Mount Forest Christmas Parade | 2014

Santa arrived in Mount Forest last night!!!

We love being a part of the Mount Forest Christmas Parade – the guys did a great job decorating the pumper truck with lots of lights!!!

Your Life As Art Essentials

Santa arrived in Mount Forest last night!!!

As always, our tradition is to put the tree up this weekend – I am looking forward to doing that this weekend with my family.

Here are some of the awesome floats in the parade last night!

Here comes the big man!!!

I just LOVE the magic of Christmas!

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Enjoy This Gorgeous Sunshine! | Plan For The Cold Weather With A Heating System Tune Up!

We are going to be spoiled with a week of gorgeous warm sunny fall weather!

Just perfect for the 1st week of Fall – my personal fav time of the year!

Don’t let this warm, sunny weather fool you – as much as it is great to be here… the cold weather will return and we do not want you caught out in the cold!

Book your Fall Clean and Service for only $95* for one appliance or $129* for two you can rest assure that you will be breathing clean air and potentially ward off costly repairs! Also with a bonus of dealing with a locally owned and operated company which has been around since 1948 – you can rest assured we will be here for many more years to ensure your Complete Home Comfort!

We Are The Home Comfort People Who Service What We Sell and More!

For All Of Your Plumbing and Heating Needs!

*HST and any required parts or filters are extra.

Fall Plumbing and Heating Newsletter | JJ McLellan and Son Mount Forest

JJ McLellan and Son – Fall

The Home Comfort People Its time for your fall heating check up! The cool fall evenings are here! If you haven’t turned on your furnace yet, it will be very soon. A couple things you can do before you turn your heat on 1. Clean or replace your filter, and 2. Vacuum all registers and cold air returns. This includes taking them off or pulling them up and vacuuming down into the duct as well – you may be surprised how much dust and dirt can get trapped down there! Why is a fall heating check up important? Having your equipment cleaned and serviced is preventative maintenance and can catch a problem before it even begins. This is especially important for the overall operation of the appliance, to ensure it is working as it is designed to. The benefits to having your system serviced is when it is clean the appliance works much more efficient – thus saving you money on your utilities! Some helpful tips for this fall ! Headings away on holidays? Save energy by adjusting your thermostat 2-3 degrees. On sunny days keep your curtains or blinds open to take advantage of the “free” heat. Replace or clean your furnace filter. Ensure your outside exhaust vents are free from debris such as bushes, trees, leaves. Find your comfort zone within your home, set your thermostat and always keep it within 1-2 degrees of this temperature (unless going away on holidays) this helps your home maintain a constant comfort level and does not cause the system to over work from each day. Have your unit serviced yearly by a professional. Check doors and windows for any air leaks and caulk if necessary. Clean your dryer vents – including the lint trap and vaccuum very well. Cover your Air Conditioner for the winter. Please remember that unless you are trained and licensed to work with fuels it is very important that under no circumstances should you tamper with your heating system or any other fuel appliance. If you need to locate a Qualified Heating Contractor in your area please check http://www.tssa.org.                                 Fall Plumbing Tips From The Pro’s Check all outdoor faucets for any leaks and have them repaired before the temperature drops.  Shut off the water supply to your outside taps from inside and then open the taps outside to ensure the water has properly drained. Check around the base of each toilet for moisture – over time the seal can breakdown and may need replacing Check your tub and shower for any caulking that may need to be replaced to prevent water leaking down behind your walls Have any toilets that are running checked – one toilet can waste gallons of water! Check water connections and drains under your kitchen and bathroom sinks – if your pipes froze last year install insulation against the outside wall to help keep the heat in. Check your washing machine water connections – many are hidden behind the machine and out of sight If you have a septic – when was the last time it was pumped? If it has been a while the ideal time to pump is in the Spring, Summer and Fall. Schedule your service before the snow flies! Ensure your eavestrough drains away from your home. Have you been experiencing any slow drains? Gurgling toilets? Saturated lawn (by your septic)? Best to have the pro’s check it out before winter arrives! Plumbing Preventative Maintenance is not as common as HVAC (Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning), however just as important. When is it important to have your home or business plumbing system checked? What is the age of the home or building? Many older homes have old piping, over the years the pipes build up and your water pressure will slowly decrease. You may notice small particles in the water which could be from the pipes. Are You Buying A New Home or Building… Did you just move in? Having a professional walk through to check the plumbing system before moving in or closing on a purchase could save you $! What is the age of the equipment? Ex. Water Heater, Pump, Pressure Tank, Water Softener, Expansion Tank               Are you in the market for a new water heater? We now offer a very affordable option to purchase a water heater and be covered with a 10 year parts and labour warranty for the same or less than it would cost you to rent! Natural Gas Water Heaters – Buying and Renting Tips from Union Gas VIEW OUR NEWSLETTER ONLINE

