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We live in an older home that only has central heat. We are wanting to update heat unit and add air. One contractor tells us he can upgrade without doing anything to the existing duct work. It is metal, in the ceiling and there are only 8 out put vents in the 2000 sq foot home. The other contractor wants to change the duct system to flex type add more vents. He says the unit will freeze up without more air flow. The difference in cost is $5000. Any comments or suggestions? Thanks
one contractor will use existing duct work-which is metal, insulate it and add the new units.
The other contractor wants to replace the duct work with flexible duct system.
Needing to replace (some of) the trunk duct for sizing or condition or layout reasons is often valid.
Replacing it with FLEX though... says you keep looking for a better operator.
And yeah, (if needed) it's worth the extra cost for metal.
The larger concern is RETURN duct sizing and registers.
Needing to replace (some of) the trunk duct for sizing or condition or layout reasons is often valid.
Replacing it with FLEX though... says you keep looking for a better operator.
And yeah, (if needed) it's worth the extra cost for metal.
The larger concern is RETURN duct sizing and registers.
Score, Mr Rational.
Keep looking for a better installer. For HVAC, the quality of the installer matters more than the brand of equipment (and quality installers will sell quality equipment).
Replacing it with FLEX though... says you keep looking for a better operator.
And yeah, (if needed) it's worth the extra cost for metal.
The difference between one contractor or another DOESN'T come down to "Flex Duct" or "Metal Duct"!
The duct itself is nothing more than a path for directing air in a certain direction. It's more about the insulation! And you can sure as Hell bet that the insulation that is currently on that metal duct comes nowhere near the R-value required today.
So yeah, to make the system as EFFICIENT as possible, it maybe a very good idea to replace the metal duct. Besides, if he is in an area that pushes permits for this type of work- you know that's going to be a requirement!
...just saw duplicate post- 60yo duct is probably not ducting well.
Last edited by K'ledgeBldr; 06-25-2014 at 09:08 AM..
I've seen MANY home forced air A/C systems where some rooms are cool but other rooms are hot. This is due to poor or cheap design of the air ducts.
So I would be inclined to think the contractor who advises adding more ducts is correct.
Note: In general "sun rooms" with lots of windows are hot as are rooms with no ducts. And with 2 floor houses, the 2nd floor is always hot - the 1st floor too cold!
No way of even attempting to give a valid answer without looking at the system, measuring airflow, doing the calcs to properly size a unit, etc.. Agree with getting in an outside expert with no straw in the drink other than an evaluation fee.
I would also be interested to know if the FAU (forced air unit) is designed with a higher fan speed for AC.
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