My heat went out overnight and the temperature in my apartment was approaching freezing. (So much for sleeping in.) After Yelp failed to point me in a promising direction, I did a quick search on the BBB website and called the only nearby business with BBB membership and an almost flawless service record-- AA Mechanical . I received an incredibly quick response from AA Mechanical. They quoted the price upfront ($160 for 1/2 hour to figure out what the problem was and to fix it if it was minor) and gave me an accurate estimate of when the technician would arrive. An hour and a half after my original phone call a friendly, efficient, professional, and knowledgeable technician rang my doorbell. He solved the problem right away and was even very patient when my landlord showed up with a ton redundant questions just as he was finishing up. The technician patiently explained the problem and demonstrated what he was talking about to ease my landlord's mind. He avoided the temptation to push what would have been an easy sale of a new, and possibly unnecessary, heating system and didn't charge extra for the additional time he spent explaining things to my landlord. Although this was my first experience with calling a heating technician, I was extremely pleased. I would definitely call AA again in the future if I have any problems. read more

Let me start by saying that Walter was very fast and arrived on time (a little early in fact) in the northern part of Chicago, which was appreciated. He finished the job and got it done, which is what needed to be done. That being said, I must say that I was extremely displeased in the attitude and the overall rip off job that was ultimately performed. Walter's attitude from the moment he stepped into my house was that of someone that is doing you a favor and not of a business transaction. It was a Saturday and he made it very clear that he was taking time out of his weekend to be here. If you're in the business of repairing a furnace, either work the weekend during your busy season or don't. I don't care, it's up to you, but you don't need to be a prick about it especially since it's your own business. I have to work weekends too and know its part of my job. He had the choice to be there, no one forced him. $125 diagnostic fee. Ok, I get it, you need to be paid for your visit. No worries. $600 for replacement part and labor, plus the original diagnostic fee, so total of $725. Total labor time of 1.3 hours (which included the diagnostic time). Total cost of replacement part $60 (brand new on Amazon). Let's do the math here. Even if he marks up the part to $100, he's charging me $417/hour for labor. Unless you have no other choice, I'd go elsewhere. I would have given 1 star but for the fact that he got the job done. read more

I initially wanted to go with City & Suburban based on great review. Unfortunately, based on my address (South Loop), he apologized and said he does not service my neighborhood due to distance from his work place. He then recommend his buddy A-A Mechanical. So I called Walter and gave my address. He said he was booked for the next two days so I made appointment for the first available date and time which was Friday at 10AM. I asked if he could come any sooner than 10AM and he said he couldn't. So I said that is fine. He then told me he would call on Friday before he heads to my place. Keep in mind that I was taking my time off from work to be at home to fix this problem. Friday 9:57AM, still no call, so I called him and asked him if he is on his way. I thought if he was on his way but late for 10-15 minutes, that is understandable and I could deal with it. When I reached him on the phone, He said "Ugh, what is your address?" Needless to say, I told him that he doesn't need to come anymore. I have a job and was taking time off to be at home so that my furnace could be serviced. I was planning to be back to work by noon. Because of Walter not keeping his word, I just wasted 3 hours of my time not being able to be at work and my problem is still not fixed and I will have to find another day off work to fix it. read more

Honest, fast, affordable, friendly. Walter of A-A Mechanical is a godsend (a yelpsend?) and reminds me of how much money and aggravation Yelp saves me every year. Disaster - My wife piled a big bag of party candles on top of the furnace. The candles melted and liquid wax poured into the furnace. Furnace broke. Solution - Walter showed up quickly and went way above and beyond to fix the problem including taking pieces of my furnace outside to melt off the wax. Replaced two broken parts. The whole thing cost $250, which in HVAC land is an absolute steal. read more

With wind chills getting near zero on a Saturday morning, we came home from brunch to find our condo was at 57 degrees and falling fast. Found A-A Mechanical on Yelp, called and explained my situation expecting to be told I was SOL until Monday or at the very least that I'd have to incur crazy emergency rates etc. Walter was in Lakeview in 15 minutes, was out my door with everything working another 15 minutes later and he charged me a completely reasonable rate. Like someone else said here, he also cleaned a couple components for me that looked like they'd needed it. Couldn't have been more pleased. Let's face it, HVAC guys are like Locksmiths or Tow truck drivers...if you need them you're likely in for a bad day. A-A Mechanical took what was looking like a cold, expensive day and got me back to it in no time. I'll be calling for everything else in the future. read more