Contact Us Online | We Are Experiencing Phone Issues Today

Unfortunately our phone provider is experiencing wide spread issues today and our phone services are extremely intermittent!

If you are in need of our Plumbing or Heating Services please contact us online on Facebook or our website http://www.jjmclellan.ca.

We apologize for any inconvenience and hope that our provider has the issues resolved asap!

Areas We Service for Plumbing and Heating: 
Wellington County including Wellington North, Mapleton and Minto.
Grey County including Southgate and West Grey.
Mount Forest, Clifford, Harriston, Palmerston, Arthur, Drayton,
Moorefield, Durham, Ayton, Holstein

The Plumbing and Heating Services
offered at JJ McLellan and Son in
Mount Forest and the Surrounding Area

• Gas. Electric & Propane Furnaces
• Geothermal Heat Pump System (Heating and Cooling)
• In Floor Heating
• Forced Air, Hydronic Radiant Heat, Hydronic Boiler
• Water Heaters
• Plumbing
• Fireplaces (Gas, Propane & Electric)
• Back Flow Water Prevention
• Camera and Power Flusher for Drains, Sewers & Wells
• Central Air Conditioning
• Water Treatment Systems
• Pressure Systems
• Septic Systems – Licensed Installers
• Septic Tank Pumping & Vacuum Services
• Barbeques (Gas & Propane)
• Backhoe Work
• Confined Spaces Work Certification
• Water Well Services
• Design Work – Plumbing & Heating, Duct & Ventilation,
  Septic Systems
• Emergency Plumbing & Heating Service.

Hiring – Licensed and Experienced HVAC Gas Technician | Mount Forest

We are hiring a licensed and experienced Gas Technician to join our team at JJ McLellan and Son.
Air Conditioning, Plumbing and/or Sheet Metal license and experience preferred but not necessary.

We are located in Mount Forest and serve the Mount Forest, Arthur, Durham, Drayton, Palmerston and Harriston areas for Plumbing and HVAC (Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning Services).

Regular business hours of 8am – 5pm Monday to Friday with some after hours and weekend hours as required.

The Applicant Must Possess The Following:

• Possess a current Gas license (G1 or G2)
• The ability to work as a team with others as well as independently.
• Possess the ability to provide excellent customer service.
• The applicant must have a clean driving record and ability to drive company vehicles.
• The applicant must maintain and ensure their license is updated and renewed during the course of employment.
• The ability to read and write english and fill out all required paper work with relation to service calls or installs.
• Technicians must be able to work flexible hours as required (evenings and/or weekends).
• Responsibilities will include service, maintenance, installation of various HVAC equipment including Furnaces, Boilers, Infloor Heating, Fireplaces, Water Heaters, Gas Stove, Gas lines.
• Must be able to perform heavy lifting, bending and twisting as required with the related responsibilities.
• Ability to read blue prints.

If you are interested please fill out the form below with your resume and licenses. Only those applicants which posses the above requirements and licenses will be contacted. Thank you!

Name(required)

Email(required)

Phone

Resume(required)

Licenses

Submit

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http://www.jjmclellan.ca

Why JJ McLellan and Son?

