Fast, Reliable Heating & Furnace Across Highwood
Heating & Furnace repair and replacement in Highwood typically runs $150-$700 for repairs and $3,500-$7,500 for full replacement, with most service calls completed same day. We’re the Heating & Furnace team at Fireside Heating & Air Co. of Chicago, and we’ve been answering calls from Highwood homeowners since 2018. Our shop is close enough that we can usually be on your doorstep in Highwood within the hour, whether you’re in a pre-war bungalow off Green Bay Road or one of the converted Fort Sheridan barracks near the lakefront. When your furnace quits on a January night and the wind’s coming off Lake Michigan, you don’t want to wait through a voicemail tree. You want a live person who picks up and a technician who shows up. Call us at (833) 983-1671. We’re here.
Why Fireside Heating & Air Co. of Chicago Is Highwood’s Preferred Heating & Furnace Company
We’ve been serving the 60040 ZIP for over four decades. That means we’ve worked on the original steam systems in the worker cottages near Highwood’s downtown, and we’ve retrofitted forced-air furnaces into the thick-walled Fort Sheridan condos where no standard installation manual applies.
Our phones are answered by a live person, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. That includes 2 a.m. on a Sunday when your high-efficiency furnace locks out because lake-effect snow blocked the intake vent. No voicemail tree. No “press 1 for emergencies.” A real person who can dispatch a technician.
Every job we do in Highwood is backed by our 90-Day Done Right Promise. If something isn’t right, we make it right. In writing. No paperwork for you to chase down, no arguing about whether the problem is “related.” We stand behind it because that’s how we’ve built our name since 2018.
Our technicians are background-checked, uniformed, and trained as journeymen. They put on shoe covers without being asked. They treat your home the way they’d treat their own mother’s. In Highwood, where many of our customers have lived in the same house for thirty or forty years, that matters.
Our Heating & Furnace Services in Highwood
Furnace Repair
Furnace repair in Highwood runs $150-$700 depending on the part and the access. We see a lot of failed ignitors and gas valves in this town, and there’s a reason. Highwood’s position directly on Lake Michigan means near-constant high humidity that accelerates corrosion on furnace electrical components and heat exchangers. Units here often fail five to seven years sooner than identical equipment in Deerfield or Northbrook, a few miles inland. We carry common ignitors, gas valves, and control boards for Lennox, Goodman, Rheem, and York on our trucks, so most Highwood repairs are done in a single visit.
Furnace Replacement
When repair doesn’t make sense, we give you straight talk about repair versus replace. A new furnace installation in Highwood ranges from $3,500-$7,500 depending on size, efficiency, and the complexity of your home. The Fort Sheridan condos are a special case. We retrofitted a Carrier Infinity 96 gas furnace into a Fort Sheridan condo where the original steam radiators were gutted. The thick brick walls required us to run a surface-mounted gas line inside a decorative chase, and we zoned the second-floor bedrooms separately because the open-floor-plan living area downstairs had different heat loss through those solid walls. That’s not a job every crew can handle. We’ve done it. We know the building department’s expectations for those properties.
Furnace Tune-Up
Our $89 Seasonal Tune-Up is the best money you can spend on a Highwood furnace. We check heat exchanger integrity, gas pressure, flame sensor condition, and condensate drainage. In Highwood, we pay special attention to corrosion on the burner assembly and any signs of moisture damage to the control board. Lake-effect humidity gets into everything here. We also inspect intake and exhaust vents for proper clearance, because heavy, wet lake-effect snow can block them in narrow winter windows while the rest of Lake County stays dry. Catching that before it causes a lockout is worth the call.
Heat Exchanger Inspection & Replacement
A cracked heat exchanger is a safety issue. Full stop. If we find one, we red-tag the furnace and walk you through your options. In Highwood’s older worker cottages, we often find heat exchangers that have been overstressed by undersized ductwork. The system runs longer, cycles harder, and the heat exchanger fails prematurely. In Fort Sheridan properties, we’ve seen heat exchangers corroded from the inside out by condensate that couldn’t drain properly through the original masonry. We don’t sugarcoat it. If it needs replacement, we tell you. If the furnace is too far gone, we tell you that too.
Gas Valve Repair
Gas valve failures are common in Highwood because of the corrosion cycle that lake humidity drives. Moisture gets into the valve body, the solenoid sticks, and you get intermittent ignition or no heat at all. We test gas pressure at the manifold and at the meter to make sure the problem is the valve and not a supply issue. Then we replace it with the correct OEM part, not a universal that sort-of fits. The price quoted is the price paid. That’s our square deal.
What happens when you call
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A real person answersNo phone trees - you reach a local pro.
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You get an upfront price rangeHonest numbers before anyone is dispatched.
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A background-checked tech heads outLicensed & insured, dispatched right away.
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You approve before work beginsNothing starts until you say go.
