Install hvac ducts

What this means is you need to calculate the heat loss and gain in each room. Write down your calculations and draw a diagram. Once you finish your calculations, you can begin planning your project. Take time and work out where you want the ductwork to be. There are a couple of options you can choose when it comes to ductwork; sheet metal or flexible fiberglass hose. The main reason to choose sheet metal ductwork is the fact that it is tried, tested, and effective.

If installed right and well maintained you may not need repairs for a long time. Sheet metal has a few other benefits too. With so many sizes and fitting types, it works for most homes. Flexible fiberglass ducting can degrade over time. It will collect dust and can be difficult to clean. Pick the most convenient locations for your exhaust pipes and other large parts.

Think about how easy it will be to connect everything. MVHR or heat recovery systems are often found in the loft. Ducting itself usually goes in ceiling voids between floors and lofts. Instead, you can run them via webbed eco joists between floors or inside stud walls. This can lead to long ductwork runs, which makes it harder for your HVAC unit to run the air.

Installing these dampers will allow you to choke down rooms that are located too close to the return duct. These rooms will be pulling the most air and taking away suction power from the rest of the system. If you make careful not you will probably notice right away that most of your supply ducts are either installed by the windows or doors.

This is because this is where most heat enters the home. The ducts are installed strategically in these locations to help battle this heat loss or heat gain.

And, this is just one of the reasons that the return ducts need to be installed directly across from the supply vents. When installed in this fashion it will allow the system to suck the air throughout the entire room. Of course, this setup will only be applicable for individuals that are installed returns in every room of the home.

If you are going with just one or two return vents you will want to install the return vent in a centralized location as possible. Another thing to consider is the physical location of the supply ducts. Are they installed on the floor, wall, or ceiling? If the supply ducts are in the ceiling or high up on the wall, you will want to install the return ducts or grills as low as possible.

This once again will go back to the old theory of pulling the air across the entire room. Not only does the location of your return ducts make a major difference, but the size does as well.

Sizing your return ducts usually depends on the size of your ducts as well as the size of your HVAC system. In most cases, if you are installing ducts in each room where there is a supply, you will want to go with the same size as your supply vents. When the air leaves your HVAC, it heads out in a large rectangular or oval trunk, with the shape being dictated by the area and size. From here, it branches out.

That is when more flexible materials are used. Sheet metal can be oval or rectangular, and it may be insulated, depending on the type. The home size plays a role in how expensive the project is. Larger homes require more linear feet of ductwork to reach all the rooms and areas to be heated or cooled. Smaller homes need less ductwork. The layout also plays a part. Two homes of the same square footage, but with different layouts, may have different amounts of ductwork and costs.

The amount of ductwork you need is not necessarily tied to your square footage, and there is no direct conversion. Instead, it is tied to several factors, including climate, airflow, and the size of your ducts and HVAC system. Therefore, one home can have a range of sizes and costs. Below are the average costs for installing ductwork in a new home, replacing ductwork in a home, and retrofitting an existing home with new ducts. Depending on the home type, your ducts may be visible, hidden, or a combination.

It is common for homes to have at least some exposed ducts in the basement or utility room because they move from your HVAC system to the finished rooms of your home. From there, the ducts become concealed in floors, walls, ceilings, closets, and other spaces. In some homes, such as lofts, all the ducts may remain exposed. The cost of installing new ducts fluctuates depending on whether the ducts are exposed or hidden.

Hidden ducts are harder to reach, increasing labor costs. On the other hand, hidden ducts are usually made of thinner, flexible materials, costing less.

This may mean that the overlap between the costs can be significant in some cases. You likely will not be billed separately if your home has both exposed and hidden ducts. The entire project will be billed at one averaged rate. This includes the system trunk and the branches that reach the vents. Exposed systems are easier to reach but often have a nicer finish than hidden systems.

More care needs to be taken if the system is exposed throughout the home, rather than just in utility spaces. Depending on how much of your system is exposed, your costs could be on the higher end for the entire project. In case you choose to have your ductwork exposed, Bob Vila recommends inverting in copper ducts, as they create a warm and elegant look.

Moreover, since all homes have a section of exposed ductwork, the costs tend to even out when combined with the thinner materials used elsewhere. Most single-family homes have some hidden ductwork. While the beginning of the system is exposed, when it leaves your HVAC equipment, it will be hidden as it approaches the various vents.

This means there can be a wide range of costs, mostly due to the different material types and how difficult the ducts are to access. Homes with a lot of insulation or ducts fed through tight spaces can be more difficult to work on, driving costs up.

Some areas may be easier to reach, reducing costs. Get free estimates from trusted ductwork installation companies near me Get Free Estimates. Your ductwork may be run through many areas of your home, including the attic, basement, and crawl space. Depending on the home type, you may have different duct types or setups to consider.

These things, along with the installation size, ultimately impact the replacement cost. Whether you need to replace the ducts only in a specific area or throughout your home, your costs vary depending on multiple factors. Attic ductwork is a common method of getting air to the upper floors of a home. It is also a good choice for retrofitting homes or for smaller spaces where the air conditioner needs to be installed on the roof.

This ductwork is usually fairly easy to access and is often exposed. It can be of many different duct types and forms. This depends on whether this is a branch or the main trunk of your line. Ducts in the basement are very common. Many homes have their HVAC system located in the basement, so the ducts originate there, and then move through the rest of the home. Because of this, the ducts are usually exposed.

