Help · Questions
The questions that arrive most
These are the questions asked on the phone before a booking, answered here in the same words they would get there.
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On the fee
The flat $95 covers the visit and the full diagnosis — temperatures over a cycle, sealed-system behaviour, defrost, fans, sensors and seals — and it is credited against the repair if you approve one. Decline the repair and the $95 is all that is owed. There is no charge for an estimate given after the diagnosis, and no premium rate for an urgent call.
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On what gets taken
Sub-Zero refrigeration: built-in refrigerators and freezers, refrigerator and freezer drawers, standalone and built-in ice machines, and wine storage. Not cooking appliances, not dishwashers, not laundry, not coffee systems, and not other manufacturers. This workshop is independent and has no affiliation with the maker — a cabinet still covered by the manufacturer belongs with a provider the maker recognises, and we will say so rather than take the booking.
Asked on the phone
The ones that come up before a booking
Why will nobody quote me over the phone?
Because a symptom has several causes with very different prices behind them. A fresh-food compartment sitting warm can be a blocked drain, a stalled fan, a thermistor out of tolerance or a damper — anything from an hour of work to a substantial part. A number given before the readings would be either a guess or a hedge, and both are worse than the honest answer.
Is a twenty-year-old built-in worth repairing?
Usually, yes. The parts that fail on these cabinets at that age — defrost heaters, fans, thermistors, gaskets, drain lines — are mostly still made or superseded, and the arithmetic is not close: a like-for-like built-in replacement is a five-figure purchase before installation and panels. Sealed-system work on an older refrigerant is the genuine exception, and that conversation happens honestly before you spend anything.
How do I find the model and serial number?
On most built-ins it is on a plate inside the fresh-food compartment, near the top, on the side wall or behind the top grille. Photograph it rather than transcribing it — a single wrong character sends the parts search to a different cabinet. Serial matters as much as model, because production changes within a model number affect which board or motor fits.
Can you get a full-height column out of a tight kitchen?
Usually. It means clearing the panel, the trim and often a door stop first, and putting board down over the floor. Say on the phone if the route to the door is narrow, turns, or has steps — it changes what comes on the van and it is the single most useful thing you can tell us in advance.
Do you charge more for evenings or weekends?
No. The call-out is flat at $95 whenever the visit happens. Someone picks up at any hour; the work on the cabinet happens in bench hours.
What happens if the part is no longer made?
You get told, with the alternatives: a serviceable used part, a rebuilt board from a specialist, or an honest recommendation that the cabinet has reached the end. Nothing is ordered and nothing is charged beyond the diagnosis until you have chosen.
Where this goes next
Where else this is covered here
Book it
Question not here? The phone is answered by somebody who does the work.
Flat $95 call-out, credited against an approved repair.