new system installation.. how difficult?


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Old 02-21-06, 06:09 AM
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new system installation.. how difficult?

There are companies on line that will design and sell complete heating and air conditioning systems at a good price. Is this a reasonable DIY job? This would be the whole 9 yards, ducts and all. What would likely be the most challenging part? I have a fair amount of both mechanical and carpentry experience and a brother in law who is an electrician.
 
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Old 02-21-06, 06:47 AM
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There are a few company on lines that sells you the package dea, but I am not going to link them to you.

Lot of us here do not advise home owner to put in thier own heating and a/c equipement. There's lot to know how the system works, and you have to do it RIGHT the first place around.. If not, the equipement may not last long, and you are back to square one.

Yes, a person could buy a furnace or a/c on line, but if you read the really fine lines, most furnace company does NOT provide any warranity. So if you have trouble, you are kinda on your own. If you do need repairs, some dealer will NOT touch the equipement if it was not installed by a pro.

I couldn't find this one poster on here a while back, him and his brother put in a furnace them self, they had trouble with it.. Had a hard time trying to fix it, and he said he learned a leason from it.

My advise, let the pro do the job. That way it's sized right for the home, ductwork is also sized for the right air flow to all vents. And you will get support after it been installed.

I used to be in the field, and no longer am. I had a new furnace put in 1 1/2 years ago. yes, I could of done it myself. But I let a dealer do the job. I just hooked up the wires, and removed the old furnace. I did this cuz I know I have support, and i also brought extended 10 years parts and labor warranity. Now I have a peace of mind for the next 10 years on my furnace.
 
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Old 02-21-06, 02:27 PM
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DIY furnace installation

What Jay said.
 
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Old 02-21-06, 04:23 PM
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Past experience

Thanks for your responses.. My problem is how do you know if the " pro " really is a pro? I am a contractor (landscape, 38 years) and over the years I've had less than satisfactory results from some people who called themselves qualified professionals. Frankly I'm more interested in a quality job than the final price. I trust myself to do a quality job so the question is how difficult is the actual work?

The companies that I have researched take detailed surveys of your home, room sizes, number and quality of windows, amount of insulation, summer shade etc. and do a complete design of the system down to the last detail which is considerably more than a couple of heating and air contractors I had over to give me a quote.

Bottom line.. what are the most difficult parts of the actual installation? Thans in advance for your help. greensboro_man
 
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Old 02-21-06, 04:39 PM
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Greensboro Man

A pro will size the equipment & ducts using Manual J calculations for sizing the equipment & Manual D calculations for the ducts. The best way I know of to find such a person or company is to talk with friends, neighbors, relatives, etc. about whom they have had do similar work & how well satisfied they were. A true professional will also present you with options but usually with a recommedation.
You will likely get several opinions on the "hardest" part of the installation but to me it is the assembly & sealing of the ducts.
Here is a link to a web site where for about $50 you can download & run a Manual J (maybe a manual D as well): http://hvaccomputer.com
 
 

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