HVAC repair in Scarborough, Durham and the GTA
Heating and cooling are usually sold as two systems, but in a ducted building they are one machine with two heat sources. They share a blower, a filter, a duct network, a thermostat and a power supply. That matters when something goes wrong, because the shared half is where a surprising number of faults actually live — and a fault there shows up as a heating problem in January and a cooling problem in July.
Metropolitan Heating and Air Conditioning has repaired complete HVAC systems across Scarborough, Durham Region and the GTA since 1979, on all makes and models. Call (416) 283-5698, Monday to Friday 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM.
Shut the system down and call if you see any of these
- A smell of gas near the furnace or anywhere along the gas line
- A carbon monoxide alarm sounding
- Burning or scorched smells, smoke, or melted insulation at the equipment
- Water standing near anything electrical
- Exposed, charred or damaged wiring
Turn the system off at the thermostat and at the service switch before you call. Everything else on this page can wait for a booked visit.
Is it the heating, the cooling, or the part they share?
This is the first question worth asking, and you can often answer it yourself before we arrive.
If both heating and cooling are weak, the problem is almost certainly shared. A loaded filter, a dirty blower wheel, a failing blower motor or capacitor, disconnected or leaking ductwork, undersized returns, or a thermostat that is misreading or miswired. High static pressure — resistance in the duct system — throttles both modes at once, and it is the cause most often missed, because every individual component tests fine.
If only heating fails, look at the heating side's own parts: ignition and flame sensor, gas valve and pressure, burners, the induced draft motor, pressure and limit switches, the flue, and the heat exchanger. See furnace repair.
If only cooling fails, it is the refrigeration circuit: charge, compressor, condenser coil and fan, contactor and capacitor, the metering device, or a blocked condensate path. See AC repair.
If the symptom is a smell or a noise, the location narrows it. Musty odours at start-up usually mean moisture in the coil or ductwork rather than a mechanical fault. Grinding and squealing are bearings or a blower wheel out of balance. Hissing on the cooling side suggests refrigerant escaping.
If bills are rising with no rate change, the system is doing more work for the same result — dirty heat transfer surfaces, poor airflow, duct losses into unconditioned space, or a control staging incorrectly.
What a diagnostic visit involves
We start from what you describe and verify it rather than assume it. A whole-system visit typically covers the thermostat and its wiring and calibration, the filter and measured static pressure, the blower and its electrical readings, the accessible ductwork, and the safety controls. From there we work into whichever side is failing: combustion, gas pressure, ignition sequence, venting and heat exchanger on the heating side; pressures, superheat and subcooling, coils, electrical and condensate on the cooling side.
You get the finding before any work starts — what failed, what correcting it takes, and whether anything adjacent is close enough to failing to be worth doing on the same visit rather than a second call-out. If the economics of a repair do not hold up against the age and condition of the equipment, we will say so and price both paths. Financing on replacement is available through Vista.
Related services
- HVAC Maintenance & Tune-Up — the service that catches most of the above early
- HVAC Installation & Replacement
- Indoor air quality — where the complaint is dust, humidity or odour rather than temperature
- All HVAC services
Book a repair visit
Call (416) 283-5698 weekdays between 8:00 AM and 4:00 PM, or send us the details. Have the make, model and rough age of both units ready, along with any code the control board is flashing. Licensed and insured, from our shop on Venture Drive in Scarborough since 1979.