Mckinnon Heating Cooling

I had to replace a 15 year old boiler system which supplies hydronic floor heating for the entire home. This is a fairly large setup with many zone controls. I have done a lot of research on new products and design. I reached out to many installers (some of them top rated here in Homestars) and the "so called" experts but in the end I chose Michael and this team. There are many companies out there who is keen to make a quick buck and easy job. I can tell you my experience with McKinnon was the complete opposite. Michael was very knowledgeable and accommodating on what I really need rather than a good sales pitch. His dream team (Hamid, Michael, Jesus and Yasser) completed the complex work with quality and a sense of accountability and pride. If I can, I will give them more than 10 stars. Thank you Michael and your team in taking on this challenging project and doing what your competitors deem as too difficult to do or they want A LOT more to take this work.

Thank-you for your professionalism. A weekend without hot water is tough, but when you live in a triplex you also have your tenants to consider. Our on-contract, regular service provider (gas hot-water furnace, 2 A/C units, gas fireplace) couldn't help us until Monday, which is when they handed me an outrageous quotation, and another day of waiting because they were 'busy'. I sourced two identical top-of-the-line 40 gallon water heaters (for 30% less than my service provider quoted - and I was buying at retail!), and a chance recommendation lead me to McKinnon who (at 4PM Monday) very kindly agreed to do the installation first thing Tuesday morning. They quoted a reasonable hourly rate for two men, and I accepted. The new tanks arrived at the same time the two technicians from McKinnons did (9AM sharp, as promised), and four hours later the tanks were installed, linked in series, and up-and-running. The work site was cleaned and tidy, and Michael Nepom has earned a new client for all our heating and cooling maintenance and repairs / replacements from now on. The technicians dispatched (Jesus and Michael) worked very well together, and clearly were comfortable with every aspect and trade required... gas-work, plumbing, electrical, mechanical. These guys were a pleasure to watch in action.

I contacted maybe 7 so called 'nest certified' installers trying to find someone who could install a Nest compatible humidifier. Most installers where clueless, and one flat out told me it couldn't be done.

Mckinnon knew immediately what was required. As I'm in a townhouse with space restrictions, Michael had me text me over some photos so he could get an idea of the furnace space, and right away was able to recommend a compatible brand with a quote over the phone.

Their installer Hamid was very professional, and arrived right on time. This was a pretty involved job as water had to be run from another floor, electrical needed some work, and the Nest had to be connected, not to mention the humidifier itself in a tight spot. Hamid had zero problems - was knowledgeable, friendly, and did excellent work. Humidifier was connected flawlessly, and Hamid even took extra time to connect a common wire to my thermostat.

I could not be happier with the service, and the product is working incredibly well. It was refreshing to work with a company keeping up with changing technology

We hired Michael Nepom to install 2 Aprilaire steam humidifiers as the builder had installed 2 undersized humidifiers that were insufficient for the size of our home. We found him to be most helpful and courteous, his staff were great, especially Hamid, working neatly and completing the work when promised.
They also fixed a gas leak and reinstalled an air-exchanger that was incorrectly fitted by the builder's hvac company. His pricing was reasonable and was the lowest of three quotes that we obtained and the experience with him was most pleasant. We will be using his services again.

Michael was very sincere and accommodating in helping us get new heating and hot water equipment when our former rental company left us hanging for over 10 days. As soon as we were ready he had his tech in as promised the next business day while other companies were telling us we'd need to wait another week or so before they could assist us. The techs were extremely professional and the whole project came in exactly on time and on budget. You can't ask for a better outcome.

I had three companies quote me on installing a new high efficiency furnace in 2010. Preferred Air wasn't the cheapest and it wasn't the most expensive. They were the only ones however, who actually said they would come in and do a heat loss calculation to determine what size furnace I actually needed. This is extremely important and I would advise people to only go with a company that does this before hand.
After they did the heat loss calculations and due to the fact I had just upgraded siding and attic insulation, PAL recommended a 40,000 BTU furnace rather than the old 60,000 BTU one currently in place.
The other two companies simply asked, 'Well what do you have now?' I said a 60,000 BTU furnace and they said then that's what we will replace it with. This despite the fact the old furnace was 22 years old! Uh, I'm pretty sure the technology has changed and the new furnace is 'High Efficiency' isn't it?
The day of the install, Bob and his dad (since retired) came in and removed the old furnace and installed the new one. No fuss, no muss just efficient. Great people to work with and wonderful service. Bob has been doing my yearly maintenance ever since. Highly recommended.

Poor scheduling and no communication from the owner created a stressful and very unsatisfactory experience. Legal intervention was required in order to complete my installation. The problems had absolutely nothing to do with payment.
I would not recommend this company.

June 25th/2014 I had a new boiler installed. By July 5th, I started having water pressure issues. The boiler was checked and adjusted on July 7th/2014. In September heating issues started-I had no heat.

