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LarchHVAC & Appliance (425) 570-9520
New AC condenser installed beside a houseFormerly Adam & Sam Brothers Repair

Mill Creek, Mill Creek East & Silver Firs

AC and heat pump repair for Mill Creek's planned neighborhoods

A reading in Mill Creek reportedly hit 107°F on June 28, 2021. Many homes here are gas-heated houses from the 1980s onward, often with central air added on the furnace. We repair those systems first, and add heat pumps or replace them when it pays.

Call (425) 570-9520Book online
Drive time
Fifteen to nineteen minutes via I-5 and 164th Street.
Gas heat
About 57% of homes; roughly 71% in Silver Firs.
Housing age
About 85% built since 1980; only 1% before 1960.
  • $85 diagnosticBecomes part of the repair price when you say yes. If you pass on the repair, that visit is all you pay.
  • Up to $18 offAny repair requested through the online form. The diagnostic itself is never reduced.
  • No-charge site visitInstalls are quoted in writing, equipment and installation work in one number.

Mill Creek grew out of a master plan. Tokyu Land bought the project in 1973, the first houses sold in 1975 and 1976, and the original plat laid out 21 subdivisions named after trees around a private golf course and country club. The city incorporated in 1983 and kept growing, adding Thomas Lake in 2005 and then the apartments and townhomes of East Gateway and the newer areas near Town Center. Almost everything here dates from 1980 or later, and about 57% of homes heat with gas. The typical cooling system is a central air conditioner whose indoor coil sits directly on top of the gas furnace, with the condenser on a pad in the side yard.

That makes the indoor coil a frequent repair point. Coils from the 1990s and 2000s develop small leaks over time, cooling fades a little each summer, and eventually a hot week finishes it off. Plenty of the original systems also still use R-22, which complicates any refrigerant repair. We find the leak, show you where it is, and price the coil repair or replacement next to the option of a new outdoor unit. Our own technicians do the refrigerant recovery, brazing and recharge in-house. Mill Creek is fifteen to nineteen minutes from our shop by I-5 and 164th Street, and same-day visits are available Monday through Saturday when you call or book online in the morning.

Mill Creek cooling problems, cause by cause

  • Cooling weaker every summer until one day it stops

    Likely cause
    Leak in the indoor coil above the furnace
    What we do
    Leak-check the coil, line set and service valves, then quote the repair in writing

  • Frost or ice on the copper line at the furnace

    Likely cause
    Low charge or restricted airflow across the coil
    What we do
    Check the filter and blower speed first, then gauge the refrigerant charge and superheat

  • Water around the furnace base whenever cooling runs

    Likely cause
    Plugged condensate drain or an overflowing pan
    What we do
    Clear and flush the drain, and check the pan and its float safety switch

  • Older system from the 1990s that needs refrigerant

    Likely cause
    R-22 equipment with an active leak
    What we do
    Price the leak repair against a replacement on current refrigerant, side by side in writing

  • Outdoor unit runs, but the air inside stays warm

    Likely cause
    Compressor side of the dual capacitor has failed while the fan still runs
    What we do
    Test the capacitor with a meter and replace it from van stock, usually on the same visit

  • Thermostat set to cool, but the furnace blower never starts

    Likely cause
    Control board relay, transformer or a broken thermostat wire
    What we do
    Trace the low-voltage circuit from the thermostat, test the transformer, and repair the fault

Tree-named subdivisions, HOAs and gas furnaces

Many Mill Creek neighborhoods have homeowner associations with rules about where and how outdoor equipment can sit. When we replace or add an outdoor unit, the written estimate includes its size, model, sound rating and pad location so you can submit it for approval before work is scheduled. Townhomes in East Gateway and around Town Center often have compact units in narrow side yards or behind privacy fences, and we plan service access around fences and landscaping. Homes along the golf course have their own sightline concerns, which we take into account when choosing where a new unit goes.

Outside the city limits, Mill Creek East and Silver Firs are largely newer single-family homes, and gas heat is even more common there: about 64% in Mill Creek East and 71% in Silver Firs. For those houses and for Mill Creek itself, a common install is a heat pump outdoor unit added to a furnace that still has years left. The heat pump does the cooling and most of the winter heating, and the furnace takes the coldest days. Electricity here comes from Snohomish County PUD and gas from Puget Sound Energy, and we check which heat pump programs or rebates from either utility fit your home; we don't promise amounts.

When the heat dome pushed a reported 107°F reading in Mill Creek in June 2021, systems sized for ordinary summers ran without stopping for days. That kind of heat is when a marginal coil, a tired capacitor or a slow drain finally fails. If your system struggled that week or in a hot spell since, a check before the next heat wave is worth the visit, and a tune-up, from $149, covers the coil, drain and electrical parts.

