Edmonds range repair, from pro-style dual fuel to the 1960s rambler

Edmonds was platted in 1884, but most of its houses came much later. Hillside subdivisions spread through the 1950s and 60s, the city's largest annexations happened in the early 1960s, the southern neighborhoods joined in 1995 to 1997, and condo buildings went up on the hilltops in 2007 and 2008. About 42% of homes date from 1960 to 1979. Many of those view houses above the Bowl, in Seaview and along Sherwood have since been remodeled around a serious range: a 36- or 48-inch Wolf, Thermador, Viking or Monogram, often dual fuel, with gas burners on top and an electric convection oven below.

Dual fuel means two systems sharing one box, and we diagnose them separately. The cooktop has its own valves, spark module and reignition, and the oven has elements, a convection fan, a sensor and a control. The other half of Edmonds is quieter: 1960s ramblers in Westgate, Firdale and Perrinville still running a freestanding range or an original-size wall oven, and apartments and condos along Highway 99 with standard electric models. We repair those just as often, along with the older gas ranges in Esperance and around Westgate whose burners and igniters have simply worn out with use.

Woodway, which shares Edmonds' 98020 ZIP code, is the most gas-heavy community we serve: about 83% of its homes heat with gas, nearly all are detached houses, and many sit on lots of a third of an acre to two acres. Those kitchens are where most of the pro-style ranges and separate gas cooktops we repair live. Esperance, the unincorporated pocket inside Edmonds whose voters have turned down annexation five times, leans gas too, at about 67%, with roughly a third of its homes built in the 1950s. Woodway also has some of the newest kitchens in the area, including the 94 homes of Woodway Highlands, the first of which were finished in 2003.

Across all of these neighborhoods, Snohomish County PUD supplies the power and PSE the gas. A range with gas burners is safe to repair, but a gas leak is not something to troubleshoot: if you smell gas, leave the house and call PSE at 1-888-225-5773 or 911 once you are outside. Pro-style ranges are heavy, so when we pull one out to reach the connection, we protect the floor and leak-check the fitting when it goes back. Pro ranges with infrared broilers or griddles have their own gas valves and igniters, and we test each one separately.

Downtown, between the fountain roundabout and the ferry terminal at Brackett's Landing, parking and stairs are the main planning issues; the hilltop condos and the Highway 99 apartments usually mean garages and elevators. Tell us when you book and we will plan the visit around it. Most of Edmonds gets Everett's very soft water through the Alderwood district, so the steam-assist ovens in remodeled kitchens rarely scale up. Their failures, like everyone else's, come from heat and wear on electrical parts.