New homes and townhomes in Calgary are built with compact mechanical rooms, and modern high
efficiency furnaces are often certified for zero clearance to combustible material, so the closet
can legally be framed tight to the cabinet. Manufacturers still recommend around 24 inches of front
clearance for servicing, and most new build closets do not have it. The equipment can almost always
still be serviced properly by a technician who knows the platform and works from the front. 180
Plumbing and Heating services furnaces, combination units and tankless systems in tight mechanical
rooms across southeast Calgary, including townhome complexes. Red Seal Journeyman
Plumber and Certified Type B Gasfitter. Call 403-404-9975.
Your first service is due sooner than you think
Most manufacturer warranties require documented annual maintenance. Here is the part nobody
explains at possession: the clock starts when the equipment was installed and commissioned, not
when you got the keys.
Commissioning is when the equipment was fired and set up, which happens while the house is still
being finished. Possession is when you got the keys. On a new build those can be several months
apart, and on a townhome row they can be further apart still, because the whole row is usually
commissioned in a batch.
So if you took possession a year ago, your first service was very likely due some months ago. A lot
of owners are already late and have no idea, because nothing tells them.
The builder’s warranty and the manufacturer’s warranty are two different things
This catches almost everybody, and it is worth being clear about.
Alberta new home warranty covers the building. Structure, envelope, systems as built, with its
own coverage periods and its own claim process through the builder and the warranty provider.
The equipment warranty is the manufacturer’s. It is a separate document with separate terms,
its own timeline, and its own conditions. On most modern heating equipment the central condition is
that maintenance is carried out and documented, and manufacturers ask for the service records when
a claim is made.
Skipped maintenance is the usual reason an equipment claim gets refused. Nobody hands you a note
about that at possession, and the manual it is written in is usually still in the drawer it was
left in.
Why the closet is that small
It is not a mistake, and it is not worth being angry about. Here is the actual mechanism.
High efficiency furnaces and combination units are frequently certified for zero clearance to
combustible material on all sides. That is a fire safety rating, and it is legitimate: the
cabinet does not get hot enough to be a risk to the framing.
Manufacturers separately publish a recommended service clearance, which is typically much
larger. Gradient, for example, recommends 24 inches at the front and 12 inches above.
Nothing requires that second number to be provided. Floor space in a new Calgary home is worth
real money, and two feet of empty floor in front of an appliance is a difficult thing to justify at
design stage.
So the closet is legal and it is tight, and the consequence lands on whoever services the
equipment eight years later. That is a normal trade off with a predictable result rather than a
scandal.
If you live in a townhome
Townhomes are the clearest case of all of this, and there are three things worth knowing.
Your neighbours have the same unit. A townhome row is built to one mechanical design. The same
model, in the same closet, in the same place, often a mechanical room under the stairs off a tandem
garage. If you can describe your closet, you can describe theirs.
Your whole row is due at the same time. Everything was commissioned within weeks, so the
maintenance clock started for all of you at once. If you are overdue, so is everybody else on your
side of the building, and none of you have been told.
Booking together costs less. Servicing six units in one complex is genuinely cheaper for us
than six houses scattered across the southeast: we park once, there is no drive time, and after the
first unit we already know the model, the closet and the drain layout. That saving is real, so we
pass it on.
If a few of you want to book the same morning, call 403-404-9975 and tell us which complex you are
in. We will tell you what a group booking looks like.
What we service in new homes
- Combination units that do heating and hot water from one appliance, including the Calgary
built Gradient syncFURNACE - High efficiency condensing furnaces
- Tankless water heaters, including Navien and IBC
- Boilers and hydronic systems, including in floor loops
- HRVs where fitted, which in a new build is most of the time
- The plumbing rough in, including shut offs, hose bibs and the water treatment that Calgary’s
hard water usually justifies
We work on all the common brands. We are also the people to call when the brand is unusual and
somebody else has already said no.
What a first service on a new home includes
- Full inspection of the appliance against the manufacturer’s own maintenance schedule, not a
generic checklist - Burner and combustion chamber cleaning where the appliance has one
- Condensate trap and drain cleaned and checked through to the floor drain, which on a new build is
often the first time anyone has looked at it - Vent and combustion air intake checked, inside and at the termination
- Filter changed, in the correct size for the model
- System pressure checked on units with a water side, and a water system flush where the
manufacturer requires one - Combustion analysis and gas safety check by a Certified Type B Gasfitter
- HRV filters and core checked where fitted
- The manufacturer’s maintenance record completed and left with you, which is the document that
protects your equipment warranty - Registration status checked. Where a manufacturer offers a registration extension it usually
has a deadline measured from installation, and on Gradient equipment that deadline is sixty days.
