The JOB Heating and Air Conditioning team are Trusted Saskatoon plumbing professionals. In this blog, we will discuss what is important to ask when hiring a Saskatoon Heating and Cooling Company.

Thinking About Hiring a Saskatoon Heating and Cooling Company?

In Saskatoon these days it seems that everyone is looking for that great deal. If you need a furnace or water heater replaced but money is tight, generally folk talk to their friends about it until somebody says

“hey I know a guy who’s really cheap”

They will then proceed to share how great he is, that his service is awesome and that he used to work for a large company but now he’s on his own. Or perhaps you look on Kijiji and you see an ad about a furnace or water heater that’s much cheaper than the other Saskatoon HVAC companies, but notice that there isn’t a business name in the ad. This should throw up a red flag, but money is tight. You call the number, and yes there is a company name, but you’ve never heard of it. You mention that and he replies “Yes, I’m a journeyman and I’m bonded”.

But what does that really mean?

Well, one could speculate that he does, in fact, have a Red Seal Journeyman designation and that he would have a Saskatchewan gas fitters license but what does he mean when he says “bonded”?

This is where you need to ask to see some documents.

1. WCB

When large companies hire a trade, they ask for a copy of documents.
Including a copy of your “Letter of Good Standing” with the Workers Compensation Board of Saskatchewan. This is a very important document as if they cannot provide this letter and they get hurt at your house WCB will not insure them.

WORD OF WARNING – In fact, some people out there may not have any of the documents, including a gas license, but still supply and install gas related appliances – they will take the money and run.

2. Insurance

Next you should ask to see their certificate of insurance. This document will say at the top “Certificate of Insurance” it will state the name of the insured (the business), the type of insurance and the amount of insurance they carry. This is critical, if something is to happen in your home this is the insurance that will kick in. **This is not a bond.**

3.Gas Licence

To get a gas license in Saskatchewan you need to have a gas ticket (proof you went to trade school and took the gas course) and a “bond” of $5000.00. Almost all gas permits in Saskatchewan get inspected by the gas inspectors. These inspectors are trade professionals with many years of experience that are hired by the Saskatchewan Government (Sask Power currently). Think of them like trades police officers, their entire job is to ensure public safety and specifically in this instance, your safety.

Should a contractor make a mistake on a job he will be issued a notice of ‘defect’. They have 30days to correct that defect, in most cases at his expense. If they do not correct the mistakes then Gas Inspections will make a claim against the company bond . This is to cover the cost to make the corrections and to satisfy the defect notice. Please note: The $5000.00 is only to satisfy the defect notice. The liability insurance covers any other items that may arise regarding the work that he has done. The bond money is only there to cover bringing something up to code.

In the event that the corrections cost more than $5000.00, the corrections become the responsibly of the homeowner and the defect notice gets issued to the homeowner. Not fair at all but that is the process.

Infact, I’ve heard of many instances where independent one man gas contractors were issued many defect notices at once and the $5000 bond only covered a few of the defects. This meant customers were left holding the bag when they go under. Ideally, when this happens the guy would be run out of town, however, this doesn’t happen. In fact, often times they will end up finding another job and stay in the industry, even though previous customers end up paying to correct mistakes.

I know that this all sounds very negative, but this is the process and it happens. What is important, is not to let this happen to you. When hiring a Saskatoon Heating and Cooling companyto work on your home, ask to see the WCB letter of good standing, a certificate of insurance and the techs gas license. If these documents cannot be provided then call JOB Heating and Air Conditioning. We are proud of who we are and what we do and we are happy to provide these documents.

Don’t hesitate to call JOB Heating and Air for your plumbing, heating, and air conditioning needs, and for all other needs to check out JOB’s listings on trustedsaskatoon.com.

Jeff Bolton. Owner- JOB Heating and Air Conditioning