Putting AC in a 1925 home? (how much, houses, buy)
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I found a house in a great location in a great town, and I am considering putting in an offer, however, the house has no AC (only window units). How difficult/costly would it be to put AC in a 1925 home (ab. 2400 sq feet, 3 story)? It has baseboard heating. Also, the home has no bathroom/powder room on the 1st floor, so that would have to be added as well, just so I don't ask my guests to go upstairs to use the bathroom... :-) Otherwise the house is in pristine condition, and quite beautiful (although 1st floor floor-plan not ideal, but can work with it).
Listing price is about 5K below what Zillow states as home value (was just reducedsignificantly, has been on the market since spring) - so what should the offer price be? I think I should factor in part of the expenses for AC and bathroom addition. However, the location is awesome, and if I go with "location, location, location", I can't go wrong here if I buy at the right price. Thank you for your advice.
My house was built in 1939 and we have central AC. It was installed by one of the previous homeowners. It works well, but there are some quirks. They put the air handler in the attic, directly above the master bedroom, so it can be very noisy when it is running. Secondly, since there was no duct work anywhere in the house (we have baseboard heating), they had to run the ducts through closets in all the bedrooms, which wastes valuable closet space (closets in older homes are usually very small to begin with). Lastly, they had to re-do the ceilings in every room because after installing air vents they hung slightly lower than the existing ceiling level, so they had to do all the ceilings over to make the vents flush with the rest of the ceiling.
So, it most likely can be done, but it will likely not be an easy or cheap job. And you'll have to deal with some quirks. From personal experience, I am more than willing to deal with those quirks on a hot and humid summer day. And I don't envy my neighbors that have to put large window units in and out of their windows every season.
Check into some of those "Through the wall" units, they wouldn't take up window space and they don't have to be taken down each year. You'd still need a unit in each room or at least located to take care of a couple of rooms but I'll bet it would be cheaper than have central AC installed throughout the house. Just a thought.
My house was built in 1939 and we have central AC. It was installed by one of the previous homeowners. It works well, but there are some quirks. They put the air handler in the attic, directly above the master bedroom, so it can be very noisy when it is running. Secondly, since there was no duct work anywhere in the house (we have baseboard heating), they had to run the ducts through closets in all the bedrooms, which wastes valuable closet space (closets in older homes are usually very small to begin with). Lastly, they had to re-do the ceilings in every room because after installing air vents they hung slightly lower than the existing ceiling level, so they had to do all the ceilings over to make the vents flush with the rest of the ceiling.
So, it most likely can be done, but it will likely not be an easy or cheap job. And you'll have to deal with some quirks. From personal experience, I am more than willing to deal with those quirks on a hot and humid summer day. And I don't envy my neighbors that have to put large window units in and out of their windows every season.
Forgive my ignorance, but if the house has baseboard heating it doesn't mean it has duct work? That would have to be added? If so, how much are we talking about?
I don't like window AC, the quality of the air is not as good, not to mention the fact that the ability to cool the room is not as good.
Forgive my ignorance, but if the house has baseboard heating it doesn't mean it has duct work? That would have to be added? If so, how much are we talking about?
I don't like window AC, the quality of the air is not as good, not to mention the fact that the ability to cool the room is not as good.
Baseboard heating means you have radiators running along the walls of each room, and they are fed either by steam, hot water, or electric. Basically the furnace/boiler feeds the radiators with steam or hot water via pipes. You can't use that for air conditioning. For A/C you need duct work that is fed by the compressor/air handler. I have no idea how much our A/C cost since I didn't install it, but a rough estimate would be a minimum of 10k.
Check into some of those "Through the wall" units, they wouldn't take up window space and they don't have to be taken down each year. You'd still need a unit in each room or at least located to take care of a couple of rooms but I'll bet it would be cheaper than have central AC installed throughout the house. Just a thought.
I know what you are talking about... We had one of those in the master when we lived in California, trying to save money. They are a bit better than the window AC. We ended up installing central air, b/c the wall AC was just OK... Thx
Baseboard heating means you have radiators running along the walls of each room, and they are fed either by steam, hot water, or electric. Basically the furnace/boiler feeds the radiators with steam or hot water via pipes. You can't use that for air conditioning. For A/C you need duct work that is fed by the compressor/air handler. I have no idea how much our A/C cost since I didn't install it, but a rough estimate would be a minimum of 10k.
Got it. Based on your feedback we may have to place the unit outside the house, and it may cost us 10-15 K (to be on the safe side). I think that's why this house hasn't sold yet (besides asking too much for it to begin with).
Got it. Based on your feedback we may have to place the unit outside the house
I'm not sure that you did "get it".
A/C compressors are always placed outside the house.
Your options--as I see it--are:
Install a "conventional" central A/C system, with the compressor outside, the condenser and circulating fan inside, and the extensive ductwork (both supply and return ducts) that would be necessary throughout the house, including the probable necessity to "drop" the ceilings.
Use "ductless" split systems, which are very popular in older buildings in both Europe and Asia. These systems have the advantage of not requiring ductwork, but you will need several of them, as each one is only capable of circulating air to one or two rooms. My brother has been very satisfied with his Mr. Slim units from Mitsubishi, and similar products are also marketed by LG.
I'm not sure that you did "get it".
A/C compressors are always placed outside the house.
Your options--as I see it--are:
Install a "conventional" central A/C system, with the compressor outside, the condenser and circulating fan inside, and the extensive ductwork (both supply and return ducts) that would be necessary throughout the house, including the probable necessity to "drop" the ceilings.
Use "ductless" split systems, which are very popular in older buildings in both Europe and Asia. These systems have the advantage of not requiring ductwork, but you will need several of them, as each one is only capable of circulating air to one or two rooms. My brother has been very satisfied with his Mr. Slim units from Mitsubishi, and similar products are also marketed by LG.
Ignore the Zillow estimates. They are meaningless.
The ductless split systems are great. I have first-hand experience with Mr. Slim units.
You must be house-hunting in a town that is mostly post-war housing. In towns with older housing stock, central AC is not all that common, even in very expensive houses, because of the difficulty of installation. As mentioned earlier, it involves cutting lots of holes in walls and sacrificing closets and/or building soffits to run the ductwork, and it's not cheap.
I get the impression you are not a lover of old houses. Would you be happier in a newer house?
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