AC and furnace repair in Giddings 78942

Giddings is the seat of Lee County, where US 290 crosses US 77 about thirty miles east of Bastrop. Its ZIP code holds 3,926 occupied homes; the median was built in 1988, more than a third predate 1980, and about one home in five heats with piped natural gas.

The edge of this line

Giddings is the eastern end of the ZIP codes covered here, and the only one outside Bastrop County. Calls are still routed by ZIP code, so whether an independent contractor is taking work in 78942 at a given hour is the first thing the dispatcher checks.

Older town housing

37% of homes in 78942 were built before 1980 and only 29% since 2000, the reverse of the newer ZIP codes west of here. In the older houses around the town center, systems have been replaced several times, and ductwork sized for the first one often limits the newest. A hot room at the far end, a return that whistles, or a replacement that cooled no better than the old system all point at the air side.

Gas and electric

69% of homes heat with electricity, 19% with piped gas and 11% with propane. Gas furnaces are concentrated in town; outside it, electric strips, heat pumps and propane.

• Gas or propane furnace: ignitors and flame sensors on the first cold morning, and a heat exchanger to ask about on any furnace past twenty seasons. A gas smell means leaving the house and calling 911 or the gas provider from outside first.
• Electric furnace or heat pump: strips, sequencers, breakers and auxiliary heat that never shuts off.

Renters and owners

About a quarter of homes here are rented. A replacement is the property owner's decision; if you rent, the owner or manager is usually the right first call.

Weather

The NOAA station at Giddings 5E keeps precipitation records but not a full set of temperature normals. The nearest stations that do, at Smithville and Elgin, both record well over a hundred days a year at 90°F or above, and Giddings sits between them.

What to say when you call

• Gas, electric, heat pump or propane
• The age of the house and of the system
• What the system is doing, and the thermostat readings
• Where the indoor unit sits, and your address with ZIP code

Questions from 78942

The AC was replaced but one room is still hot. Ask a technician to measure airflow at that register; the duct, not the new system, is the usual cause in older houses.

Who checks the contractor's license? You can, on the TDLR license search. Texas requires the license number on the contractor's trucks, proposals and invoices.