Many homeowners love to save money by doing repairs and home upgrades themselves. You may be one of these people. But before you decide to install a new furnace, take the time to understand why it makes sense to have a professional do the work.

You may need a permit

This will depend upon the laws in your local area, but it is not uncommon for a furnace to require a permit to install. A professional will already have the needed permits or will be able to obtain the necessary approvals quickly. They do this type of work for a living. Although a homeowner may be able to obtain the necessary approvals, there is likely to be more time involved in doing this, so there will be delays before the work can begin.

Your homeowner's policy may require it

Of course, you should check with your insurance company, but it is common for policies to require licensed technicians to work on your home for both repairs and installation of large appliances. From an insurance company's point of view, a licensed professional will reduce the likelihood of problems in the future that will result in a claim. Any claim by the homeowner will be examined by a claims adjuster. If it turns out that the work was done by you instead of a licensed heating and plumbing company, your claim may be denied. This may happen even if your policy doesn't specify that a licensed company install your new furnace.

You may not save money

The cost of hiring a professional can be cheaper than doing the work yourself. Your time is worth money, so there is a certain amount of money that you need to factor in for the cost of labor. Then there is the learning curve issues. You will likely need to spend some time reading installation guides and other literature about doing this type of installation. There are likely videos available that you can view as well, but they are likely to need several viewings because installation will vary by brand name and model. You may also realize that you need tools to get the job done that you don't have, so you will have to buy new tools. Of course, after all of this work is done, the furnace may not work properly, so you will need to call for help.

Shop around for the furnace that you want, but when it comes to installing a new furnace, you need to call a professional heating technician from a company like Sullivan Super Service.

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