On October 5th a third call was made to fix the problem. No reply. I sent an email on Oct 9th and finally someone agreed to come out on October 23rd. Two weeks later. The technician came out and had to leave without fixing the boiler. I emailed their office. I was told by the owner I would get a reply on the 27th Of October, almost a month after I had reported my heating problem.

The technician came back on October 30th and spent 3 hours fixing my boiler. On December 1st, the temperature in the house dropped 3 degrees in 3 hours. I had to contact the company three times to get them to send back a technician on December 5th. The technician said parts were missing that should have been installed back in June. They didn't come out to fix the boiler until December 12th.

March 20/2015, water pressure had been weak to non-existent for a few days. I contacted the company three times. March 25th someone came by to check in on the boiler. Again it stopped working. March 27th a technician came by and said the wire in the heat exchanger was loose and needed to be fix. April 2nd, the office emailed to say they had the part and could fix it on April 6th.

I filed a complaint with the BBB in April and it took until August for them to contact the company who suggested I should have called them. The issue was never resolved.

Business we have given McKinnon includes a new boiler and installation, a hot water heater and installation and service calls, for total business approaching $10,000 over 7 years.
In December, a drain valve failed on the boiler. Luckily there was a hose on the valve so there was no flooding. McKinnon's technician came and replaced the valve. With my assistance, we bled the radiators and everything was work well, including third floor radiators that had not previously been giving off heat. The technician noted that there was a part that had to be replaced and that the furnace required cleaning. The technician returned the following week and after replacing the part and cleaning the furnace, he was convinced that there was a leak somewhere in the piping because of the pressure readings he was getting. He suggested to my wife that we start opening up the walls and get a plumber to fix the leaks because McKinnon does not do that kind of work. There were no logical signs of leaks (we had had frozen pipes the previous winter, so we were fully aware of the damage that can ensue with about 2 minutes of leaking - it was only due to luck and foresight that the frozed pipe issue did not absolutely devastate our house, but we know firsthand what damage a one minute leak can cause), and despite my explanations (over the phone) why there could not possibly be a leak (there is an epoxy liner throughout 80% of the piping and the rest was replaced and extensively tested months before), the technician drained the system and left. This was late on a Friday afternoon, so he essentially walked away, leaving us to start making holes in the walls and following up with plumbers, etc. over the weekend.
He us told that the system would work on a limited basis. This was not true, but being trusting, we stayed in the house, relying on gas fireplaces to keep warm.
I filled the system on the following Monday evening and there were no leaks, although there was some steam blowback because the technician had closed a valve on the back of the boiler that I did not know existed. I shut everything back down again.
The technician came back on the Wednesday and started up the system, bleeding the radiators, with my assistance. He replaced a bleeder valve on one of the radiators and the replacement valve requires a special key (rather than a screwdriver) and did not leave a key for us when he left.
The third floor radiators that had come to life after the technician's first visit did not heat up subsequently. He suggested that I bleed that radiator and it should heat up again. After five or six attempts over 2 hours each time, the radiator is still not working.
I received a call from McKinnon informing me that they were unable to process their charges because there was an issue with my credit card, lucky us. I called back, politely suggesting that we be given a break on the charges given our previous customer loyalty and business we had sent their way, and that we had needlessly lost at least one day of work and were inconvenienced being without heat. My suggestions were not well received, McKinnon told me that they had made concessions in not charging us for the technician's second visit. There was no forthcoming sympathy for our unnecessary inconvenience, that I bled half of the radiators, and that the system was not working as well as before it was before the technician's second visit.
We paid the outstanding balance and sent a letter with the remittance, outlining our dissatisfaction, and requesting advice/assistance in getting our third floor radiator working again. Our letter has not been acknowledged.

McKinnon did an amazing job of installing a new Boiler Navien NCB 210
Combination boiler and hot water heater!
Rob, Yasa and Hameed get a 10+++for a job well done! I have rarely seen such pride of workmanship and they did a 3 day job in 1 day by working 13 hours straight and did not leave until I had heat and hot water again!!! I had been without heat for over 2 days in the coldest week of 2015. I called McKinnon at 2:00a.m after dealing with another company who just could not fix my boiler. so clearly I needed some one else who knew what they were doing and as soon as Rob arrived at 3:00a.m. And said I needed a new boiler even though mine was only 7 and a half years old I believed him as he said I would have to replace all the parts and still would have a bad boiler. Not one to throw good money after bad, I said when can you start?
McKinnon started the next day at 11:30a.m. And did not leave until I had both heat and hot water. I cannot explain how happy I was when Rob and Yasa finished and the next day Hameed returned to do follow up to get the boiler running perfectly! He also told me to get the the pipes descaled once a year and complete the registration of the warantee. I would not hesitate to recommend McKinnon especially if you have a boiler or combination boiler in an older home Downtown like me! The guys are all very honest and very hardworking which is a rarity these days!
Bravo Rob, Yasa, and Hameed and all the helpers too on a job well done!!!