1. We’ve been in business since 1948. Over 65 Years and 4 Generations!
   
   2. Licensed and Trained Technicians (Plumbers, Gas Technicians and Operators) to handle Service, repair and installations for Heating, Plumbing, Ventilation, Air Conditioning, Septic System, Septic Pumping, Confined Space.
2. We Service What We Sell and More!  Service, Repair and Installation.  Renovation, Retrofit and New Build. You never have to worry about calling us if you have a problem, we install and service all of our equipment and any existing equipment you may have!

   We will be here for the long run and that includes after hours or weekend emergency service!

3. Trust and Honesty – We are Home Owners. Between the ladies in the office, sales and our technicians we take pride in our job and care about our customers. As home owners ourselves we can all in some way relate with many, if not all problems our customers run into! We wouldn’t sell you anything or advise a repair we would not do in our own homes!
4. We Offer True Home Comfort Service – Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning ( HVAC ), Plumbing. JJ McLellan and Son goes beyond the heating and air conditioning equipment to look at the whole house as a system.
5. Our Heating Options  – Hydronic Radiant Heat – Boilers, In Floor Heating, Gas / Propane Forced Air Furnaces, Gas / Propane Fireplaces, Unit Heaters, Geothermal Heating.
6. Our Air Conditioning Options – Central Air Conditioning, Mini Split, Geothermal Cooling.
7. Our Plumbing Options – Repair, Fixtures, Water Treatment Systems, Pressure Systems, Water Pumps, Sump Pumps, Sewage Pumps, Back Flow Water Prevention, Water Well Services, Septic Systems.
8. Our Specialty Options – Camera for Drains, Sewers and Wells, Flushing Equipment for Drains, Sewers and Wells, Confined Space Work Certification, Backhoe and Dump Truck, Septic Pumping, Vacuum Truck.
9. Financing and Extended Warranty available.

We are the home comfort people for your Plumbing and Heating needs!  

Keeping your family cool this summer!

The crazy humidity of the summer is back …
A good time to pull up a previous post “Keeping Your Family Cool This Summer!” http://wp.me/p2fUBx-24

On a serious note please do not take your animals anywhere when it is this hot and humid out, they are much happier at home (unless you are taking them to somewhere with AC!), ensure you are drinking enough fluid – especially children, pets and seniors.

Also as a reminder please do not have unrealistic expectations for your AC today – meaning keep it at the temperature you always keep it at. The more you lower the temperature the harder it is for your AC to keep up and it could over work and may cause it to burn out.

JJ McLellan Plumbing & Heating

Keeping your family cool this summer goes beyond the services we can provide such as Air Conditioners…

Chatelaine has an excellent article which I thought many of our customers could benefit from.

Click here to read the article on their site – 12 cheap ways to keep your cool this summer

12 cheap ways to keep your cool this summer

Staying cool during a long, hot summer can be pricey. Here are 12 ways to keep costs down during a heatwave

• By Caroline Cakebread Wed Jun 22 2011

If you thought last summer was too hot, then I’m sorry to say you’re not likely to get much relief this year. Environment Canada is predicting yet another hotter-than-normal June, July and August for Canada. So if you can’t take the heat, you’d better come up with a plan to stay cool. But beating the heat doesn’t have to mean cranking the…

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Its Back To School Time! | For The Parents

As a mom myself, this time of year can be quite hectic with two busy kids in school! Every year I promise myself Im going to be more organized. So far we are off to a great start 😉

I found some of these links on Facebook and Pinterest that I thought were well worth a blog post to share some of these hints or tips to help parents, like me, with making the transition back to school a little bit easier!

If you haven’t already this year, or did in the early spring, take a walk around your house with two bags or boxes. One is garbage the other is donate. You will be shocked at how many things you will find! Especially as the kids grow!

There is a great store in town (Stumbled Upon) that takes pre-loved clothing and kids things! We are also lucky to have the Cancer Patient Services Thrift Store in Mount Forest. You can donate anything here (as long as its still in good condition) and they will sell it with the profits going to the local Cancer Patient Services. Win – Win!