Walter was referred to me by another HVAC company that could not help me with my older model central air unit. He called me to let me know he could come at an earlier time which was great. He was professional, courteous and most importantly thourough. He quickly figured out the unit was low on refrigerant and quoted me a fair price. He let me know that the unit is old and will need to be replaced but he didn't attempt any hard sell pitch which I appreciated. I will definitely be calling him to install a new central air unit soon. Walter is a keeper! read more

I called AA Mechanical around 6pm last night (Wednesday), my heater wasn't able to get my condo above 62°. I was able to schedule an appointment that fit within my busy schedule for Thursday evening. Walter called back within a couple hours and was able to fit me in this morning before my work day began. He quickly diagnosed and explained the problem with the unit. He had my unit fixed and running within 30 mins of arrival. Top-notch service all around. Prompt, professional, and reasonable pricing. This was my second time using him and will definitely call on him in the future. read more

Don't call A-A Mechanical if you don't own your property or if you don't have a really accessible landlord. A-A won't make a visit without a landlord guarantee - credit card information is needed. Walter (the person who returned my call for service) said that it's Illinois insurance law that the landlord has to be the person that they do business with rather than the tenant. Just an F.Y.I. for renters. read more

I call Walter for two reasons: 1. He knows what he is doing. 2. He placed a sticky business card on my heater and I always refer to it when there is a problem with my mechanicals. I find Walter knowledgeable, upfront, and quick. He always comes the same day I call and I've called on two separate occasions. He fixed our issues and we haven't had many problems since. His rates seem in line with industry standards and I would and probably will use him again. read more

After leaving messages with three companies and not hearing back from them, I called A-A mechanical at 9:25 pm. I reached Walter while he was at dinner, and he agreed that he could come out that night. My heat had been out for hours at this point and my fingers were turning blue, so I was grateful to learn that it was only $25 more for him to come out that same night instead of waiting until the next day. He texted me when he was 10 minutes away, and was at my door within 70 minutes from the time of my call. He was able to replace the control board and get my heat back on fairly quickly. It is worth it to note that I was completely comfortable with Walter working on the furnace while I was home alone--it is never my first choice to have a maintenance person in the house late at night, especially when I'm alone, but he was very professional. I would recommend Walter's service. read more

I called AA Mechanical at 8:00 PM on a Tuesday evening when my furnace began clicking off. I was able to schedule an appointment for 4:30 pm the next day (the earliest I was available) and the technician arrived promptly to diagnose the problem. He seemed very knowledgeable about heating systems and proved to be an expert in his field. The furnace was quickly restored and I felt that I was charged a reasonable fee for the service provided. I will absolutely use this service again. read more

I called A-A this morning and left a message. Walter called me back within an hour and said he would be around Noon or call. He called back 20 minutes later and said he could come now...YAY!...the opposite of Comcast. I pretend to be mechanically inclined, so I decided it was a blown blower motor. He could have gone with my terrible diagnosis and gouged me. He determined it was low on coolant, which caused the compressor to freeze up. I'd turned it off over night so he put more coolant in and we're back in business. I've been reading the posts while Walter is working on our upstairs system. He strikes me as a guy who is good at his job and who defends any low ratings with the truth of what happened. Use him if your a decent person who wants competent work done. Use someone else if you're a curmudgeon. I'll use him again...unless I decide to become a malcontent. :-) read more

Walter is great, give him a call. Of course the furnace goes out the first week Chicago was hot and like anyone else who had this issue I was scrambling to not only find someone to fix the issue but to do it fast. Walter was the only company of three that was able to get to me that same day. He came out and diagnosed the issue immediately and fixed it within an hour. The next day my tenant's AC went out as well. While I wasn't thrilled to pay for two service calls in one week, Walter made it easy to get them both done and in the end we all slept comfortably. I plan to use Walter in the future and recommend him to all of my friends. read more

Walter and his assistant, Jame, made it over in 30 minutes after calling A-A. They diagnosed the issue immediately, troubleshooted everything, and all was fixed within 30 minutes. If your furnace is ever out and can't figure it out yourself, call these guys ASAP. The price is slightly expensive compared to others ($95-165) but the service is quick and thorough which is most important. Thanks A-A. read more

