Furnace, heat pump and central air service in Millbrook

Millbrook has 45 historically designated buildings, more than many towns several times its size. Much of the old village along Tupper Street and King Street had to be rebuilt after the Great Fire of 1875 destroyed most of the buildings there, and what went up afterward has lasted. For anyone looking after one of these houses, heating work is less about speed and more about doing the right thing once.

What does a heritage home in the village usually need?

A house that has been preserved this well was rarely designed around a furnace. Heating systems in older homes tend to have been fitted later, so it is common to find ducts that take long routes, rooms that warm unevenly, and a chimney doing a job it was never built for. None of that is a crisis. It simply means a technician should look at the whole house before suggesting changes.

If you are thinking about a new furnace or a heat pump, the venting and the outdoor unit are worth planning early. On a designated building, a new vent through an outside wall or changes to a chimney may need a word with the township first, and it is easier to ask before the equipment is chosen than after. See furnace installation and replacement for how a replacement is sized and planned.

Is it gas or propane out in the hamlets?

In the village and in the hamlets around it, the answer varies from road to road. The Ontario Energy Board has listed Cavan Monaghan among the communities where natural gas service was proposed to be extended, which tells you parts of the township have not been on a gas main. Pipeline work is also moving through the area: the board approved the Bobcaygeon Community Expansion Project, which runs from Cavan-Monaghan into the City of Kawartha Lakes.

If you are not sure which fuel you have, look for a gas meter on the outside wall or a propane tank in the yard. Mention it when you book, because propane and natural gas furnaces are set up differently. For homes far from the gas line, a cold-climate heat pump with the furnace kept as backup can be a sensible option to talk through.

What is safe to check while you wait?

• Make sure the thermostat is set to heat and a few degrees above the room.
• Check that the furnace switch, which looks like a light switch, is on.
• Look at the filter. A badly clogged one can shut a furnace down.
• Go outside and clear any snow from the plastic vent pipes at the side of the house.
• Make sure your carbon monoxide alarms have power.

If you smell gas, or a carbon monoxide alarm sounds, leave the house and call the gas utility or 911 from outside. Everything else can be handled calmly.

How does a visit go?

The technician asks what the system has been doing, tests it, and shows you what was found. You get a written price and decide before any part is fitted. Work is performed by TSSA-certified gas technicians. To arrange a visit, use the contact page, or read what usually goes wrong with a furnace first.

Communities we serve

• Cavan
• South Monaghan
• Bailieboro
• Garden Hill
• Bewdley
• Mount Pleasant