I just bought a house built in the 1920s that has a central AC and forced air heating system. The ducts are all in the attic. I have not actually gone up there yet, but that is what the home inspector told me as well as the person who came by and performed an asbestos inspection. The house is a little bit under 1,000 square feet. I am located in the Los Angeles area, in Pasadena.
I have asbestos insulation wrap on these ducts. I have gotten a quote from an asbestos removal service and they are charging almost $1,500 to remove these ducts and to have them hauled away/disposed of. They said they cannot just remove the asbestos insulation alone, but that the entire ducts will have to be removed.
So, here is my problem. I don't have a lot of money to spend. I think that - after the asbestos removal - hiring someone to replace these ducts might run anywhere from $2,000 to $5,000. I haven't actually asked around yet, but this is based on what I have read on the internet.
I am open to the idea of replacing the ducts myself, but my question is - would I be able to do something like this myself? And if so, would I be able to do it safely?
I guess my main concern (aside from it probably being super hot in the attic, probably having to lay some planks on the beams in the attic to stand on, and me having no experience) is that if I install the ducts incorrectly that the whole house will burn down when I use the forced air furnace. Is this a valid concern? I ask this because it seems that most of the information I find on the internet only talks about air conditioning ducts installation - and very little specific mention about forced air heating use. Do I need to buy a special kind of duct that can withstand high temperatures if it will be used for both AC and forced air heating? Or is this just a completely insane idea that I should give up and just take on some temporary part-time work so I can afford to hire a professional to install the ducts?
Do you know any professionals you can recommend in the greater Los Angeles area?
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ReplyDeleteInstalling a new HVAC duct can be costly is simply one of the things that you must consider and is best carried out by a trained professional. There should be more information online and it may be useful to find a company that can actually remove and replace them, rather than hiring two separate people for the job.
ReplyDeleteDennis Cannon @ Laird And Son