HVAC Services in Burnaby, BC

HVAC company Burnaby: what we fix first

When a Burnaby homeowner calls us, we sort the job by safety and by how fast the house is losing comfort, not by the order the calls came in. A gas smell, a carbon monoxide alarm or a house with no heat during a January cold snap goes ahead of a noisy blower or a thermostat that reads a degree off. That is the honest answer to what an HVAC company in Burnaby should fix first: anything that could hurt someone, then anything that leaves the home without heat or hot water, then everything else.

These are the problems Burnaby owners describe to us most often, in the words they actually use on the phone:

• The furnace runs but blows cold air, or it starts and shuts off again after a minute or two.
• The boiler is on but some radiators or floors stay cold, or the pressure gauge keeps dropping.
• No hot water, lukewarm water, or a water heater that is wet or leaking at the base.
• The tankless unit fires, then goes cold when two showers or a shower and the dishwasher run at once.
• A clicking, whooshing, banging or rattling noise that was not there last season.
• The gas fireplace pilot will not stay lit, or the glass is turning black with soot.
• The air conditioner or heat pump runs all afternoon and the upstairs is still hot.
• One room is always colder than the rest, or the airflow at the registers feels weak.
• The thermostat screen is blank, or the system ignores what it is set to.
• A carbon monoxide alarm has gone off, or there is a gas smell or burning odour that will not clear.

Can a Burnaby HVAC company come the same day? What is and is not possible

Our shop is in Burnaby, so a lot of our calls in the city are booked the same day or the next business day. That depends on the day’s load, the weather and whether a part has to be ordered, and we will not promise you an arrival window we cannot keep. In the first genuinely cold week of the season every heating company in Metro Vancouver is stretched; we will tell you on the phone what is realistic for your address that day.

No-heat calls where there is a baby, an elderly person or someone unwell in the home, and anything involving gas or carbon monoxide, move up the list. Same-day repair is realistic when the fault is a common part we carry on the truck, such as an igniter, flame sensor, pressure switch, thermocouple or capacitor. It is not realistic when the fix is a brand-specific control board, a heat exchanger, a boiler circulator for an unusual model or a full replacement that needs a gas permit. In those cases we make the system safe, restore what heat we can, and give you a written plan for the rest.

If you smell gas, do not wait for a callback. Leave the house, do not switch lights or appliances on or off, and call your gas utility’s emergency line from outside. Call us once the utility has made the area safe.

What does an HVAC company in Burnaby service? Furnaces, boilers, water heaters, tankless and dual-fuel heat pumps

Gas furnaces. Most detached houses in Burnaby heat with a forced-air gas furnace in the basement or crawlspace. We diagnose ignition, flame sensing, pressure switches, inducer and blower motors, control boards and heat exchanger condition, and we replace furnaces when repair has stopped making sense. A replacement is also the moment to correct what the original installation got wrong, such as undersized return air, leaky plenums, or a vent route that no longer meets current code.

Gas boilers and hydronic heating. Burnaby has plenty of hot-water heat, from cast-iron radiators in older houses to in-floor radiant in newer townhouses. Our water is soft, so hydronic trouble here is sludge, magnetite and corrosion rather than limescale. We service and replace gas boilers and combi boilers, flush and treat systems, fit dirt and air separators, and repair circulators, zone valves, expansion tanks and air-bound loops.

Gas tank water heaters. A gas tank heater is simple and forgiving, but the tank itself eventually fails. We replace them, confirm the vent and gas supply are right for the new unit, test the temperature and pressure relief valve, and check the anode rod, which tends to be used up faster in soft water.

Gas tankless water heaters. We install and service tankless and combi units from Bradford White, Rheem, Navien, Rinnai, Noritz, Takagi, Bosch and A. O. Smith. In older Burnaby houses the deciding factors are almost always gas-line capacity and a legal vent route, not the unit on the wall. Maintenance is a periodic flush for heat-driven mineral deposits and debris plus an inlet screen clean; scaling here is modest because the water is soft.

Dual-fuel heat pumps. We lead with dual fuel: a heat pump carries the house through the mild, damp months that make up most of a Burnaby heating season, and a gas furnace stays in place as backup for cold snaps. The controls switch to gas when the heat pump is no longer the better choice, so the house is never short on heat, and the same outdoor unit gives you central cooling in summer.

Central air conditioning, gas fireplaces and controls. We add central air to an existing furnace, service ductless and ducted cooling, repair gas fireplace ignition and pilot problems, and install and wire thermostats, dual-fuel controls and zoning.

The table shows what we do on each system and examples of the equipment brands we service. BC Wide is an independent contractor: these are brands we work on, not brands we are certified or authorized by, and we discuss them neutrally.

How does an HVAC service visit work in Burnaby? Step by step

Whether it is a no-heat call or a replacement consultation, a visit from us follows the same order. Knowing it in advance helps you judge whether any HVAC company in Burnaby is doing the job properly.

