I Trusted a Handshake. Here's What I Got. | GetAHomePro
I Trusted a Handshake. Here's What I Got.
·Updated on ·10 min read
S
Sarah ChenLicensed HVAC Technician
Published March 20, 2026
Key Takeaway
A Hamilton dad trusted a handshake for a furnace install. No contract, cash paid, napkin receipt. Then the CO detector went off at 3 AM. Here's what happened.
My aunt passed in August.
She left me a brick bungalow on Gage Ave, just south of Barton. Small place. Good bones. She'd lived there since 1987 — the same furnace had been running since before I finished high school.
I teach shop at Sir Winston Churchill Secondary. I know what old equipment looks like. I knew the furnace was on its last legs the minute I opened the mechanical room door.
I had maybe six, eight weeks before winter hit. I needed to move fast.
The Referral
Dave, one of the other teachers, mentioned a guy named Jim.
"Done work for three people in the department. Never heard a complaint." That's all I needed. In a school, that's a reference. Teachers talk. If Jim had screwed someone over, I'd have heard about it.
Jim texted me on a Wednesday. Hey Kevin, Dave said you need HVAC work. Can we meet and take a look?
We met at the Tim Hortons on Barton Street East — the one near the Service Ontario. October 14th. I remember because I'd just had parent-teacher interviews the night before and I was running on three hours of sleep.
Jim was a big guy, early 50s, Carhartt jacket, contractor hands. He had this easy way about him. Confident without being pushy. We sat there for maybe forty minutes with our coffees.
He quoted $4,800 for a full furnace swap — pull the old Carrier, bring in a new Lennox ML195, handle all the venting.
I said, "When can you start?"
We shook hands across the table.
That was the contract.
The Work
Jim showed up October 21st with a younger guy — his nephew, I think. They were in and out over two days.
I wasn't home for most of it. I was teaching. I'd come back at 3:30 and check progress.
The old furnace was out by day one. The new Lennox was in by end of day two.
I did notice the venting looked a little different than what I'd seen online when I was researching. The exhaust pipe was routed differently — shorter run, different angle than the specs seemed to suggest.
EPA 608 Universal Certified, NATE Certified, 12+ years experience
Sarah Chen is an EPA 608 Universal Certified HVAC technician with 12 years of experience in heating, cooling, and ventilation systems. She has worked on over 3,000 residential installations and provides expert guidance on energy-efficient HVAC solutions.
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I mentioned it. Jim said, "It's fine. I've done a hundred of these. The inspectors get fussy but it works the same either way."
I'm a shop teacher. I know enough about systems to know I was out of my depth on HVAC code. I trusted him.
I should not have trusted him.
The Payment
Jim texted me when the job was done. All good, ready for payment.
We met back at the Tim Hortons on Barton. November 2nd. I brought $4,800 in twenties in a bank envelope — two trips to the TD on Queenston Road because of the withdrawal limit.
Jim counted it at the table. He reached into his jacket pocket, pulled out a Tim Hortons napkin, and wrote:
PAID - furnace install - $4,800 - Jim
He slid it across the table.
That napkin is sitting in a kitchen drawer on Gage Ave right now. Still has a coffee ring on it.
That napkin is my entire legal documentation for a $4,800 job.
December 9th. 3:07 AM.
I know the time because I looked at my phone when the CO detector started screaming.
Not the smoke detector. The carbon monoxide detector — the one I'd put in the hallway outside Lily's room when we moved in. She's 12. Sleeps like a rock. She didn't even wake up to the alarm at first.
I was in her room in about four seconds.
I grabbed her by the arm. "Lily. We have to go outside. Now."
She was half-asleep, confused. "Dad, what's happening?"
"Just come. Bring your blanket."
We went out through the front door. Gage Ave at 3 in the morning in December. The temperature was -15°C — I checked that too, later, because I couldn't believe how cold it was. We stood in the driveway in our pajamas.
She had her blanket wrapped around her shoulders. I had nothing. I was in a t-shirt and flannel pants.
I called 911.
The Hamilton Fire Department was there in six minutes. I know because I was watching the clock on my phone, counting.
What They Found
Two trucks. Four firefighters. They went through the house with meters while Lily and I waited by the curb.
Fifteen minutes later, the captain came out and told me the CO levels in the basement had been building for weeks, possibly longer. The venting on the new furnace wasn't done to code. The exhaust wasn't clearing properly — carbon monoxide was backing up into the house.
Slowly. Quietly. For weeks.
We'd been breathing it.
"You're lucky you had that detector," he said. He said it in a way that wasn't really about luck.
They red-tagged the furnace on the spot. Condemned. Do not operate. He gave me a copy of the report and told me I needed a licensed HVAC contractor before I could use the furnace again.
It was December 9th. In Hamilton.
Lily asked me, standing there in the driveway: "Dad, is our house broken?"
I didn't know what to say to that.