We will tell you honestly whether yours is still open - A written summary of what we found, what we did, and what to expect next year
What furnace do I even have?
If you do not know, that is completely normal and it takes one minute to find out.
Look for the rating plate on the front of the unit or just inside the access door. It carries
the manufacturer name, the model number and the serial number.
Look for the emergency contact sticker. Some manufacturers, Gradient among them, expect one to
be left in the mechanical room at possession, naming who to call. If there is no sticker, or it
names a company you have never dealt with, you have no service relationship for that appliance
today.
Or just send us a photo. Text a picture of the rating plate to 403-404-9975 and we will tell
you what you have, what it needs, and roughly when it was due.
If it is a Gradient
If the badge says Gradient, or the model reads sFT-202, sFT-201 or mOD-200, you have a Calgary
built combination unit that heats your home and makes your hot water from one appliance. It has its
own service requirements, its own fault codes, and a warranty with a documentation condition most
owners have never been told about.
- Gradient service in tight closets and townhomes
- What the Gradient warranty actually requires
- Gradient annual service
- Red screen and a fault code
Where we work
Southeast Calgary, including Auburn Bay,
Cranston, Seton, Mahogany,
Legacy, Walden, New Brighton,
Copperfield, Chaparral,
McKenzie Towne.
Booking it
Call 403-404-9975, or text a photo of your rating plate if you would rather start there.
What is free
- A warranty check. We confirm your model, work out when your first documented service was
actually due, check the registration, and leave you the manufacturer’s record form. No charge and
no obligation. - An in home water hardness test. Calgary water is hard, and in the southeast it runs harder than
the rest of the city. - A written quote on anything we recommend.
How we price this work
We charge by the job, not by the hour. Hourly billing punishes you when a job turns out to be
complicated and punishes us for being quick, so we price the job. You get one number for the
finished work, agreed before anything starts and always in writing. Parts, labour, disposal and
permits are in the number you agreed. If we find something else once we are in, we stop and
re-quote, and you decide.
Frequently asked questions
When is the first furnace service due in a new home?
One year from commissioning, not from your possession date. Commissioning happens while the house is still being finished, so on a new build the two can be months apart. A lot of owners are overdue by the time they take possession plus a year, and nothing tells them.
Does my new home’s furnace warranty require annual maintenance?
Most manufacturer warranties do, and they generally require the maintenance to be documented, not just done. Manufacturers ask for service records when a claim is made. Check your specific manufacturer’s warranty document, and keep every service report you are given.
My mechanical room is too small. Can the furnace still be serviced?
Almost always, yes. Modern high efficiency units are commonly certified for zero clearance to combustibles and many are designed to be serviced from the front, so a tight closet is workable for a technician who knows the platform. If yours genuinely cannot be serviced safely, we will tell you what it would take to fix, which is usually a wider or louvred access door.
Is the builder’s warranty the same as the furnace warranty?
No. Alberta new home warranty covers the building. The furnace warranty is the manufacturer’s, with its own terms, its own timeline and its own conditions. They are separate documents with separate obligations, and the equipment one is the one most often lost.
Who services furnaces in new Calgary homes?
180 Plumbing and Heating services furnaces, combination units and tankless systems in new build homes and townhomes across southeast Calgary, including the compact mechanical closets typical of new construction. Red Seal Journeyman Plumber and Certified Type B Gasfitter. We service equipment we did not install.
What furnace is in my new build, and how do I find out?
Look for the rating plate, usually on the front of the unit or inside the access door. It carries the manufacturer and the model number. If you would rather not go looking, text a photo of the unit to 403-404-9975 and we will tell you what you have and what it needs.
Do my townhome neighbours have the same furnace as me?
Very probably. Townhome rows are built to one mechanical design, so the same model usually sits in the same closet in every unit. They were also commissioned within weeks of each other, which means the whole row comes due for service at about the same time, and a group booking is cheaper for everyone in it.
Written by Desmond Neufeld, Red Seal Journeyman Plumber and Certified Type B Gasfitter. Last updated 23 August 2026.