• Step 1, the call: we ask what the system is doing, what equipment you have, how old it is, and whether anyone has smelled gas or heard a carbon monoxide alarm. A photo of the equipment label texted to us often saves a trip for a part.
• Step 2, booking: we give you a realistic day and a time range, not a guaranteed arrival window, and call ahead when the technician is on the way.
• Step 3, safety check on arrival: the technician checks for gas leaks at the appliance, takes a carbon monoxide reading in the room, and looks at the vent before anything else is touched.
• Step 4, diagnosis: we test the system through a full cycle and measure rather than guess, using gas pressure, temperature rise, static pressure, flue readings or boiler pressure as the job requires.
• Step 5, findings and options in writing: you are told what failed, why it failed, and your options, with a written quote before any work beyond the diagnosis. Nothing is replaced without your approval.
• Step 6, the repair or installation: done by a licensed gas fitter or certified technician, with a gas permit pulled where the work requires one.
• Step 7, commissioning: we run the system through complete cycles, check combustion and safeties, set the thermostat, and show you how the equipment should behave.
• Step 8, paperwork: an itemized invoice, permit and inspection details where applicable, and warranty registration for new equipment in your name.

HVAC service near me in Burnaby BC: what your neighbourhood’s housing stock means for your system

Burnaby is not one housing type, and the neighbourhood usually tells us something about what we will find in the mechanical room before we get there. These are general patterns from our work, not rules; plenty of houses in every area have been renovated or rebuilt, so we always confirm on site.

• Burnaby Heights: many older detached houses, a good share of them extensively renovated. Hot-water radiators and older chimneys are common, and when a furnace moves to a condensing model a gas water heater can be left alone in a chimney sized for two appliances, which usually needs a liner or a new vent.
• Brentwood: mostly towers and newer townhouses. Heating is often in-suite fan coils, hydronic or ductless, and any change goes through strata approval, with rules on outdoor unit placement and noise.
• Metrotown: a mix of high-rise condos, older low-rise apartments and detached houses on the edges. Strata work here is about approvals and access; the houses often have original ductwork that is small for modern equipment.
• Edmonds: older detached homes, duplexes and newer townhouse infill. Basement suites sharing one furnace are common, and uneven heat between floors is a frequent complaint that zoning or duct work can address.
• Capitol Hill: view homes on sloped lots, many of them split-levels from the postwar decades. Long duct runs, crawlspace equipment and tight vent routes are the typical challenges.
• Deer Lake: larger lots and larger houses, with bigger heating loads, multiple zones and some substantial hydronic systems that reward proper water treatment.
• Burnaby Mountain: newer townhouses and condos at higher elevation, where it is noticeably colder and snowier than the rest of the city. That is a strong case for dual fuel, with the gas furnace ready for cold snaps.
• South Slope: older bungalows alongside newer duplexes, often with basement suites and compact mechanical rooms where tankless and combi units save space, provided the gas supply can carry them.
• Highgate: townhouses and newer infill with tight mechanical closets; vent termination clearances to windows, doors and neighbours often decide where equipment can go.
• Buckingham Heights: established homes on larger lots, some with older boilers or furnaces that are due for a considered replacement rather than a like-for-like swap.

Is BC Wide a licensed HVAC company in Burnaby? Licensing, permits and what to get in writing

BC Wide Home Services Ltd is an independent HVAC contractor based at 7325 6th Street in Burnaby, working across Burnaby and Metro Vancouver since 1999. We hold Technical Safety BC contractor licences LGA0090068 and CGA0028029, and the people who work on gas appliances and gas piping are individually certified gas fitters. Refrigerant work on air conditioners and heat pumps is done only by technicians certified to handle refrigerant. We are not a factory dealer for any brand, which lets us recommend equipment on its merits.

Most gas appliance replacements and new gas piping need a gas permit, issued by the authority having jurisdiction for your address. We pull the permit, do the work to code, and arrange the inspection, and the permit stays on record for the house. If a contractor suggests skipping the permit, that is a sign to find a different contractor; unpermitted gas work can cause problems with insurance and when you sell.

Before any installation, your written quote should spell out:

• The exact scope of work and the equipment make and product family being installed.
• How the equipment was sized, based on the house rather than on the old unit’s label.
• The vent route, gas-line changes, condensate drain and any electrical work, and who does each part.
• Whether a permit and inspection are included.
• What is not included, such as drywall patching or strata approvals.
• The manufacturer warranty and our labour warranty, stated separately.
• Timeline and what happens to the old equipment.

When should a Burnaby homeowner call a licensed HVAC technician instead of trying it themselves?

There is a short list of things you can safely do before you call: replace the furnace filter, check that the thermostat has power and is set to heat, reset a tripped breaker once, confirm the furnace service switch is on, clear leaves or snow from the outdoor unit and the vent terminations outside, and read the boiler pressure gauge so you can tell us the number. Keep the area around the furnace, boiler and water heater clear of storage.

Everything past that belongs to a licensed technician. In BC, work on the gas valve, burners, gas piping, venting and combustion air is restricted to licensed gas fitters, and most line-voltage electrical work is restricted to licensed trades. Do not remove sealed combustion covers, bypass a safety switch, keep resetting a furnace that locks out, top up or bleed a boiler you are unsure of, or open refrigerant connections on an air conditioner or heat pump. Repeated lockouts are the equipment telling you something is unsafe.

Gas and carbon monoxide safety: every home with a gas furnace, boiler, water heater or fireplace should have working carbon monoxide alarms on each level and near sleeping areas. Headaches, dizziness or nausea that ease when you leave the house, soot around an appliance, a yellow lazy flame, or moisture pooling on windows near a water heater are warning signs. If an alarm sounds or you smell gas, get everyone outside, call the gas utility’s emergency line or 911 from outside, and do not go back in until it is declared safe. Then call BC Wide at (604) 473-9690 to find and fix the cause.

More questions homeowners ask