Another year and A-A comes to the rescue! As a 7-year customer, I can once again give Walter 5 stars for a job well done. We needed help replacing an inadequate exhaust fan in the kitchen, and Walter did not disappoint! He's reasonable, responsible, and just an all-around nice guy. Case in point: we would have liked our kitchen fan to have been installed before the holidays, but as a responsible businessman, Walter made sure he took care of his clients who lacked heat first. If I had been on the end of no heat, I'd be happy that he made sure I was safe and warm before going on to less urgent needs. A-A mechanical, always to the rescue! Thanks, Walter! read more

Walter is the best. I own a building in Chicago but live out of state and he was able to diagnos and fix an issue one of my tenants had in one trip changing no parts. The same issue had gone unresolved through five service calls and two parts replacements with another very large Chicagoland HVAC company. While Walter was there he also noticed some dangerously overheating ductwork that the first company had not seen and he was able to fix it the same day by working into the evening so my tenants would have heat. A-A Mechanical is going to make sure that your issue is solved in a timely, responsive and honest fasion. read more

Really weird experience. I had to work, so my wife hosted the contractor. The contractor wanted to install a repair part for $500, and since I didn't think it was worth it (and preferred to just replace the furnace) I asked by phone that the part it not be installed and I just get a replacement estimate. My wife calls later to tell me that they left to buy the repair part (that I asked them not to install), so I call the guy and clarify to him that I don't want the repair part. Shortly after, he returns to my house with the repair part that I specifically said TWICE ALREADY that I did not want, and tells my wife he is going to install it. My wife was smart enough to call me and confirm that we did not want the part. They put the furnace back together and now its working without me needing to pay for the replacement part that I didn't want in the first place. This guy was either trying to take advantage of us, or doesn't know how to follow directions. Either way, I don't want this contractor in my house. read more

I called A-A on this Saturday morning to come repair my furnace. The air was blowing, but only cold air. Not good on an 18 degree day. Walter answered the phone after two rings, took my information, and was at my house in 10 minutes (seriously, only 10 minutes, which is exactly how long he told me on the phone). He came up, diagnosed the problem quickly, and showed me how he could spot it as he was familiar with units like mine. He then walked down to his truck and grabbed the correct part (no need to go pick it up somewhere) and replaced it. He worked the whole time he was here, even when his phone rang - he answered it on a hands free device and kept working while talking. On top of the great, fast service, the bill was reasonable. Also, he was just a really nice guy who answered all my questions and even shared a few stories on his way out the door. If I ever have a heating problem again no matter where I live in the city, you can bet A-A will be getting my business. I give Walter and his business my highest recommendation. read more

Walter was awesome. Super friendly. Gave me a quote over the phone and could schedule me that week. It was quick furnace check. Price was exactly what he quoted. And again, just a really nice guy. Thanks Walter! read more

Four years ago I bought a 100 year old building with a dangerously broken and neglected boiler/radiator heat system. Walter was able to make it safe, stop the leaks and banging, and it has been running flawlessly ever since. In the meantime I was curious so I read the excellent "The Lost Art of Steam Heating" by Dan Holohan and everything that Walter has said and done has checked out. He's a nice guy, very professional, and really knows his stuff. He's also reasonably priced. Thanks Walter! read more

Very arrogant on the phone. I was fully prepared to pay $80-$90 service call, when I called to request a service call to estimate what the problems might be with HVAC and how much it would be the fix it. He was impatient when I explained what the issues we were experiencing and whether he has seen and dealt with any issue like this from his past experience. He refused to answer any questions and said in plain words that $95 we will go look at and tell you". This guy failed phone interview. It seems all they care is $95 read more

I called them in the morning and they arrived promptly (even tried to come early!) in the afternoon. This is after I tried 3 other companies who were booked out till next week. Walter was fast, efficient and professional. Even though the cause of my furnace issues was a dead thermostat battery (*smacks head*) I'm still glad that they were able to resolve the issue that day. Although they are a bit more expensive than most companies, I'm very pleased with the service I received. And I agree, the magnet on the furnace is ingenious. read more

Called when our AC quit on a 90 degree day. Walter was at our house within the hour and fixed the flux capacitor in just over an hour, which included getting up on our roof and going to get the new part. Nice guy, really appreciated his quick and professional help. read more

