What is the average cost for replacing duct work in a home?
Question:I need my ducts in my house replaced. It is a 1300sq. ft home. I guess it will need new vents & returns as well? I live in SC if that makes a difference. I was told they were not working well (obviously) & they were not put in the right places. Any ideas?
Answers:
You should budget at least four thousand.
Unless they are all in a central location in your home I can't see how they could all need replacing. this would be an expensive procedure because it would require tearing out drywall all through your house. This is not a normal condition couldn't they just add some additional ductwork to make things better?
Tell them that you will require a diagram outlining the ductwork changes (and pertinent sizes) that they propose to make. They can include the information along with their written estimate.
If they refuse to do so they may not be dealing honestly with you. If you can obtain 2-3 estimates and see that there are vast differences in the proposals - you can almost bet that somebody is being cute - at your expense...
How do you know they are not working well? Ductwork is simply hollow metal round or rectangular tubes. I've seen houses where the grilles and diffusers were all located "wrong" and the heat and A/C still work okay. Wherever you put the grilles for heating season you would want the opposite for cooling season. However, since you are in SC your cooling season is longer than the heating season so ideally the return grilles would be up high to draw the heat off the ceiling. But it's certainly not worth tearing apart your house to change it. The $4,000 number may not even be enough to do the whole project.
- Do you have hot and cold rooms in the house? You may just need to rebalance the air distribution by adjusting the dampers in the branch ducts.
- Are the inside of the ducts dirty? Have them cleaned.
- Is the furnace or air conditioner undersized? Replacing the ductwork won't help that situation.
Sounds to me like a contractor is trying to scam you.
Im with Joe B. Sounds like someone's trying to scam you. Call someone else for at least a second opinion.
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