Question 1

The access door on our old crawlspace trunk doesn't seal anymore. Patch it or replace it?

Accepted Answer

It depends on what the metal around it looks like. A lot of San Mateo homes from the 1920s-40s had gravity furnaces converted over to forced air, and the oversized sheet metal trunks under the floor still carry the original or field-cut access panels. If the surrounding metal is sound and only the gasket or the latch has given up, re-gasketing and refastening the existing door is the sensible fix. If the flange is rusted thin from years of damp crawlspace air, or the panel has been pried off and bent so many times it no longer sits flat, we cut in a new access door instead. A door that doesn't seal pulls crawlspace air straight into the supply, which is exactly what you don't want under a raised foundation here.

Question 2

Why does our heat smell musty the first week we turn it on?

Accepted Answer

This is the most common call we get in San Mateo, and it usually isn't the furnace. With the marine layer sitting over the Peninsula through much of the summer, underfloor ducting in a crawlspace doesn't dry out the way it would further south. Fiberglass liner and old internally lined trunks hold that moisture, and whatever settled in the ducts over the warm months sits there undisturbed because most homes here have no AC and nothing moves air from spring to fall. When the heat finally kicks on in the fall, all of it comes through the registers at once. Cleaning the trunks and branches removes the dust load; if the liner itself has gone soft or smells even after cleaning, we'll tell you it needs replacing rather than another pass with a brush.

Question 3

What makes one San Mateo house cost more to clean than another?

Accepted Answer

Access and duct size, mostly. A 1950s-70s hillside tract house with a tidy crawlspace and conventional round branches is straightforward. A pre-war Spanish-revival or Tudor with converted gravity-furnace ducting is a different job: the trunks are oversized sheet metal, the runs are long, and the crawlspace is often tight and low, so it takes longer and sometimes needs new access cut and resealed. Apartment and duplex units with shared or boxed-in runs also take extra care. Register count matters less than people expect. We look at the system before quoting so the number reflects your actual ductwork, not a square-footage guess.

Question 4

Can you come out the same day?

Accepted Answer

Sometimes, particularly midweek and in the spring and summer when heating complaints are quiet. Once the first cold snap hits and everyone on the Peninsula fires up a furnace that's been idle since March, same-day slots go quickly. If you're calling because of a smell or visible debris at the registers rather than an emergency, booking a day or two out usually gets you a better time window and enough time on site to do the crawlspace work properly.

Question 5

How fast do you usually get out to a San Mateo address?

Accepted Answer

We work the mid-Peninsula regularly, so most San Mateo jobs get scheduled within a few days. Travel inside the city is short, which helps. The one thing that affects timing more than distance is whether we need crawlspace access: if the hatch is blocked, or there's standing moisture or stored belongings under the floor, we'd rather know on the phone so we can allow the right amount of time instead of turning a short visit into a return trip.

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The access door on our old crawlspace trunk doesn't seal anymore. Patch it or replace it?

Why does our heat smell musty the first week we turn it on?

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