Technician reading a manifold gauge on an AC repair

Mill Creek starting prices

Repair on a Mill Creek AC or heat pump starts at $285. Leak repair with a recharge, when the leak is somewhere fixable, is common here, and a new indoor evaporator coil sits higher on the scale. If you'd rather add a heat pump outdoor unit to your gas furnace, that starts at $5,250. These starting prices are for our area as a whole and are not a quote; after the diagnostic we write an estimate with the exact figure, and work begins only once you approve it. Installation pricing includes the equipment and installing it, and the site visit and written quote cost nothing. Where a coil and outdoor unit are replaced together, the estimate shows both pieces so you can compare them with the coil-only repair.

See all prices

  • AC / heat pump capacitorfrom $285
  • Contactorfrom $285
  • Heat pump defrost boardfrom $300
  • Outdoor fan motorfrom $425
  • Refrigerant leak repair and rechargefrom $500
  • Heat pump reversing valvefrom $1,100
  • Indoor (evaporator) coilfrom $1,500
  • Compressor (out of warranty)from $2,200
  • Diagnostic visit$85, included in the repair

Starting prices for the north Seattle area, 2026. The $85 diagnostic is included in any repair you approve, and the exact price is in the written estimate before work starts.

System, installed

  • Central air conditionerfrom $5,000
  • Heat pump outdoor unit onlyfrom $5,250
  • Inverter (variable-speed) heat pumpfrom $6,000
  • Heat pump with air handlerfrom $7,000

Install prices start here, equipment and installation included, before any utility program. Multi-zone systems are priced after a visit. We do not charge for the site visit or the written quote.

The coil usually decides it

For a Mill Creek system from the late 1990s or early 2000s, the coil decision often decides everything else. A leaking coil on a newer system using current refrigerant is a reasonable repair, especially if the outdoor unit is healthy. A leaking coil on an R-22 system means replacing the coil and recharging with costly reclaimed refrigerant, or replacing the coil and the outdoor unit together. When the outdoor unit is past fifteen years, we usually recommend the second path, and in a gas-heated house we suggest making the new outdoor unit a heat pump. It costs somewhat more than a straight AC, cools the same, and takes over most heating from the furnace. If the furnace is also near the end, we price a full system rather than splitting it into two projects a year apart, since the coil, furnace and outdoor unit have to match. On a Mill Creek East home where the system may be barely ten years old, repair almost always wins.

Common questions

Can my HOA stop me from installing a heat pump?

Associations can set rules on placement, screening and appearance, and some ask for approval before new outdoor equipment goes in. We put the model, dimensions, sound rating and pad location in the written estimate so you have what an architectural review typically needs, and we schedule the install once approval comes through.

My system uses R-22. Should I repair it?

If the problem isn't refrigerant, such as a capacitor, contactor or fan motor, repair it. If it's a leak, R-22 is no longer produced and reclaimed supply is expensive, so a coil or compressor repair on an older unit is rarely a good deal. We'll show you both prices in writing and let you choose.

Do you cover Silver Firs and Mill Creek East?

Yes. Mill Creek East is about nineteen to twenty-four minutes from our shop and Silver Firs twenty-two to twenty-seven. We serve both on the same terms as Mill Creek itself, with no charge for the extra distance and same-day visits when you reach us in the morning, Monday through Saturday.

What does a heat pump add to a gas furnace?

Cooling in summer, plus efficient heating through the mild part of winter. A thermostat or control decides when the furnace takes over, typically on the coldest days. You keep the furnace you already have, so it's a smaller project than a full replacement, and you have two heat sources if one ever fails.

Are there rebates for a heat pump in Mill Creek?

Snohomish County PUD supplies the electricity and Puget Sound Energy the gas. Programs differ by utility, by your current heating fuel and by equipment, and they change. We check which ones apply to your house when we quote the install and tell you what each requires. We don't promise amounts.

Talk to Adam & Sam

Mill Creek, Silver Firs and Mill Creek East households can call (425) 570-9520 or book on our website. An approved repair includes the $85 diagnostic in its price, and an online booking takes up to $18 off. For a heat pump on your furnace, the site visit costs nothing.

Call (425) 570-9520Book online

From Sam’s repair notes

Schedule a repair

Request a visit from Adam & Sam

Send the basics and we call you back with an arrival window, most days the same morning.

  • $85 diagnostic Becomes part of the repair price when you say yes. If you pass on the repair, that visit is all you pay.
  • Up to $18 off Any repair requested through the online form. The diagnostic itself is never reduced.
  • $10 off A second appliance’s diagnostic when we check it during the same trip.

Requests sent from this form get up to $18 off the repair. The $85 diagnostic stays the same and is folded into any repair you approve.

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