Gas furnace won't light, short-cycles, or blows cold air. Our licensed HVAC techs answer no-heat calls 24/7, find the real fault, and price the repair in writing before touching it. When the furnace is finished — cracked heat exchanger, 20 years old, third repair this winter — you get the replacement price on the same sheet, sized to your house.
No-heat emergencies 24/7 · same price at 3am · homes with kids or seniors go first
Licensed & insured · 2,000+ NJ projects · 7 years · a real person answers 24/7
Gas furnace won't light, short-cycles, or blows cold air. Typical price: $200 – $10K. Licensed & insured, written itemized price before work starts, no deposit, one dedicated crew. Serving all 21 New Jersey counties from Paramus. Call (201) 676-3099 or book a free estimate.
Most no-heat calls in New Jersey are one of a handful of parts. The flame sensor gets a coat of oxide and the furnace lights, runs for three seconds and shuts down — over and over. The hot-surface igniter cracks and it never lights at all. The pressure switch or the inducer motor fails and the board refuses to start the burners. A clogged filter or a blocked return trips the high-limit switch, so the furnace runs a few minutes and quits.
On 95%+ furnaces there's one more: the condensate trap and drain. These furnaces make water, and when the trap clogs or the drain line freezes, the furnace shuts down on a safety. Ten-minute fix if you know where to look.
The one that changes the conversation is the heat exchanger. It's the metal wall between the flame and the air you breathe. When it cracks, carbon monoxide can get into the house. We inspect it on every service call with a camera and a CO meter. A cracked exchanger means the furnace is done — that's not a scare tactic, that's the one time we'll tell you not to run it.
We size the furnace with a load calculation of your house, not the BTU number on the old label — half the furnaces in this state are oversized, and oversized furnaces short-cycle, run loud and die young. Then: the new furnace set level with a proper return and supply connection, the gas line connected and leak-tested by our own licensed plumber, new venting (metal for 80%, PVC through the wall or roof for condensing units), a condensate drain or pump, a 4-inch media filter cabinet so you change a filter once a year instead of monthly, a new thermostat if you want one, and the old unit hauled away.
Startup is done with a combustion analyzer and a CO test, and you get the numbers on a sheet. We pull the mechanical permit, meet the inspector, and hand you the paperwork. If your ducts leak into the attic or the return is too small — common in older Bergen and Essex County homes — we'll show you with photos and price the fix as a separate line you can say no to.
A single-stage furnace is on or off. A two-stage unit runs low most of the time and only goes full blast when it's brutal outside, so the house holds a steadier temperature and the blower is quieter. Variable-speed blowers add a little more comfort and a lot less electricity. For a house you'll be in five-plus years, two-stage is usually the sweet spot. We'll price the tiers side by side and tell you where the extra money stops paying you back.
If your house has radiators or baseboard hot water, you have a boiler, not a furnace. We do those too — see our boiler page and the no-heat page. Same crew, same rules, and a licensed master plumber on the piping.
Based in Paramus, serving all 21 New Jersey counties — 219+ towns. In Bergen, Passaic, Hudson, Essex and Morris we're often there within the hour on a no-heat call; everywhere else, same-day dispatch and an honest arrival window.
typical fixed-price range — your exact number goes in writing after a free visit
Repairs: a flame sensor cleaning or a thermostat fix sits at the low end. A hot-surface igniter runs $250 – $450, a pressure switch $300 – $500, an inducer motor $500 – $1K, a blower motor $600 – $1.2K, a control board $500 – $900. Replacement: an 80% furnace installed runs $4.5K – $7.5K; a 95–97% condensing furnace with new PVC venting runs $6K – $10K. Replacing the furnace and the AC together runs $10K – $18K. The diagnostic fee rolls into any repair you approve. Same prices at 3am.
How we beat the big chains: The utility "worry-free" plans and HVAC franchises quote 20–35% higher for the same furnace and then rent a plumber for the gas line. No franchise fees, no commissioned salesmen, no rented subcontractors — that's typically 15–30% under national-brand quotes for the same or better spec. Bring us any written quote and we'll match the scope line by line.
“Coldest night in January and the "24/7" company took my name for a callback that came at 9am.”
“They condemned my furnace over a "cracked heat exchanger" with no photo, no meter reading — just a replacement quote.”
“New furnace, and now the house roars on and off every eight minutes.”
You found a crew that is actually near you. First Call Contracting is based in Paramus, in Bergen County, and our own licensed techs handle furnaces in all 21 New Jersey counties — no call center, no subcontractor sent from two states away. Most of Bergen, Passaic, Hudson and Essex is 15 to 30 minutes from our shop, and emergencies go to the nearest crew, 24/7.
Closest to us: Bergen CountyPassaic CountyHudson CountyEssex CountyMorris CountyUnion CountyAll 21 counties & 219+ towns →
Call (201) 676-3099, text us a photo, or book a free in-home estimate — you get a written price before any work starts.
Nine times out of ten it's a dirty flame sensor — the furnace lights, can't prove it lit, and shuts down for safety. It's a quick clean or a cheap part. If it runs for minutes and then quits, look at the filter; a clogged one trips the high-limit switch. Either way it's usually a first-visit fix.
One day in most homes. We start in the morning and you have heat by dinner. Adding new venting for a condensing furnace or fixing ductwork can make it two. The inspection follows within a week or two and we meet the inspector.
Yes — a mechanical permit and an inspection, plus a plumbing permit if the gas line changes and an electrical permit if the circuit does. We file them all. It's in the price, and it matters when you sell.
In a New Jersey winter, usually yes over the life of the unit — it burns about a fifth less gas. The exception is a house where the new PVC venting is hard to route or the furnace sits somewhere a condensate drain can't reach. We'll price both and tell you the payback in years, not slogans.
Close the doors to rooms you're not using, let the faucets drip so the pipes don't freeze, and run a space heater in the room you're in — one per outlet, nothing on an extension cord. If a CO alarm is sounding, get everyone out and call 911 before you call us.
If you're anywhere in New Jersey, yes. First Call Contracting is based in Paramus and handles furnaces across all 21 counties with our own licensed crew. Most of Bergen, Passaic, Hudson and Essex is 15 to 30 minutes from our shop, and emergencies are dispatched to the nearest crew 24/7. Call (201) 676-3099 or book a free in-home estimate.
24/7 no-heat calls · repair price before we touch it · replacement sized to your house
Or call Alex direct: (201) 676-3099
A real person picks up every hour of every day. We tell you what to shut off first, then send the nearest crew.