged filter or a blocked return: the furnace overheats, the limit switch shuts the burner off, the blower cools it, and it lights again. A dirty flame sensor does the same thing with a shorter cycle. Less often it is a furnace that was oversized for the house, which we see in West Vancouver renovations where a 1960s house got a bigger furnace than its ducts can move air for. The first two are quick repairs. The third we can improve with blower speed adjustments, and we tell you plainly if that is what you have.
Every residential brand: Lennox, Trane, Carrier, Rheem, Goodman, Bryant, KeepRite, Amana, Bosch and every other brand installed in West Vancouver homes. Parts are OEM or CSA certified with six months warranty on parts and labour. If your furnace is still inside its manufacturer parts warranty, tell us the install date when you call and we check before we quote. Grab the model number off the sticker on the furnace door when you book. On 1990s units in Dundarave basements the sticker is often half gone, and a photo of what is left works fine.
Simply complete our form to make an appointment. A member of our team will be in touch to confirm your appointment.