Trusted Brands We Service in Highwood
We’re trained to service nine major residential brands: Carrier, Trane, Lennox, Goodman, Rheem, York, Daikin, Bryant, and American Standard. For Highwood customers, we keep common Lennox, Goodman, and Rheem parts on our trucks because those brands show up frequently in the local housing stock. Goodman units are common in the post-war additions; Lennox and Rheem in the Fort Sheridan renovations and newer construction. When we need something we don’t have, our supply house is close enough that we can usually have it same day. Most jobs in Highwood are completed in a single visit. That’s not an accident. It’s preparation.
Common Heating & Furnace Problems We See in Highwood Homes
- Lake-effect moisture corrosion. Highwood’s lakefront position means furnace heat exchangers and gas valves corrode faster than inland. We replace more gas valves in Highwood per capita than in Highland Park or Lake Forest. The humidity is simply relentless on metal components.
- Blocked high-efficiency vents from sudden snow. Heavy, wet lake-effect snow in narrow winter windows can bury intake and exhaust terminals on 90%+ efficiency furnaces. The pressure switch trips, the furnace locks out, and you wake up cold. We clear it and adjust terminal height or add snow shields where needed.
- Undersized ductwork in pre-1950 cottages. Highwood’s core residential blocks are modest worker cottages built for laborers who served Fort Sheridan and the North Shore’s wealthier communities. Many have original duct systems never designed for modern high-efficiency furnaces. The static pressure is too high, the furnace overheats, and the heat exchanger cracks prematurely. We measure and advise honestly.
- Fort Sheridan condensate drainage challenges. Those 12-16 inch solid brick walls with no cavity mean condensate drains from high-efficiency furnaces can’t run through exterior walls. We surface-mount them in decorative chases or run interior routes that meet code without ruining the historic aesthetic. It’s a puzzle we’ve solved many times.
Pricing for Heating & Furnace in Highwood, IL
Here’s what heating and furnace work costs in Highwood. These are the ranges we quote before any work begins. The price you hear is the price you pay.
| Service | Price Range in Highwood |
|---|---|
| Furnace Repair | $150-$700 |
| Furnace Replacement | $3,500-$7,500 |
| Tune-Up | $80-$200 |
What moves the number? Access matters. A furnace in a Fort Sheridan basement with a narrow stairwell takes longer to extract and replace. Ductwork modifications in a 1920s cottage with no existing returns add labor. Efficiency choice matters too, a 96% AFUE two-stage unit costs more than a standard 80% single-stage. We don’t play games with pricing. We look at your system, we tell you what it needs, and we write it down. Then we back it for 90 days. Call (833) 983-1671 for a free estimate.
We Also Serve Cities Near Highwood
We serve Highwood and the surrounding North Shore communities including Highland Park, Lake Forest, Deerfield, and Northbrook. Each town has its own building department, its own housing stock, its own quirks. We know them because we’ve worked in them for over 42 years. Whether you’re in a Highland Park mid-century or a Lake Forest estate, the same Fireside standards apply. Done right, or we make it right.
Serving Highwood, IL - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Highwood area and know this community well. Use the map below to see our service coverage - if you’re nearby, we can almost certainly help.
FAQs - Heating & Furnace in Highwood
Yes, we convert steam radiator systems to forced-air or hybrid setups in Highwood bungalows regularly. The challenge is usually ductwork: these cottages were never built for it, so we design low-profile duct runs through closets, bulkheads, or the attic to preserve floor plans. In some cases, we recommend a mini-split heat pump for the second floor and a small furnace for the main level. Call (833) 983-1671 and we’ll walk through your specific layout.
Yes, the 12-16 inch solid brick walls with no cavity require surface-mounted or interior-chase venting that standard installations don’t. We can’t run PVC intake and exhaust through those walls, so we design decorative chases or route through interior walls and ceilings. The Fort Sheridan Homeowners Association also has aesthetic requirements we’ve worked with many times. We handle the permit and the design.
Highwood’s lake-effect microclimate produces colder, wetter air masses that linger longer than inland Lake County. Your condensate line is exposed to more freeze-thaw cycles and wind-driven moisture here. We insulate lines more heavily in Highwood and can install heat tape or interior drain routing for problem installations. It’s a local fix for a local condition.
Yes, the near-constant high relative humidity from Lake Michigan accelerates corrosion on control boards, ignitors, and gas valves. We see premature failure five to seven years sooner in Highwood than in drier inland markets. Our tune-ups include corrosion inspection and protective coating application where appropriate. Prevention is cheaper than a midnight emergency call.
Carefully, and with respect for the original structure. We use high-velocity mini-duct systems, route through existing chases, or design around the home’s architecture. In some Highwood cottages, we’ve used the original chimney chase for a new flue and run supply ducts through the attic. Every house is different. We measure, we plan, and we show you the routing before we cut anything. Free estimates mean you can see the plan before you commit. Call (833) 983-1671.
Written by Terry Kowalski, Owner at Fireside Heating & Air Co. of Chicago, serving Highwood since 2018.