HVAC in Fort Macleod

Fort Macleod at a glance

Fort Macleod is a town in southern Alberta west of Lethbridge. It grew around the North-West Mounted Police fort built in 1874 and took its current name in 1952.

What that means for your heating

Downtown Fort Macleod has many brick and sandstone buildings from the early 1900s. Older masonry buildings can be hard to heat evenly and often have chimneys and venting that need checking when the furnace is replaced. See furnace replacement.

Closer to the mountains

Fort Macleod sits closer to the Rockies than Lethbridge, and wind is a big part of life there. Cold drafts through old windows and doors make furnaces work harder, so sealing and filter care go a long way. Wind coming off the foothills tests every window and door. Weatherstripping, door sweeps and sealing around older windows cut drafts noticeably, and sealing exposed ducts in basements and crawl spaces keeps more heat where you want it.

A fort and a fire

The fort was built on October 18, 1874, as a 70-by-70-metre square on a peninsula in the Oldman River, and moved to the present town site in 1884. The Museum of the North-West Mounted Police tells its story. In 1906 a fire destroyed most of the wooden downtown, and from 1906 to 1912 brick and stone buildings replaced it. In 1912 the CPR moved its divisional point to Lethbridge. Heritage buildings converted to homes or businesses often have mixed heating systems added over the years, so ask a technician to look at the whole system, not just the furnace.