Spring pollen, fall storms: a maintenance plan built for each
An agreement means your system is on our schedule before the oaks drop pollen in February and again before the first frost night, with the island's salt and the bayfront's tides written into the checklist.
The two visits and when they land
St. Augustine’s cooling season opens in March and runs into November. Ahead of it, from February through April, the live-oak canopy over Lincolnville, Fullerwood Park and the North City streets drops a coat of pollen and leaf litter that packs outdoor coils and clogs filters. That’s the first visit: coil cleaned, filter replaced, refrigerant charge verified, condensate drain flushed ahead of the May-to-October rains, capacitors and contactors checked before the summer wears them out.
The second visit lands in the fall. Winter lows average in the high 40s and most years bring four or five frost nights; a heat pump that has only ever been checked for cooling is the one that fails on the first of them. We test the heat side, the defrost control and the backup strips, and on bayfront and island homes we look over the outdoor unit for what the king tides and any storm surge left behind.
Why the island and the bayfront need the rinse
Salt air shortens the life of a condenser coil, and St. Augustine has more salt-exposed equipment than almost any town its size: Vilano, Anastasia Island from the lighthouse to Crescent Beach, Davis Shores and the Matanzas bayfront. A seasonal fresh-water rinse and a check of the coil fins and the cabinet fasteners slow the corrosion that otherwise turns a fifteen-year unit into a nine-year unit. For homes in the flood zone we also confirm the unit is still level on its platform and the disconnect is dry.
Front of the line when the island is 94 degrees
The hard weeks here are predictable: the first real heat in late May, the stretch after the July Fourth crowds, and the week after a storm when everyone restarts their system at once. Agreement customers are scheduled ahead of new callers in those weeks. Priority is the part of an agreement people value most, and it only costs us the discipline of keeping the promise.
Repairs at member pricing
When something does fail between visits, agreement customers pay a member rate on the repair. The percentage, and whether the diagnostic charge is waived, are set by the office. [[CONFIRM WITH JERRY]]
What’s still being set by the office
Agreement tiers, annual pricing, whether a per-system or per-home rate applies to a Palencia two-story with two air handlers, and the exact list of inclusions: call 866-266-5709 and ask for all of it, because the office quotes the current terms for your address. [[CONFIRM WITH JERRY]]
Agreement questions, St. Augustine edition
We rent the Vilano house by the week. Can an agreement work around turnover days?
Yes. Short-term rentals are a large part of what we maintain on the island and the beaches, and we schedule the visits between guests, coordinate with your cleaner or manager for access, and text you a photo summary when it’s done.
What does 'priority' actually get me in July?
When the board is full of no-cooling calls, agreement customers are scheduled ahead of first-time callers. On a 94-degree island afternoon that can be the difference between today and tomorrow.
Can the fall visit come right after hurricane season instead of before?
It can be timed either way. Some bayfront and Davis Shores owners prefer a post-storm inspection in late November to catch surge damage; others want the pre-season check in September. Tell us which and we’ll set the calendar.
Does the agreement include rinsing the coil for salt?
Coil cleaning is part of every visit, and on island, Vilano and bayfront units we treat the salt rinse as the main event rather than an extra. Whether a mid-season rinse is included as a third visit is being set by the office. [[CONFIRM WITH JERRY]]
Get on the calendar before the heat
Call to join. The first visit is scheduled before the next season turns.