STORAGE! With back to school literally around the corner… many parents may find this quite useful from HGTV for extra storage!

9 ways to stretch your storage–> http://hg.tv/1lzk7

Having designated storage spaces for children for their hats, mitts, coats, snow pants, back packs, shoes, lunch pails is essential to ensure the next morning will run smooth! Plus it doesn’t have to be fancy or expensive to be functional! Another biggie… having a place for school papers! I am SO very thankful our school sends electronic school letters home – thank you for that! We have enough paper enter our home 🙂

SLEEP! For our kids it is SO important! Being in a routine is crucial for most kids – their parents too! Did you know most school age kids (5-10) should be getting a minimum of 10-11 hours a night. For children younger or older you can check out this Today’s Parent article!

SCHOOL TEACHERS! Get to know your kids teachers. Not only get to know them be open with them. Be willing to do what you need to, to help your children be successful. I truly love that my children are in a small school.

SCHOOL LUNCHES! I know I am not the only parent who by the end of the school year was SO happy to not pack lunches anymore… yup I know I am not alone! By the time June came around I was having lunch block. Could not think of anything fun or interesting to send with them. Even they were sick of packed lunches. Much like a meal plan … have a rotating lunch menu! Heck Ive always commented on how awesome it is the daycares have their weeks planned out in advance… smart thinking!

A few other great kids lunch ideas…

Simple and Healthy
Pack Ahead Lunches
How To Pack Your Lunch

BREAKFAST! Super duper important for everyone, but especially for growing kids!
Some fav’s of my kids are granola, oatmeal, wraps with ham or peanut butter or eggs, fruit, cereal, toast with peanut butter or cheese and of course a glass of milk!

MEAL PLANNING! For the parents… something I need to get in order myself. Our household operates so much more efficient when we meal plan – saves money too on the groceries!

SHOES, UMBRELLA’S ETC! Its always the miscellaneous things that get me. So far we are doing well, shoes were all accounted for last week, boots are on order to be picked up, umbrellas are ready… we just purchased the Mabel’s Labels so we are just about ready!!!

In just a few days… the little ones will be off to school again!

Be Prepared Before Snow| Farmers’ Almanac Predicts Nasty Winter

We are back to enjoying the heat of the summer with warnings of a very nasty, cold and snow covered winter.

Are you going to be ready?

As a Plumbing and Heating company, this past winter was slightly crazy and kept our guys on their toes. There are a few things you can do before the snow flies to be proactive in preparation of the winter that is predicted to arrive!

• When is the last time you had your septic pumped out?
  This is especially important if your lines run under a road, driveway or parking lot. Cars will push the frost down and with last winter we had a few plugged septic lines because they froze!
• Check all your taps
  Inside and out for any leaks. Especially your outside taps.
• Have you turned on your heating system to test it?
• When is the last time you had your heating system cleaned and serviced?
• Do you have furnace filters
  Changing your filters is extremely important, especially when your system is heating or cooling. Ensure you have at least a few on hand so when you think about it, you are able to change the filter!
• Is your home properly sealed
  Check your doors and window seals, especially if the wind blows right against them.

The Canadian Winter Forecast from The Farmers’ Almanac is predicting “below-normal temperatures for about three-quarters of the country…” and “The coldest outbreak of the season will come during the final week of January into the beginning of February when frigid arctic air drops temperatures across the Prairies to perhaps 40 below zero. As the frigid air blows across the Great Lakes, snow showers and squalls will drop heavy amounts of snow to the lee of the Lakes for such localities as Houghton, Goderich, Owen Sound, and Sault Ste Marie.”
Information from the FarmersAlmanac.Com

Don’t get caught in the cold.

• Have you considered a back up heat for if the power goes out?
  A gas fireplace provides heat even if the power is out, the fan will not operate, however the fireplace will heat. This can be especially important for a basement in a home to keep the pipes from freezing and would be appreciated on the main level of a home to provide a heat source should the power go out.
• Do you have your outer wear ready?
  Especially important for kids – have you gone through their things to ensure they fit or purchased what they need new.

