Just bought a house and have noticed throughout the winter that one side of the house(furthest from the furnace) is definitely colder. The house was built in the 50s and the furnace is 15 years old. Comparing the duct work to identical houses in the neighborhood, it seems like two ducts were added to the upstairs bedrooms at some point.
Questions:
1)Can you hire an HVAC contractor to troubleshoot ductwork or will they shy away from this?
2)I have hired an energy audit company to do a full energy audit including a test to find leaks in the duct system. I assume that might solve the problem.
3) Anyway a DIYer could tackle this problem.
4 Finally, there is a part of me that wants to rips out the ducts entirely, and add in staple up radiant heat. I know I can’t afford a quality contractor to install this system, but why not follow some of the advice on this forum to buy your own pex locally, bend some aluminum around it, build you own manifold, and install a decent water heater. I am fairly confident I can handle these tasks.
Replies
Greetings a,
This post, in response to your question, will bump the thread through the 'recent discussion' listing again.
Perhaps it will catch someone's attention that can help you with advice.
Cheers
half of good living is staying out of bad situations
1)Can you hire an HVAC contractor to troubleshoot ductwork or will they shy away from this?
Yes you can and no they will not shy away from it if you're willing to pay for it. Look for someone who does air balancing and blower door tests and take it from there.
2)I have hired an energy audit company to do a full energy audit including a test to find leaks in the duct system. I assume that might solve the problem.
Depends on what kind of "test" they do to "find leaks in the duct system". Also, finding leaky ducts inside walls may or may not solve your problem, depending on your willingness to fix it ($$$).
3) Anyway a DIYer could tackle this problem.
Seal duct leaks in all accessible areas. Make sure to use tape and/or mastic approved for this purpose, not the junk from big box stores. The approved tapes will typically have "UL approvals" or such printed on the tape itself, so it is visible to inspectors.
Any work beyond this would depend on your knowledge and capabilities, like doing sheetmetal work, etc. But if you had to ask, I'd say probably not.
4 Finally, there is a part of me that wants to rips out the ducts entirely, and add in staple up radiant heat. I know I can't afford a quality contractor to install this system, but why not follow some of the advice on this forum to buy your own pex locally, bend some aluminum around it, build you own manifold, and install a decent water heater. I am fairly confident I can handle these tasks.
Again, I don't know your capabilities. Most people think they can do building trades. Reality is different. The vast majority of homeowners are no more qualified to do radiant heat then they are to perform their own root canal.
DG/Builder