They may be a combination of materials, depending on the job size, or they may only be the trunk portion of the installation and made of sheet metal. The project costs depend on the number of installed ducts there. Crawl spaces are also a logical place to install ductwork, particularly in smaller homes.

This space is fairly accessible, although a little bit harder to reach than the attic or basement ducts. This means that the cost to replace ducts in this area is a little higher.

Depending on the HVAC system location, you may have one or more branches moving through the crawl space. Rarely, you may also have the main trunk of the system. Mobile homes do not use returns the way traditional homes do, mostly due to their smaller size. The entire system is smaller, so the HVAC can take air from the outdoors, rather than needing it to circulate back to the unit.

This means you need fewer ducts than a traditional home of the same size. In addition, mobile homes tend to be much smaller than the average stick-built home. This, combined with the smaller system, leads to much lower costs. Many homes of all types and sizes have air ducts. This is true whether you use forced hot air or central air conditioning in the home.

These ducts are usually a mixture of materials, both exposed and hidden. Depending on the home size, duct location, and material used, this can have a very wide cost range. The more difficult the ducts are to reach and the larger the ducts need to be, the higher your overall costs. Older homes are frequently more difficult to access than newer homes. The ducts may be retrofitted into the home after it was built, depending on its age. This means they will be placed wherever they can be, inside closets, under stairs, the attic, crawl spaces, and other tight fits.

This makes the replacement more time-consuming than in homes where the ducts were put in when the home was built. In addition, in older homes, walls must sometimes be opened to reach the ducts. This can mean higher repair bills to restore the walls once the ducts are in.

Ductwork can be used for several purposes in a home. The same ducts carry both forced hot air and air conditioning, depending on the time of year. That is why it is easier to install central air conditioning in a home that already has a furnace - the ductwork is in place.

Therefore, whether you use a furnace, air conditioner, or geothermal heat pump 2 that circulates forced hot air rather than forced hot water, you will use the same ducts. However, air source heat pumps do not use ducts. They use tubes and separate air handlers instead.

The following costs are for installing new ducts in a 2, sq. To install ducts in an existing home, they need to be fit into any area that can handle them. This may include attics, crawl spaces, closets, and beneath stairs. It can mean a lot of finish work as well because walls, floors, and ceilings need to be opened.

In new construction, the ducts can be planned for and installed more easily, so the cost is much lower. Installing ductwork in new construction is much easier than in a retrofit. In new construction, the home is entirely open, and the ducts are planned for. In a retrofit, the ducts must be fit into any area that can hold them. This means the work is more invasive and costlier. If the ducts are already in place, replacement is much simpler and less expensive. Geothermal heat pumps take energy from the ground.

They can be used with a furnace or boiler to produce forced hot air or forced hot water. When used with a furnace, you need ducts.

Installing ducts in an existing home without them is very invasive and expensive. This is because walls must be opened to fit the ducts into spaces like closets and beneath stairs. Installing ductwork is a difficult and labor-intensive job that should be done by a professional. In addition to the installation, part of that labor is understanding the best positions for the ducts and vents and how many returns are needed to allow air to circulate back to the HVAC unit.

Every installation begins with a computer-generated plan that calculates how many ducts, vents, and returns are necessary for the home. If this is a new installation, the ducts are roughed in by cutting the necessary holes for vents and in joists to make room. In a replacement, the old ducts are removed, and then the areas are evaluated to ensure the new ducts can be installed there. If not, any rough work is done to modify it. The ducts are installed beginning at your HVAC unit or furnace, attaching the ducts to the start collars.

The ducts are run according to the plan, with flexible sections and using tape to seal and accommodate the ducts. They are attached at each vent or return, and vent covers are glued into place using silicone.

The ducts are sealed as needed to help prevent air leaks, with each piece folding back over itself, depending on the duct type used, and caps placed over the ends. Elbows are used to allow branches to move off the mainline and for returns to carry air back to the HVAC system. The entire process can be very time-consuming, taking 2 to 3 days for a whole-house installation, particularly if this is a new installation and not replacing existing ducts.

The replacement may take 1 to 2 days, assuming no major modifications must be made. Find the best ductwork contractors near me Find Pros. Ductwork is what carries the heated or cooled air from your HVAC system to the rooms of your home. Each branch of the ductwork terminates in a vent.

This vent is what is visible within the room. It may appear as a grate, decorative covering, or a simple vent that can be opened and shut to control airflow. The vent size is determined by the size of the duct or return reaching that area.

Returns tend to have larger vents than those used for blowing the heated or cooled air. Insulating your ductwork helps reduce your overall energy costs. Many new ducts are already insulated, helping them be more efficient over time. Ducts that run through unheated spaces should be insulated, even if they are older ducts, as uninsulated ducts tend to lose heat. This means that some of the energy in the heated or cooled air they carry may leak out through the duct. Therefore, your HVAC system needs to work harder to produce the desired air temperature.

Insulation can be found in several forms, although the most common are fiberglass, mineral wool, and foil-backed mineral wool. Costs are determined by the ductwork type and its current and future locations. The more difficult the ducts are to move, the higher your total costs.

In addition, when rerouting through areas that are inaccessible or require you to cut open the walls or ceilings to install the new ducts, your costs will be higher than if the areas are easy to reach. Finally, the amount of ductwork you plan on rerouting also plays a role in your final project costs. Most ductwork does not require much maintenance from the homeowner.

Keep your vents clean and free of any debris, and change the filter on your HVAC system regularly.