The Many Delights of Mill Valley
Where the shores of Richardson Bay meet the slopes of Mount Tamalpais, about 14 miles from the Golden Gate Bridge, you’ll find Mill Valley. Originally a small mill town (hence the name), today Mill Valley is home to a modern full-service city. An Englishman and Irishman, William Richardson and John Thomas Reed, who initially obtained land grants to the area in the early 1820s. Reed gave the city its name of Mill Valley. Today, the mid-sized town incorporated in 1900 is equal parts urban and laid back, with eclectic restaurants, vibrant nightlife and unforgettable scenery.
The City of Mill Valley lies 14 miles north of San Francisco and 40 miles from California wine country in Marin County, California. Population is approximately 14,000 residents, living in a 4.8 square mile area. The larger Mill Valley area comprises some 30,000 residents.
Mill Valley Attractions
Tourists come from around the world for Mill Valley’s food, hiking and cultural events. Here are a few of the main attractions. Needless to say, the people who live there enjoy these attractions day-in and day-out. Here’s just a few highlights:
- Mill Valley Farmer’s Market. Sample local fare and buy the freshest fruits, vegetables and cheese every Friday year-round.
- The Mountain Play. Mill Valley is home to one of the longest running theater groups in the county. They have been producing annual outdoor musicals in the Mt. Tam amphitheater since 1913.
- Mill Valley Parks. 85 percent of Marin County is devoted to parkland, watersheds and agricultural use. Mill Valley’s parks offer hiking trails, picnic areas and opportunities for biking.
- The Cowboy Rock Trail is part of the Homestead Valley Land Trust. It leads to the western tip of Homestead Valley. The Pixie Trail is also part of the Homestead Valley Land Trust. It has several trail heads, including a mid-access point, where it becomes paved and more developed.
- Muir Woods National Monument located just outside of the city of Valley, is part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. This coastal redwood preserve features scenic hiking trails among the famous California redwoods, drawing more than 1.5 million visitors each year.
- Museums and historical sites. To name just a few, the Mill Valley Air Force Station was active during the Cold War, the Bolinas Museum documents key events in Mill Valley history and the Walt Disney Family Museum is, as you’d expect, all about Walt Disney.
- The Mill Valley Film Festival is an 11-day event by the California Film Institute that uses film to educate, entertain and inspire.
- The Mill Valley Philharmonic performs each summer throughout June honoring composers from around the world.
- The Marin Designers Showcase is an annual event where Mill Valley’s interior designers turn a Marin home into a showplace.
Perhaps most of all, Mill Valley is famous for its vineyards.
Mill Valley Wine Country
Mill Valley shares the same rich soil as the Napa and Sonoma wine countries to the south. Consequently Mill Valley farmers are achieving their own worldwide notoriety for local wine and cheese. The Mill Valley Wine and Gourmet Celebration is a festival celebrated every summer since 1981. Every year it sells out because of tasting from premium wineries and breweries and food from local restaurants and chefs. Fine wine connoisseurs also frequent Point Reyes Vineyards or enjoy the unique selection at Vintage Wine and Spirits.
Of course, maintaining proper temperature is essential to making quality wine and cheese. Maintaining proper temperature in Mill Valley residences is also a concern of Ongaro and Sons, which specializes in quality HVAC systems and indoor air quality.
Damp But Pleasant Weather
Mill Valley has a Mediterranean climate with damp winters and arid summers. It’s pleasant, but residents still need reliable heating and cooling systems, even during pleasant weather conditions. And, of course, plumbing maintenance is always essential, regardless of what’s going on outside.
And sometimes what’s going on outside is potentially dangerous to indoor plumbing as well as entire homes…
Spreading Wildfires
California has experienced a tremendous increase in wildfires, the smoke from which further contributes to air pollution. Indeed, the home of Mill Valley’s fire chief recently went up in flames. This was particularly ironic given that the fire chief had recently fought the spread of wildfires in the area to save many other homes.
