The seven-question checklist
1. Is every option in writing, itemized, with exact pricing?
A number on the back of a business card isn’t a quote. Every option should be written down line by line, with an exact price attached, so you can set the bids side by side without guessing what’s included. All-Air proposals are written, itemized, and exact — that’s our standing rule, not a favor.
2. Does the price expire when the estimator leaves?
A price that’s only good “if you sign today” isn’t really a price — it’s pressure. A fair number on Monday is still fair on Friday. Nothing in an All-Air proposal expires when your advisor walks out your door — our written quotes are valid for 30 days — because comparing bids takes time, and you should have it.
3. Was the quote built from a visit to your home — or over the phone?
A number quoted sight-unseen is a guess wearing a suit. Equipment choices, the ductwork it connects to, where the unit lives, what the install actually involves — none of it can be known from a phone call. Every All-Air estimate starts with an advisor standing in your home, and on a home that’s never had a system before, real measurements are the only way to size one — that’s how we do those. Ask every bidder whether they’ve actually seen the job they priced.
4. Which refrigerant?
California requires a refrigerant called R454B in newly installed cooling systems. The rules changed recently, so it’s worth confirming in writing on every bid. Ours says R454B, because that’s what the state requires.
5. Who pulls the permit?
A new system installation needs a permit, and the finished work gets inspected — so ask each bidder whether the permit is included and who’s responsible for it. All-Air pulls the permits on our installations. It’s part of the job, not an errand we leave on your plate.
6. Is the company licensed and insured — and did you check?
Don’t take anyone’s word for this, including ours. Every California contractor’s license can be verified on the CSLB’s website in about a minute, free. Ours is #959972 — look us up. Then look up everyone else too, and ask for proof of insurance while you’re at it. Penn and Gwynn insist on this one.
7. Does the proposal answer what YOU said mattered — line by line?
You told each company things: the back bedroom that never cools, the noise, the dust. A real proposal responds to each of them — with a fix, or with an honest “not needed for your home.” Here’s the test: could this document have been written before anyone saw your house? If the answer is yes, it isn’t a proposal for your home. It’s a menu.
One more question, on the house
Ask each bidder whether a new system is even the right call. Sometimes the honest answer is keep fixing the one you have — and if that’s true for your home, you’ll hear it from us before you ever see an equipment proposal. Our repair-or-replace guide walks through how to think about that decision.
Bring the hard questions — your advisor likes them
Run every bid through all seven, ours included. When your All-Air advisor visits, ask the sharp versions out loud: how did you size this, who pulls the permit, why is this line here. That’s not confrontational — around here, it’s just Tuesday. And when our written proposal is sitting on your table next to the others, nothing in it will have expired, and everything you told us mattered will be answered in it, line by line.
Questions before your visit? Call (209) 368-4264 anytime.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it rude to tell my All-Air advisor I'm getting other quotes?
Not even a little — tell them. Comparing bids on a decision this size is exactly what a careful homeowner should do, and our proposals are built for it: written, itemized, exact, and nothing in them expires when the advisor leaves. Take the time you need to compare properly, and bring us any question another bid raises.
Why are the quotes I got so different from each other?
Usually because they aren’t quoting the same job. Bids differ in the size of the system, the scope — is the ductwork addressed? the permit? — and in what’s itemized versus left vague. That’s why the checklist compares completeness before it compares anything else: two numbers only mean something once you know they cover the same work, in writing.
Does a new system really need a permit?
Yes. A new system installation needs a permit, and the finished work gets inspected — and the proposal should say plainly who handles that. All-Air pulls the permits on our installations as part of the job. If a bid is silent on permits, it isn’t automatically a problem — but it is a question to ask, out loud, before you sign anything.
What if one bid includes something the others don't?
Ask why — it’s the single most useful question in the whole comparison, and a good bidder welcomes it. A good answer connects the line item to your home: what they saw, and why it matters. Our advisor will happily explain any line in our proposal, and if another bid includes something ours doesn’t, ask us that too. You’ll get a straight reason — or an honest “that isn’t needed for your home.”
All-Air Heating & Air Conditioning — Lodi, CA. Your Partner For Life. License #959972.