What to know
Ask what the number covers
A price on its own tells you very little. The useful question is what it includes: how much of the system, how many vents, whether the return side is part of it, and what would count as extra.
The answer matters more than the figure. A company that can tell you exactly what you are buying has thought about the job. One that cannot will be having a different conversation with you halfway through the afternoon.
Ask them to show you
Anyone can describe a problem. Ask to see it — a photo, a camera, or the panel off while you stand there. If work is genuinely needed, showing you costs them nothing.
This is the question that sorts good outfits from bad ones fastest, because a contractor who is inventing a problem does not want to point a light at it.
Ask what happens when it is worse than expected
It sometimes is. What matters is whether they stop and talk to you, or carry on and present the result afterwards.
A good answer sounds like: we stop, we show you, we tell you what it changes, and you decide. A vague one is worth taking as the answer it is.
Check the basics before the visit
- A licence number you can verify with the state, and current insurance.
- A physical address rather than only a service area.
- Reviews that mention specific work rather than general praise.
- Whether the person quoting is the person doing the work, or a salesperson.
Warning signs worth taking seriously
- A price quoted before anyone has looked at the system.
- Urgency that appeared in the conversation rather than in your house.
- Health claims presented as certainties, especially about what is in your air.
- A very low advertised figure that becomes something else once they arrive.
- Reluctance to put the scope in writing.
The answer you actually want to hear
Somewhere in the conversation, a good contractor will tell you about something you do not need. It is the most reliable signal there is, because it costs them money to say it.
That is how we would rather work. We look first, show you what is there, and if a new filter and a bit of patience is the honest recommendation, that is the one you get.