Besides irritating the eyes and lungs, high levels of smoke particulates can cause serious problems for those with poor health conditions. When outside air is potentially dangerous, Ongaro and Sons has the products you need to breathe easier indoors.
Air to Breathe
California is one of the leading states in terms of environmental regulation and green initiatives. Unfortunately, one of the reasons for this is because of the heavy air pollution. Fortunately, air quality in Mill Valley is on average good.
One type of “pollution” you can’t escape is seasonal allergies. There’s nothing more annoying than having to endure a runny nose or headache caused by allergies, especially when the weather is getting better. Ongaro and Sons offers a set of tips to help relieve your allergy suffering. Regular maintenance of your heating and cooling system, including changing air filters, is particularly important to making it easier for you to breathe at home.
Ongaro & Sons Services Mill Valley
Ongaro and Sons provides a full range of plumbing and heating and cooling services to Mill Valley. When Mill Valley residents call us, they know they’ll receive quality workmanship and incomparable service.
Plumbing
For any and all plumbing jobs related to your home, Ongaro and Sons provides a variety of residential services including inspection, installation and repair. Our technicians are experienced with drain cleaning and maintenance and repair, including installation and repair of garbage disposals. Experienced certified plumbers carefully and thoroughly explore your plumbing, using drain line cameras when necessary, so that we can identify the problems and fix exactly what is wrong.
HVAC
Ongaro and Sons designs a Heating Ventilation Air Conditioning (HVAC) system using a diagnostics approach to provide the highest levels of efficiency and comfort. Ongaro and Sons technicians are trained for all residential makes and models of forced air and air conditioning repair. Our fully stocked trucks have replacement parts on hand for most required repairs, and if we don’t have the part on hand we can get the part quickly so that you’ll be up and running in a very short time.
Boiler Repair
Ongaro and Sons technicians make use of the latest diagnostic equipment and years of experience to determine a problem quickly and get you back up and running as soon as possible. They are highly trained in boiler repair and regularly attend boiler manufacturers training courses. We work on most all major manufacturer models. Regular boiler system maintenance and annual tune-up ensure longer lasting equipment and lower utility bills. Should your boiler need replacement, we carry most major brands.
Duct Cleaning, Repair and Replacement
Central air conditioning and heating are the top energy consumers in most California homes, so ensuring the efficiency of your entire HVAC system can yield big improvements in energy efficiency. When we think about saving energy, we usually focus on the furnace and air conditioner units, but a leaky duct system can reduce your climate control system’s efficiency 20 to 30 percent. These leaks also bring unwanted dust, unconditioned outdoor air and humidity into your living space and take money straight out of your wallet.
If your home is over seven years old, have your ducts professionally tested by one of our certified Home Energy Rating System (HERS) technicians via an energy audit. If needed, we can do a thorough and effective cleaning, repair or even replace leaky ductwork.
Indoor Air Quality
Ongaro and Sons puts the “V” back into the HVAC. Ventilation is the process of bringing fresh air into your home to replace stale air filled with indoor pollutants such as cooking smells, pet odors and/or tobacco. Proper ventilation is not only key to the efficiency of your home heating and cooling system, but to your indoor air quality and you and your family’s health. While air filters and air fresheners remove particles from circulating, they don’t bring in fresh air. One simple way to correct this is to open doors and windows, but this is not always practical. It also allows outside allergens and pollutants into the house.
Ongaro and Sons offers a number of solutions to increase the quality of your indoor air, including everything from a filtration system to a complete home purification system fresh air exchanger system. We’re a family-owned business. No one knows better than us the importance of protecting the health of you and your family.
Contact Us
Ongaro and Sons is here for Mill Valley residents as well as commercial businesses to provide full-service heating and pooling, plumbing and boiler installation, maintenance and repair. Contact us with any questions or discuss your needs, and experience 100 percent customer satisfaction.