Two Weeks at My Brother's Place
My brother Paul lives in Stoney Creek. He's got a three-bedroom. His wife, Sandra, is a saint.
Lily and I packed bags like we were going on a trip. She brought her sketchbooks. I brought my school stuff. We slept in Paul's spare room on a pull-out with a bar that hit your back wrong.
I called Jim the next morning.
He picked up. I explained what happened. The red tag. The CO levels. The fire department report. His nephew's venting work.
There was a pause.
"I did what we agreed on. The furnace is installed."
That was his position. He'd installed a furnace. It was installed.
I asked about the $4,800.
"I did the job, Kevin. I can't help what the fire department says."
I had a napkin. He had my money. There was nothing else to say.
The Redo
I found a licensed HVAC company — Aire One, out of Hamilton — through a Google search at 7 AM the morning after the red tag.
They came out December 11th. The tech spent forty minutes in the mechanical room before he came up and told me what it would cost to fix everything.
$7,200.
More than Jim's original quote, because they had to undo Jim's work first. Pull out the incorrectly routed exhaust. Repipe it correctly. Bring the whole installation up to Ontario Building Code. Then do the work right.
$7,200 to fix a $4,800 job. Plus the original $4,800 I'd never see again.
That's $12,000 for a furnace. Which should have cost $4,800 to $6,000 done properly.
Lily and I moved back into Gage Ave on December 23rd. Two weeks before Christmas. She hung her paper snowflakes on the windows the same day we got back.
I sat at the kitchen table that night and looked at the drawer where I'd put the napkin.
What I Know Now
I'm not writing this because I'm angry at Jim. I mean — I am. But that's not the point.
I'm writing this because I made a series of decisions that seemed reasonable in the moment and nearly killed my daughter. That's the honest version.
Here's what I did wrong:
I hired someone based on a second-hand referral with no verification. I didn't check if Jim was licensed with TSSA — the Technical Standards and Safety Authority, which regulates gas work in Ontario. I didn't ask for a written quote. I paid cash. I accepted a napkin as a receipt. I ignored my own unease about the venting.
Every one of those things felt reasonable. "He's a friend of Dave's." "Nobody's had a complaint." "He says it's fine."
In a school, you trust your colleagues. That instinct isn't wrong. But contractors aren't colleagues. The trust has to be built differently.
The napkin is still in that drawer. I can't bring myself to throw it out.
How to Protect Yourself
If you're hiring for any gas, HVAC, or mechanical work in Ontario, here's what I wish I'd done:
1. Verify the license before the conversation.
Gas fitters in Ontario need a TSSA license. You can check online in two minutes at tssa.org. I did not do this. It's free. It takes two minutes.
2. Get everything in writing — scope, price, timeline, warranty.
A quote texted to you is not a contract. A napkin is not a contract. A signed document with your address, the model of equipment being installed, and the price — that's a contract.
3. Pay by e-transfer or cheque. Not cash.
Cash leaves no trail. If Jim had paid me by e-transfer, there's a digital record with a timestamp. The napkin has neither.
4. Ask specifically about permits and inspections.
In Ontario, a furnace replacement typically requires a permit and a subsequent inspection by the municipality. Jim never mentioned either. Aire One pulled the permit on day one and scheduled the inspection automatically.
5. Read the reviews — not just the count, but the content.
Dave said nobody complained. That's not the same as verified reviews on a trackable platform. One is a hallway conversation. The other is a documented record.
6. Trust your gut about the work.
I noticed the venting looked wrong. I asked. I accepted a non-answer. You're allowed to push back. You're allowed to say "I want a second opinion on this before we proceed."
Did you try to sue Jim?
I talked to a lawyer. He told me that without a written contract, I'd have a hard time proving the scope of work Jim agreed to — or that his venting was the cause of the problem. Jim's position is that he installed what was agreed. Without documentation, the burden of proof falls on me. Small claims court was an option, but even the lawyer said it was a coin flip. I didn't have the time or the energy. I had a daughter to get home.
How did Lily handle it?
She was okay. Kids are resilient in ways that break your heart. She didn't fully understand the CO risk — I didn't explain all of it — but she knew something serious had happened. She made me promise we'd get "real smoke detectors everywhere." She meant CO detectors. We have four now.
Was Jim even licensed?
I checked after the fact. He is not registered as a licensed gas fitter with TSSA. I don't know if he ever was. He may have done gas work for years without anyone checking. If Dave's colleagues had work done by Jim that involved gas — I don't know how those installs look.
Could the CO detector have been placed better?
The captain told me the one in the hallway outside Lily's room was placed well. If it had only been in the basement near the furnace, we might not have heard it from the bedrooms. That detail hasn't left me.
Do you still live on Gage Ave?
Yeah. It's a good house. My aunt knew what she was leaving me. I'm staying.
The furnace runs fine now. Some nights I still wake up and listen for the alarm.