Airstar Mechanical

The owner, John, is a rare find. Read his business statement, it describes the exceptional service he provided out family. Our A/​C was working but not providing relief and was making abnormal sounds to the point of our neighbor commenting. John fit us into his schedule last minute and right before he left on vacation no less. He is extremely knowledgeable yet also personable and straight forward. He quickly diagnosed the problem and fixed our unit. The difference is night and day and not only does our house cool down ten times faster but the unit is using less energy. My in-​law works for an HVAC company and he confirmed that the work John did and the price he charged was nothing short of a great deal. Call Airstar Mechanical, you’ll be happy you did.

I own a rental condominium that was obviously built using the cheapest methods & materials possible. Over the years as things have failed I have replaced them with good quality items, because I have learned that focusing on short-​term profits usually leads to long-​term costs. This year the heat pump was due, especially since it simply refused to either heat or cool. I had several vendors look at it, and all of them told me, «Can’t get parts for something that old.» They then proceeded to quote me new systems, which averaged $ 15,000, and some were over $ 22,000. A reason often given for the high costs was that the air handler needed to be relocated from the outside closet into the attic, since «Nobody makes one today that would fit into the closet». Also, a good HVAC system has the registers over or under the windows, not like mine which had them right over the doors to the rooms. Some of the quotes did not even include relocating the registers properly.
The owner of Airstar was recommended to me by a good friend who also understands the value of quality materials and work, and he said John was not only good, but flexible. On my first meeting with John, I was impressed with his knowledge of how HVAC systems work, how they should integrate into the building, and how they have a major effect on indoor air quality and the comfort of occupants. His diagnostic and repair skills are great, and it took him only a short time to discover the three things wrong with the compressor. Two were components, and the third was that the refrigerant was missing. He gave me a quote to replace the components and refrigerant, and then told me I would be «wasting my money» if I chose to do that, because the system was so old that he could only guarantee his parts, and that for less than $ 1000 more than the parts & refrigerant, he could replace the entire compressor.
This led to a discussion about what parts of the system could be expected to fail in the future, how long before they might fail, and the cost to replace those parts. I’m fairly handy w/​tools, having helped build one house and remodeled others, so I asked what work I could do to reduce my cost if I decided to upgrade the whole system, including ducts & registers. I described some of the projects I have completed, showed him some of the work I have done, and we worked out an agreement where I framed a platform for the new system, installed new ducting and registers, and helped haul all the heavy stuff up into the attic. He handled everything else, and he made sure my work was up to his standards.
My «schedule» changes often, since I own multiple rental properties, and am currently building one house and remodeling two others, but John worked around my schedule. He was always responsive when I had a question, and several times stopped by just to «see how things were coming along». He did call one morning and told me he had to reschedule our appointment for that day since he had a customer with a walk-​in refrigerator that had failed and was in danger of losing a huge pile of food. I was happy to realize that he prioritizes customers with problems, since that means when I have problems, I will become the priority.
I can tell he enjoys helping people, and seems to like «out of the box» solutions to unusual problems. My experience with John on this property has earned him more work from me. Over the next 5 to 8 years I will be installing new HVAC systems in a new home (mine), a remodeled rental house, and a remodeled Victorian 4-​plex. He will be the first person I call.

John Foehr installed a new furnace and air conditioner for us about 12 years ago. The system had two zones. One of the zones stopped working recently: almost no air came out of the registers for that zone and the furnace room heated up. I called Foehr in the evening expecting to just leave a message but he answered the phone. Foehr came out the next morning, after calling to let me know his schedule and to check mine. He released the stuck damper, discussed options for me, and gave an estimate for the options. I chose replacement. We agreed on a time to fix it. He let me know the next day when he couldn’t make the schedule because of a medical problem and we quickly arranged a new date. The replacement work was within the estimate, the area was left neat and clean, and, of course, the system now works as it should.
We each had to change time for the second appointment and he communicated his status so I was not left waiting. He responds quickly to calls. He used his experience to outline options for me to choose and gave realistic estimates for the cost. When I asked about a more fuel efficient replacement furnace, he outlined the costs and benefits without regard to his chance to get another job. I would go to Foehr again for repairs, for a new system, and for good advice on my system.

The HEAT WAVE struck! We had no AC. The temperature inside the house was a great concern because our daughter is only 1 years old. After several calls to HVAC companies and a handful of answering machines I was referred by a contractor friend to call Airstar Mechanical. John Foehr, the owner, called me back and was able to work me into his schedule. We now have AC and the climate inside is perfect. We are very happy with the services John provided.
— Airstar Mechanical completed the job before the other companies returned my phone call.
— Very competitive without compromise in service.
— I will definitely call John again.
Also, while John was working on the AC he told me several things I could consider fixing in my garage to improve safety. He gave me simple suggestions to improve ventilation too. I’m forever grateful for his advice and services.

As a Real Estate Broker that services many different Northern California Markets, I am always looking for competent vendors to service properties. Airstar has performance has been outstanding time and time again. John the owner has been there on time, everytime, even if I have a job for them 75 miles away! His knowledge, expertise and speediness are unsurpassed. He even does follow up calls as well as stops by for free, to see if everything is operating properly. The last good thing are his prices. His overhead must be low because his prices are too compared to other licensed Heating and Air Conditioning companies. I HIGHLY recommend Airstar mechanical to anyone who Heating and AC needs.