Central air questions....

[Pappy]

Our house doesnt have it, and we are planning on having it installed. we have no duct work, and it will be a single floor install. anyone on here that does this type of work and can offer some tips and a geustimate on pricing?

we have to do something because with no furnace or air system, dust control is a nightmare due to the air in the house not moving or being filtered. anything else available besides central air or is that a good option?

[bulkdriverlp]

my parents just had centeral air/furnace installed. they have about 1800 sq ft. went from wood stove/wall furnace to the new stuff. it cost them about 7,500 bucks because they didnt have any ductwork at all. we live in michigan thou, need the furnace part. id go to home depot and ask them what you need to buy and go to diy website to help you install the ducts yourself. contractors dont like crawling around in sand and cobwebbs, thats part of the reason they charge so much. all you do is buy the duct flanges that go in the floor, cut a hole between the joists (in front of a window) in each room. buy the big flexable insulated duct stuff and tie it up to your joists under the house after you hook it to your holes you cut in your floor. first find out where you want your ac/furnace. attic, crawl space, on floor someplace in the house, (closet,laundry room). go from there, hope i helped

[iwannaride^3]

i actually work for a heating and a/c company in town, and $7500 would actually be high, of course were in utah. as with any job there are tools of the trade that you would prob need and then you would only use them the one time. its probably not something that you would want to do as a DIY project. central air is pretty reliable and there are very few things that go wrong with them if properly installed...
any other q's and ill see what i can do to help...

[NorCalRacer]

Whole house exit fans are a great cheap way to go. Run an exit duct into the attic or crawlspace, whichever is more convenient, and put a filter on the exit, simple open the windows for the entrance. You can also set up an exit duct across your house for the winter so you conserve heat and just unhook the duct and run it out in summer for an easy exit. Not quite central air, but cheaper to install and run. I've installed more than a few in this area.

[D-7#61-450r]

Pappy send 88yfz a pm so he will see this. He is an hvac man and might be able to give you a good idea on pricing.

[465Stroker]

Kenny,

I have friends with a similar house as yours - Ranch. They have hot water baseboard and had a central air cooling unit only for around $5K. The oil fired boiler is still used for heating season. The airhandler is installed in the attic and condensor outside.

[Pappy]

thanks rick!!! and everyone else.

[quadracer707]

Out our way they use ductless air conditoining. Unit installs right below ceiling, compressor is outside, my inlaws have 2 of them one in Living room other in sitting room, you dont even hear them run.
Thinking of putting in our house this year, but I say that every year until it is 90 outside & then i lug the old unit down from the garage & put into the window, not threw the window like I did 5 years ago.

Ken

[Moded86R]

I have been working in HVAC for three years now.

First of you'll need to figure the size of your house.Every 500sq ft =1 ton of cooling or heating.Also it's a little better to have an undersized unit because an oversized unit will leave humidy in the air.And it wont feel as cool.

As far as pricing goes I can't really help.With nothing being there right now.And the house may not be designed very well.(No place to pull returns from)

If you have any specific questions let me know and I will try to help.