On February 9th, 2011 at 9:00pm, we contacted A-A Mechanical to come service our non-working furnace. Walter returned my call promptly at 8:00am to schedule a tentative appointment with us. Considering that we do not have jobs where we can take off for a few hours, he was able to work around our schedules in order to make the necessary repairs. When he entered the house, he covered his shoes to insure that no dirt was going to enter the house along with him. He was very friendly, knowledgeable, reasonable, and quick with the repairs made to our furnace. I would highly recommend him and am very satisfied with the service that he conducted. read more

I received three different estimates for a new heating unit and AA Mechanical was by far the best. They installed a Rheem furnace and its so quiet and it runs much better than the Carrier/Bryant that I had replaced. Fast and great service and Tom is wonderful! read more

My electric heater kept switching off and blowing out cold air. I originally called one guy whose name I got from my condo manager. He came out, told me he couldn't see anything wrong, said to use a cheap air filter to increase the air circulation around the unit, then charged me $115. No mention of follow-up or suggestion that I pay him later when we'd determined that an air filter change actually worked (I said I'd do it myself). It didn't. So I called Walter at the suggestion of my downstairs neighbor who used him for her heater. He came by the same evening, but couldn't figure out what was wrong either because the unit was putting out warm air when he came by. I asked if he could just do the switcher change that my neighbor had required, but he wouldn't because the part is hard to get and he didn't want to install one if he hadn't determined that it would solve the problem. He recommended another filter change as well, but didn't charge me and said that I could call him the next week for another visit if it didn't work. And again, it didn't. The second time I made sure to leave the unit running so that it would eventually blow out cold air, and called Walter as soon as it did. He came by within a short while with his assistant to do another look. Since he was explaining everything to his assistant, I could hear that he had found an actual problem - and it was the switcher. So he installed the new part, charged me then for the part and service (his service rate was $20 less than the other guy), and now my heater seems to be working great. Kudos to Walter for great service. Bah to that other guy. Guess who's getting my business the next time? read more

Took him a minute to get here due to spike in service requests (I take that as a good sign) but once he got here he was curteous and quick and reasonable. If something goes wrong with my heater or central a/c would highly recommend Walter and his company. read more

My ac unit stopped cooling so I thought it just needed coolant. Called Walter with my diagnosis. He said-maybe. He comes out looks it over and says coolant fan. He had to call around a bunch of places to find a fan-everyone wanted him to sell me a new ac unit. He is great-found one and it cost me much less than a new one. I believe him to be great at what he does and honest. I could have easily had to purchase a new ac unit. read more

Walter was prompt, courteous and efficient. I highly recommend A-A Mechanical.

Roof top mounted Central air conditioner stopped cooling over Memorial Day weekend and none of the other top rated AC companies were available until more than a week later. Walter was flexible and showed up Sunday morning. We agreed on a price up front. He diagnosed and fixed the problem at a very reasonable costs. I appreciate his honesty, flexibility to meet a customer's dire need, and professionalism. Definitely will use him again and will be recommending him to others. I compare Walter to the great mechanical I found in Naperville. Highly recommended! read more

I have used Walter for my HVAC needs for over 10 years. He is responsive and prompt in setting and arriving at service appointments. I trust his recommendations on manner of repair and recommend him highly. read more

Happy with the customer service. I called Thursday morning because of a malfunctioning furnace and they agreed to come at 8 that night. Around 8 they called to tell me they were going to be 15 minutes late which I appreciated. Within 10 minutes they diagnosed the problem. It was a simple fix. A switch needed to be reset and they only charged me for the initial diagnostic charge. They were in and out in 30 minutes. Nice to have the heat back on so quickly. read more

Walter has serviced my heating & air conditioning unit for the last 6 or 7 years. It pretty much breaks down every winter. He always does his best to squeeze me into his schedule--so appreciated. He also explains what the problem is and what needs to be done. His prices are very reasonable, and I've never felt that he's trying to sell me something that isn't necessary. I highly recommend A-A Mechanical. read more

