Heating · Chicago, IL
Furnace Repair in Chicago, IL
No heat, cold air from the vents, or a furnace that starts and stops every few minutes — we find the cause and tell you what the repair costs before we do it.
What furnace repair actually involves
Furnace repair starts with a diagnosis, not a guess. We check the thermostat call, the ignition sequence, the flame sensor, the pressure switch and inducer, gas pressure, the limit switches, and the blower — in that order, because a furnace that shuts down on high limit is usually an airflow problem wearing a heating problem's costume. You get the finding, the fix, and the price, and nothing happens until you say yes.
Chicago's bungalow belt is its own HVAC discipline. A classic 1920s brick bungalow has a finished or semi-finished attic, a low-headroom basement, gravity-converted ductwork with oversized trunks and undersized branches, and almost no wall insulation. The attic bedroom is always the hottest room in the house in July and the coldest in January, and no amount of new equipment fixes it without addressing the duct and the envelope.
What that means for furnace repair here: Bungalow-belt gravity conversions, attic bedrooms, and homes with radiator heat and no ducts at all.
If you smell gas, leave the house first and call Nicor or your gas utility from outside. That's a utility emergency, not a service call.
Signs you need furnace repair
- The furnace runs but the air coming out is cool or lukewarm
- It ignites, runs 2–5 minutes, then shuts off and repeats (short cycling)
- The blower runs constantly and never satisfies the thermostat
- A rumble, screech, or bang on startup
- The furnace trips its breaker or locks out after several ignition attempts
- A sharp burning smell that doesn't clear after the first cold-weather run
- Rising gas bills with no change in how you use the thermostat
Repair or replace?
We price both and show you where the break-even falls. The general test we apply: if the repair costs more than about a third of a replacement and the equipment is past its expected midlife, the replacement is usually the better spend. Under that, fix it and keep the money. Safety faults — a cracked heat exchanger, a compromised flue — override the arithmetic entirely.
You’ll get the numbers for both paths in writing so it’s a decision rather than a recommendation you have to take on faith.
How the visit goes
Book
Describe the symptoms and give us the Chicago address. We’ll confirm a window.
Diagnose
We test, find the cause, and explain the options with prices attached.
Get comfortable
You approve the work. We do it, then show you what changed.
Questions
Furnace Repair FAQs
The most common causes are a dirty flame sensor shutting the burners down while the blower keeps running, a thermostat set to FAN ON instead of AUTO, or a lockout after failed ignition attempts. All three feel identical at the vent and need different fixes.
The furnace shuts off before finishing its heating cycle, usually on a high-limit trip. That points to restricted airflow — a clogged filter, closed returns, or undersized ductwork — far more often than a bad furnace. Left alone, it cracks heat exchangers.
We service most major residential furnace brands. If you're not sure about your specific equipment, call us with the manufacturer and model number and we'll confirm before the visit.
Sometimes. A $200 igniter on an otherwise healthy 18-year-old furnace is usually money well spent. A $1,400 heat exchanger on the same unit almost never is. We give you the actual numbers so it's a decision, not a sales pitch.
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