No heat during a cold snap, or an AC that quit in the middle of a July heat dome, moves to the top of the list quickly. Describe the symptom and the equipment and licensed Gresham heating and cooling contractors respond with diagnostic pricing and how soon they can be out.
On a gas furnace it is usually ignition, flame sensor, pressure switch, or a plugged condensate line before anything expensive. A dirty flame sensor is a fifteen-minute fix that gets sold as a control board more often than it should. Ask the tech to show you the failed part and explain the reading that condemned it.
Systems do not consume refrigerant. If yours is low, there is a leak, and topping it off without finding that leak means paying again next summer. R-22 systems are the awkward case: refrigerant for them is expensive and scarce now, so a major repair on an older unit often argues for replacement instead.
A heat pump that runs constantly on a 35-degree morning may be perfectly normal — that is how they work — while a system stuck in defrost or one whose backup strips run all day is not. Gresham has a lot of older air-source units near end of life alongside newer cold-climate models. A tech who works on both will tell you which pattern you are actually seeing.
Describe the project once and we match it with vetted local pros who actually do this work — you choose who to hire, or nobody at all.
Plenty of Gresham homes were built with heat only, on the old assumption that a fan and open windows would carry you through August. The heat events since 2021 ended that assumption, and demand for retrofit cooling now spikes hard in June. Booking a repair or install before the first hot week is the difference between a next-day visit and a two-week wait.
Much of the local housing stock runs ducts through unconditioned crawlspaces where joints have loosened and insulation has sagged over four decades. Leaky ducts show up as one cold bedroom and a furnace that never cycles off. Sealing and re-insulating those runs often does more for comfort than a bigger unit would.
Equipment changeouts and new gas or refrigerant lines require a mechanical permit from City of Gresham Development Services, or Multnomah County for addresses outside the city. Straight repairs generally do not. Any contractor you hire should carry an active Oregon CCB registration.
Diagnostic visits commonly run $90–$175, usually applied toward the repair if you proceed. Small parts work — flame sensor, capacitor, contactor, thermostat — typically finishes under $400 all in. Blower motors, control boards, and inducer assemblies more often land in the $500–$1,200 range. A compressor or heat exchanger failure on an older system is where replacement usually pencils out better than repair. Get a written diagnosis naming the part before authorizing anything past the diagnostic.
Furnace quit during the cold snap. The tech found a cracked pressure switch hose, replaced it, and charged the diagnostic plus a small part. Very fair.
Instead of selling me a new AC he found a leaking line set, repaired it, and recharged. Still running fine through this summer.
The heat pump was going into defrost constantly and we assumed it was finished. He cleaned the outdoor coil, corrected the charge, and explained why the air off a heat pump feels cooler than a furnace.
Frequently it is airflow rather than heat: a clogged filter, a failing blower, or ducts leaking into the crawlspace. Sometimes it is short cycling from an overheating limit switch. A tech can measure temperature rise across the furnace and tell you within minutes.
Depends on the part. A capacitor or igniter, sure. A compressor, heat exchanger, or major refrigerant leak on equipment that age generally means putting real money into a unit near the end anyway. Ask for repair and replacement numbers side by side.
Honestly, slower than you want. When Gresham hits triple digits every contractor in the metro is booked, and no-cooling calls involving elderly or medically vulnerable residents get priority. Say so in your request if that applies to your household.
Many Gresham homeowners do, since a heat pump handles both heating and the summer cooling the old system never provided. It depends on your ductwork, panel capacity, and whether you keep gas backup. Ask for a load calculation, not a rule of thumb.
Tell us the equipment, the symptom, and how urgent it is. Local licensed heating and cooling contractors will follow up with diagnostic pricing and availability.
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