I called A-A Mechanical (Walter) at 8am this Saturday morning, because my forced air furnace went off during the night and wouldn't go back on. Walter got there by 9:30 am, and even though I was sure that the programmable thermostat was malfunctioning , he went into the furnace logic board, and found a loose wire, and within 5 minutes the furnace was up and running again. He also checked a few other things (heating element, etc) to make sure that everything else was ok. He also said that since I he had serviced my furnace in the past, and it was such an easy job, he didn't charge me for the call. I've never had a serviceman for any appliance that ever did that before. I've used A-A Mechanical a few other times in the past (we have 2 similar furnaces in our building), and he has always been prompt, fixed the problem quickly, and his charges have always been reasonable - no matter what day or time. I've owned many buildings over the years, and Walter is one of the best in the business, and I recommend him highly. read more

Short Version: Friendly, honest, up front, great work. Long Version: My AC unit has been slowly leaking coolant over the last 5 years. Read some reviews and found AA Mechanical. Walter came, refilled the coolant, but also let me know that there was obviously a leak and that I should consider a repair if I needed to replace the coolant again in the next year or two, as the cost of replacing coolant can be quite expensive over time. The next year I had to replace more coolant. But, Walter was busy (a good thing) and I had to go with someone else so I called someone that our "building" recommended. He came to refill the coolant and said that it was a "sealing" coolant and no future repairs would be necessary. Liar. Next year I called Walter again, he came to refill it and said I really should consider a repair. This summer I needed coolant twice. Walter actually called me the second time to ask how it was doing. Huh? Have you ever heard of that? Nope. He actually cares about his customers. Fine. Let's repair it. The leak check process takes several days as he pressurises the system, etc, a lot of time input. He found one leak but was not convinced that it was sizeable enough to account for how much coolant was leaking. He found a larger one the next day within the cooling coil. Found a replacement coil (upgrade) and it was installed the next day. Look. Walter is a nice personable guy, a pleasure to be around, completely comfortable leaving in my home by himself, honest, and GOOD at what he does. Highly recommended. If anything breaks again, I will wait until he's available. Nobody gets to touch my AC besides him. Thanks Walter! read more

Walter was great. I gave him a call at 11 on a Sunday and he said everyone was done for the day and at home. Ten minutes later he called back to say he could make a special trip out because our furnace wasn't working. He changed out a part which fixed the issue, cleaned it for free, and gave us some feedback on the furnace and humidifier. I saved his number in my phone because I will be only calling him in the future. Great guy. Highly recommend! read more

This is the second year in a row that our neighbor's humidifier (attached to the furnace) leaked, causing thousands of dollars of damage to our apartment. The leak was NOT Walter's fault, but he could have at least been more informative and less abrubt when he came to assess the situation. Last year, he diagnosed the leak as their humidifier cord installed backward (my neighbor's fault). This year, when the leak occurred again, he returned to my neighbors (I was there too) and was super abrupt "Yes, the humidifier is leaking again, but it's a crappy unit, and that's why it's leaking. You need to replace it." When we pressed him to understand WHY it was leaking he just said, "doesn't matter, you need to replace it....and it will be $750 to install a new unit" Turns out, after a second opinion it did NOT need to be replaced: the filter was backward (which Walter did not tell us even though we asked a bunch of times WHY it was leaking) and there was a HUGE crack in the pipe (which Walter also failed to tell us) that took another guy one second to fix by removed the damaged section! The second guy (from Oasis) saved us nearly $700 dollars. Walter just wanted to replace the unit which wasn't broken at all - and after doing some research is not a crap unit like he said. read more

Walter's done various HVAC jobs for me for years although I admit that I don't get maintenance done annually as recommended. During our first freezing cold snap, the furnace stopped working. Some HVAC guys are too busy to answer their phones much less come out on those first busy winter days but Walter got the furnace going that evening. Two days later the boiler (zoned heating) went out and again he came out late looking very tired after his long day. Walter is hard working, dependable, trustworthy, highly skilled and fairly priced. read more

I had been having problems with my furnace and had several different repair opinions. Walter did a thorough diagnosis, assessed the problem and provided enough information to me so that I could make the decision it was time for a new furnace. He answered my many questions and did a return visit to make sure the furnace was safe until I could replace the unit. Very, very helpful! read more

I was very pleased with the service. I called on Sunday chilly morning finding out the furnace blowing cold air and no hot air. Walter picked up and answered some reasonable questions I had over the phone. I find that he was also answering calls while he works which is reasonable since it is the busiest time of the year. The whole time he was here he was professional, courteous and knowledgeable. read more