Previous Findings
Buying a house and worried about the furnace? The heating and cooling system is assessed as part of every home inspection we perform across Ottawa, Gatineau and the surrounding area — documented with photos in your same-day report.
This is the heating and cooling portion of a residential home inspection. It is a visual, non-invasive assessment carried out as one of nine components in a full inspection, and it is included in the inspection fee. You don't book it on its own.
We are home inspectors, not an HVAC contractor. We do not service, repair, clean, tune up or certify furnaces, and we don't issue HVAC compliance certificates. If your furnace is broken or needs a seasonal service, you need a licensed HVAC technician. If you're buying a home and want to know the condition of the heating system before you close, that's us — see our pre-purchase home inspection.
In Ottawa's climate a reliable heating system isn't optional, and heating failures are among the most expensive repairs a homeowner faces. A furnace replacement is a five-figure conversation; a cracked heat exchanger is a carbon monoxide risk. Most forced-air furnaces last 15–25 years, and our long winters push equipment toward the lower end of that range.
That matters most while your conditions are still open. If the inspection turns up an aging or defective furnace, you have documented evidence to request a repair, negotiate the price, ask for a credit at closing, or bring in an HVAC contractor for a quote before you're committed. After closing, it's simply your bill. This is why the heating assessment is built into the pre-purchase inspection rather than sold as an add-on.
Yes. The heating system is a standard component of every home inspection we perform in Ottawa. We assess the furnace or boiler's age, visible condition, exhaust venting, clearances, filter, thermostat operation and accessible ductwork, then report the findings alongside the rest of the house. You don't book this separately — it's included in the inspection fee.
No. We're licensed home inspectors, not an HVAC contractor. We don't service, repair, clean, tune up or certify furnaces, and we don't issue HVAC compliance certificates. Our role is an independent visual assessment of the heating and cooling system as one part of a full home inspection. If you need a furnace repaired, serviced or certified, you need a licensed HVAC technician instead.
We document the defect with photographs, explain the likely significance, and flag whether it's a safety concern, an end-of-life issue, or routine maintenance. Cracked heat exchangers, backdrafting flues and carbon monoxide risks are called out as urgent. You can then use the report to request a repair, negotiate the purchase price, request a credit at closing, or bring in an HVAC contractor for a detailed quote before your conditions expire.
Most forced-air furnaces last roughly 15 to 25 years. In Ottawa's climate heating equipment works harder, and long winters shorten that range in practice. A furnace past 15 years isn't automatically a problem, but it does mean replacement is a foreseeable cost you should budget for. We report the manufacturing date wherever the data plate is legible, so you know where the unit sits in its service life.
We assess the A/C when outdoor conditions safely allow it. Air conditioning units shouldn't be operated below roughly 15°C, because doing so can damage the compressor. During Ottawa winters we inspect the unit visually — condition, refrigerant line insulation, drainage, age and clearances — and note in the report that operational testing wasn't possible due to temperature.
No. A WETT inspection is a separate certification specific to wood-burning appliances such as wood stoves, fireplaces and chimneys, and is often required by insurers. A standard home inspection includes a general visual review of the heating system but doesn't constitute WETT certification. If the home has a wood-burning appliance, tell us in advance and we'll advise whether a separate WETT inspection is warranted.
The heating and cooling assessment is included in every Ottawa AAA home inspection — furnace age and condition, exhaust venting, carbon monoxide risks and A/C condition, documented in a same-day report you can act on before your conditions expire.
Book a Home InspectionNeed a furnace repaired, serviced or certified? That's an HVAC contractor, not a home inspector — we'd rather tell you that up front.