Quick answer
Yes — quotes for a new furnace, air conditioner, or heat pump installation are almost always free in the GTA, including in-home assessments and itemized written pricing. The exception is repairs: diagnosing a broken system usually carries a $90–$150 service-call fee, often credited toward the repair. ZK Mechanical provides free, no-obligation in-home quotes for installs and replacements across the GTA and Hamilton.
HVAC quotes are free in the GTA when you're buying equipment — a furnace, air conditioner, heat pump or water heater — and every reputable contractor will come to the house, measure, and put an itemized price in writing at no charge. The line sits at repairs: diagnosing a system that has failed is paid technician work at $90–$150, usually credited toward the fix. Which visit you're booking decides the answer.
Free: installation and replacement quotes
- Replacing a furnace, AC, heat pump, or water heater — reputable GTA contractors provide a free in-home assessment and written quote, because they're competing for the sale
- No obligation — a good quote comes with no pressure to sign on the spot
- You should get two or three of them — comparing free quotes is exactly how you find a fair price and a contractor you trust; see how to choose an HVAC contractor
Paid: repair diagnostics
If your system is broken and you want it diagnosed and fixed, that's a service call, typically $90–$150 — a technician is spending time troubleshooting, not pricing a sale. The good news is that fee is usually waived or credited toward the repair if you proceed. Full details are in how much an HVAC service call costs.
What a good free quote includes
- A proper sizing assessment — a heat-load calculation or at least a real look at your home, not 'same size as the old one'; see what size furnace you need
- Itemized pricing — equipment model numbers, venting, permits, disposal of the old unit, and warranty terms in writing
- Multiple options — good/better/best tiers so you can choose, not a single take-it-or-leave-it number
- Rebate and financing guidance — which incentives you qualify for and what financing would cost per month
- A clear total — the bottom line with no vague 'extras to be determined later'
What happens on a free quote visit
- A walk-through of the house: square footage, window area, visible insulation, and the rooms that already run too hot or too cold
- A look at the existing equipment — rating plate, vent type, gas line size, electrical panel capacity, and where the condensate drains
- Sizing done from a heat-loss assessment rather than copied off the old label — the reason two quotes can differ by a whole furnace size
- Tiered options with model numbers, plus the rebate and financing figures for each
- Plan on about an hour on site, with the written quote following within a day or two — not signed on the spot under pressure
Have this ready and the quote gets better
- A recent Enbridge bill and a hydro bill — real usage beats square-footage guesses for sizing and payback math
- A photo of the old furnace's rating plate and one of the electrical panel with the door open
- Any past permits or invoices, especially if the furnace was ever moved or converted
- Your own list: the cold bedroom, the whistling return, the humidifier that never worked
Watch for the catch
A 'free inspection' that arrives unsolicited at your door is a sales tactic, not a favour — Ontario's furnace-rental door-knocking scams have used exactly that hook for years. A free quote you requested from a contractor you chose is normal and expected; a free inspection that shows up uninvited and condemns your furnace on the spot is a red flag.
Quote questions GTA homeowners ask
- Is a written quote binding? It should hold for a stated period — ask how long, and what could change it. A rotted chimney liner discovered on install day is the classic legitimate surprise.
- Will I be pressured to sign? A 'today-only' price is a red flag; a fair price is still fair next week. Walk away from anyone who won't leave the quote with you.
- Can I get furnace and heat pump prices in one visit? Yes, and you should — the dual-fuel comparison beside a straight furnace swap is the most useful pair of numbers a quote can hold.
- Are commercial quotes free too? Replacement quotes for rooftop units generally are; diagnosing a failed RTU is billed like any service call.
- Do I need three quotes if I already trust one company? Comparison still catches sizing errors and missing line items — even a trusted contractor should welcome being checked.
ZK Mechanical offers genuinely free, no-pressure in-home quotes for every residential HVAC install and replacement across the GTA and Hamilton — sized properly, itemized in writing, with rebates and financing spelled out. Request your free quote and make us one of your three estimates.