Quick answer
If your HVAC contractor did a bad job, start with a dated, written deficiency list to the installer and a deadline to fix it under the contract and labour warranty. If they will not, get an independent licensed inspection with photos, combustion readings and code references. In Ontario, TSSA handles gas safety complaints, Consumer Protection Ontario handles contract disputes, and Small Claims Court handles money.
What you can do when an HVAC contractor did a bad job depends on which kind of bad it is: unsafe, not to code, not what the contract said, or merely untidy. Each has a different route and a different referee. Sort the problem first, give the installer one fair chance in writing, then build the paper that makes the next step work.
First, decide whether the installation is safe to run
Safety comes before any dispute. A carbon monoxide alarm, soot around the burner or vent, a vent pipe that has come apart, or water dripping from a vent joint means the appliance goes off and stays off until a licensed gas technician has seen it. For a gas smell, leave the house and call Enbridge Gas or 911 from outside. The steps that follow assume the equipment is either safe to operate or shut down.
Signs an HVAC installation was done badly
- Plastic vent pipes on a high-efficiency furnace that sag or slope away from the furnace. Condensate is meant to drain back to the furnace, and water pooling in a low spot trips the pressure switch.
- No drip leg (sediment trap) on the gas line at the appliance, or a flexible connector passing through the furnace cabinet wall.
- A condensate drain with no trap, or one run uphill to the floor drain.
- No commissioning record: no combustion analysis, gas pressure or temperature rise written down. The manufacturer's instructions call for these checks at start-up.
- A furnace that short-cycles, or a house that is louder and draftier than before, which points to oversizing or a duct connection that chokes the airflow.
- An outdoor unit that is out of level, a line set with missing insulation, or a refrigerant charge never checked against the manufacturer's method.
- A model number on the rating plate that does not match the one on your contract.
Step one: a written deficiency list with a deadline
Send the installer a dated letter or email listing each deficiency, one per line, with a photo of each. Cite the contract line it breaks, name the labour warranty, and set a deadline: ten business days to inspect and propose a fix is reasonable for a defect that is not urgent. Keep it factual and keep a copy.
This step matters even when you have lost confidence in the company. A court or a regulator will ask whether the contractor was told and given the chance to correct the work. It also protects the warranty, because letting a second company alter the installation before the first has seen your list can hand the original installer an excuse. Labour warranty versus parts warranty explains who owes what.
Step two: an independent inspection report that will stand up
If the installer disputes the list or does not answer, get a report from a licensed contractor with no stake in the job. Useful evidence is measured, not opinion:
- Photographs of each defect, with the rating plate, model and serial number.
- Combustion readings from an analyzer: carbon monoxide in the flue gas, oxygen and flue temperature.
- Manifold gas pressure and temperature rise, compared against the range printed on the nameplate.
- External static pressure, which shows whether the ducts can carry the new blower's airflow.
- The clause each defect breaks: CSA B149.1 for gas piping and venting, and the manufacturer's installation instructions, which the gas code requires installers to follow.
Ask for the report before any correction is made, and for a separate written quote to fix each item. That quote becomes your damages figure if the matter ends in court. An HVAC inspection of this kind is priced by written quote; a plain diagnostic visit runs $90–$150.
Where to escalate in Ontario, and what each body can do
- TSSA: gas safety. Report an installation you believe is unsafe or was done by someone without a gas licence. TSSA can inspect and issue orders to a registered contractor; it does not settle price or contract arguments.
- Consumer Protection Ontario: the contract. Misrepresentation, a final bill more than 10% over a written estimate, missing disclosure or a refused cancellation go here, at 416-326-8800 or 1-800-889-9768.
- HRAI: if the contractor is a member of the Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Institute of Canada, members agree to a code of ethics. Ask the association how it handles a complaint about a member.
- Electrical Safety Authority: wiring done without the required notification, or by someone who is not a licensed electrical contractor.
- Small Claims Court: money. You can sue for the cost of correcting the work, using the inspection report and repair quote as evidence. Ontario's basic limitation period is two years from when you discovered the problem, so do not let a dispute drift, and get legal advice on your own dates.
ZK Mechanical carries out independent inspections of other companies' installations and writes down what was measured, with photos and the code or manual reference for each item. We will also say so when the work is acceptable and the issue is a setting or a filter. For a second opinion on a furnace or a full install review in Burlington, Hamilton, Oakville, Mississauga or Brampton, call (647) 801-1252 or book through the contact page.