The HEAT is back! But… your A/C could still freeze up!

The heat of the summer is back and in full force!

The hydro grid will be feeling the force today with all the air conditioners being turned back on to cool the homes after the fall-like weather we have had.

Even with this hot humid weather, your air conditioner can still freeze up!

Why?

If you only turn on your air conditioner when its very hot out or if your system is dirty. Both can cause the system to run continuous or cycle on and off too quickly and could over work the system which would eventually freeze up or a part could burn out within the furnace.

How?

When the air moves over the A-Coil, which is located above the furnace, the A-Coil cools the air with the freon from the condenser. When the system does not get a chance to rest and is continuously running the A-Coil will eventually ice up causing the system to not work properly.

This is an A-Coil. The freon runs through the copper tubes. It really does have an A shape!

Looking down on the case A-Coil.

What Should I Do?

To avoid the air conditioner system freezing up there are a few suggestions.
1. Keep the temperature in your home set at a consistent temperature all the time. If the home requires cooling, the air conditioner will turn on.
2. If you only use your air conditioner when it gets very hot – begin by setting the thermostat just 2-3 degress less than what the current temperature is in the room. Once the house reaches that temperature, let it sit for 30 min and then lower it again by 2 degrees. By allowing your home to slowly be brought down to a comfortable temperature your equipment has a chance to rest and will avoid freezing up that constant operation can cause.
3. Set a realistic cooling temperature. On very hot humid days, your system will have a very hard time cooling your entire home or business after not being on for a day or more.
4. Ensure your filter is clean! A dirty filter will block air flow causing the system to over work.Filters are not expensive. Buy a few at a time and have them on hand ready to change!
5. Is your heating system clean? If your furnace and air conditioner are dirty this can cause your system to over work.

If you are doing all the correct things and its still not working properly, it could be low on freon or there could be a more serious issue. In which case you should call a professional!

Stay cool 🙂

A Visual.
An A-Coil and Furnace ready for installation in a customer’s home. The A-Coil is cased so it comes like this with the coil inside. The front of the case comes off to check or clean. A-Coils which do not come in a case have duct work built around them.

Preventative maintenance – Why do I need it?… Update My System – But I dont have any problems with it!?

We get asked the question quite a bit

“Why does my furnace need preventative maintenance if nothing is wrong with it?..”

Or…

“Its almost 15/20 years old and nothing has gone wrong…”

Preventative maintenance on a HVAC system (Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning) will lengthen the life of your appliance and cut down on your energy bills.

Just like going to the doctor for yourself to ensure you are in tip top condition, or the dentist to have your teeth cleaned and even for your vehicle when you take it in for regular oil changes annually or every 6 months. Your HVAC system has moving parts which need to be cleaned and serviced to be properly maintained.

More importantly, within your HVAC system is a filter, all the air in your home goes through this filter. The cleaner it is, the more efficient your system runs and the cleaner your air in the home is!

Even if your system has been working “fine” for the length of its life of 15 or 20 years – that doesn’t mean its been running as efficient as it could be – which in turn could be costing you each month on your utilities.

Have you noticed your utilities costs creeping up?

I certainly have… that’s why our 25 yr old Water Furnace Geothermal System (after 3 yrs of annual service since we’ve lived there) is getting the boot. Its technically “running alright” however knowing our hydro bills are increasing each year with the heating season and knowing what we could be saving with a new gas furnace… Im excited to get our new system in and running!

If you are on the fence whether to get your system cleaned and serviced OR replace it, review the following: Age of your system, Repairs over the last 5-10 years, Monthly energy bills (gas, hydro, propane, oil). Many of the “old” systems are extremely inefficient in comparison to the new models.Or simply give a call and Mike our Comfort Advisor will come out to your home and provide you with a free no obligation quote.

PLUS you can receive a rebate from OPA and if you choose a new Lennox Home Comfort System you can also qualify for Lennox rebates… thats on top of the energy savings in $’s spent each month too!

Make sure your home’s energy, heating and cooling does not go to waste!