Red Rock Mechanical, LLC Blog

Why the Heater Is Shutting Off Too Early

February 1st, 2021

cold-man-and-woman-in-parkasYou expect the central heating system in your house to run long enough to reach the temperature set on the thermostat. That’s its job. A heater should complete a full heating cycle that distributes warmth throughout the house, leaving few cold spots. But if your heater is shutting down after running for less than 15 minutes, or even less than 10 minutes, the house won’t get warm enough. A few rooms near the center of the house may be comfortable, but the rest of the house will be literally left in the cold.

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Why Won’t the Burners in My Gas Furnace Light?

January 18th, 2021

burners-in-furnaceThis is something that will cause a sudden pit of panic in your stomach: it’s a cold winter day and when you turn the furnace on … nothing happens. The burners won’t ignite and you can’t see the blue color of the flames in the cabinet. That means no heat for the house. 

There’s no reason to panic, however, since you can always get the furnace repair in Burlington, VT you need with a call to our professionals. Although there are a few simple troubleshooting steps you can try when a furnace isn’t responding, don’t attempt to make any actual repairs yourself. Only trained professionals can safely repair a gas furnace.

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The Best Way to Deal With Frozen Pipes

January 4th, 2021

frozen-pipeThe great winter fear for plumbing: frozen pipes! It’s a trouble most of us have some familiarity with because of our extreme winters. It’s the reason people tell you to always have your central heater set for at least 55°F when you’re away from home. There may be nobody in the house, but your pipes need a bit of warmth or they might freeze solid and create all types of problems.

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Why Won’t the Boiler Heat the Home as Well Anymore?

December 21st, 2020

large-boilerThe heat a boiler sends into a house, whether from radiators, baseboard heaters, or in-floor elements, feels wonderful during cold winter days. But what if one morning you wake up to discover that the house isn’t warming up as well as it should? You check the thermostat to make sure the settings are right, and then you might try raising the thermostat setting to make up the difference. But you shouldn’t have to do this: the boiler is supposed to meet the standard household demand for comfort, and pushing up the thermostat to attempt to compensate may lead to more trouble. 

What’s wrong? Do you need to call for heater repair in Essex, VT to fix the boiler? Or is it time for a new boiler? We’ll look into the possibilities below.

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Ways to Troubleshot (Not Repair!) a Faulty Gas furnace

December 7th, 2020

burners-in-furnaceWe want to be clear about this from the start: Only a trained, licensed HVAC professional should repair a gas furnace. This is a matter of safety—although even if it were safe to tinker with a gas furnace on your own, you’d still only want a trained professional to touch the system to make sure the repair is done right. In many jurisdictions, it’s illegal for anyone without a special license to work on an appliance connected to a gas main. 

In this post we’re making a distinction between trying to repair a gas furnace and going through basic troubleshooting steps when a furnace isn’t working properly. There’s nothing wrong with making checks on a furnace before you call us for heating repair in Plattsburgh, NY. Often, the problem with a non-working furnace is something simple you can correct on your own. Just don’t take any steps where you need to get tools and open up the furnace! That’s the point where you’ve gone past troubleshooting and might get into actual trouble.

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That Strange Sound From the Pipes? It’s Called Water Hammer

November 23rd, 2020

surprised-woman-hears-water-hammer

It’s a quiet day in your home, and you’re washing your hands at the kitchen sink. You turn off the tap, and suddenly a loud and surprising bang! sound leaps out from the walls. A sound like a hammer striking against metal. 

What was that?

It’s a plumbing phenomenon called water hammer—for reasons you can probably already figure out. This is a common problem in residential plumbing and one that will often take a Burlington, VT plumber to fix. First, let’s take a look at what water hammer is, why it’s a problem, and why it might occur in your plumbing. Once you have that information, we can tell you how we can help resolve the problem.

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Does a Gas Furnace Dry Out the Air in a House?

November 9th, 2020

burners-in-furnaceThis is a question we often hear, because it’s almost conventional wisdom that a gas furnace makes the air inside a home drier during winter. But conventional wisdom isn’t always correct, and false information spreads fast today.

So let’s confront the question here: Does a gas furnace really dry out the air in a house? If it does, that’s a major concern because dry air in winter can create comfort problems and even health issues.

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Reasons You Have Too Many Clogged Drain Problems

October 26th, 2020

water-down-drainWhen a drain clogs up or becomes so slow it might as well be clogged, it’s an annoyance. Sometimes a plunger can fix it, other times you need to summon one of our plumbers. Although regular drain cleaning and maintenance for your plumbing can reduce the number of clogged drains you face, there’s no way to prevent all of them.

One clogged drain in Burlington, VT is a nuisance. Frequently clogged drains or multiple clogged drains at the same time can indicate a major problem with your plumbing that will require the intervention of a professional plumber. If you are running into clogs as a regular problem, we recommend calling us to have a closer look. 

Here are some of the reasons you may have habitual drain clog troubles:

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Make October Heating Maintenance Month!

October 12th, 2020

service-reminder-clockIf we had to select the best month for scheduling heating maintenance in Plattsburgh, NY, it would be October. There is no truly bad month for heating maintenance: it’s important that it gets done each year, so having it later or earlier is better than never. But October is when you’ll get the most from having professionals inspect and tune-up your heating system.

Why is this? For one, it’s in the “Golden Zone” where it’s early enough to beat out the first serious cold weather of the year but late enough that the heater will be in prime shape for when those cold snaps first make their chilling debut. It’s also a time of year when HVAC technicians like ours have less crammed schedules because we aren’t dealing with as many emergency calls for failed ACs or heaters. You can schedule maintenance for the most convenient time.

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Some Tips to Prepare Your Plumbing for Fall

September 28th, 2020

The change of seasons is already on us, and if you aren’t already in the middle of making household preparations for the coming winter, you’re planning to get started soon. We’d like to help! We offer service to maintain both your heating and plumbing in Williston, VT. In this post, we’re going to look at what you can do to help prepare your plumbing this fall so it’s ready for the colder months ahead.

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