Here are some photos from the local company's website as examples of their work. I'll do a second post responding to your comments, Steve.

Yup - nice ductwork!

OTOH, there is an electrical code violation in the way the furnace is wired in both the before and after pictures of the furnace. Codes differ somewhat by municipality but the way the cord runs from the disconnect switch to the furnace would never fly around here.

Another reason to get a permit.

Steve,

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The bad news is that the ductwork in your new basement needs some work. I'm surprised your house inspector didn't write it up.

That's basically what the HD guy said (esp re inspector). I wonder why the inspector didn't say anything... he did point out how old the system was, but didn't make specific points about the duct work. One thing to note is that every time we had the inspector in the house, the weather was absolutely freezing and the house was always nice and cozy, so maybe he figured it was functional and that was his main concern. I will go back and look at the original report. It's so long, maybe I missed something.

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An awful lot of what I see is just plain sloppy work, which makes me wonder what is going on under the insulation./[quote]

Yeah, that's a concern isn't it. I wonder if the seller did it himself or had his sloppy rental unit maintenance guys do it. >_<

[quote]You could probably get by with fixing just the broken duct for now and budget for new ductwork when you get around to finishing up the basement. Perhaps just ask for a two hour labor quote to repair what is there a as best they can.

Yeah, maybe that's what we'll do. I do think that with the local company, they seem like they'll be more receptive to the idea that we want to do it in stages to make budgeting easier. With the HD guy, he discussed it like doing it all at once was the only option. The guy from the local company didn't say much, but we'll see what they say when they contact us with a quote and all the details.

How would I know the job is sloppy? I'll have to educate myself a little more before we get to that point!

Re the permit, what kind of permit is it? Do you have an idea of how much that adds to the costs?

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OTOH, there is an electrical code violation in the way the furnace is wired in both the before and after pictures of the furnace.

Trying to get all this figured out is gonna give me heart attack!!!

There is a really nice plumbing detail in the first picture. They've installed a union in the condensate drain line so you can take it apart and blow it out if it gets plugged - something I have had to do more than once at this house.

It's not a code requirement and most guys don't do it, but it indicates to me that the installer cared about doing a really good job.

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Originally posted by ShiroKuro:

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OTOH, there is an electrical code violation in the way the furnace is wired in both the before and after pictures of the furnace.

Trying to get all this figured out is gonna give me heart attack!!!

Just let the City inspect it and everything will be fine.

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Originally posted by ShiroKuro:
How would I know the job is sloppy?

Compare the ductwork in your basement to the pictures of ductwork you posted. Everything is straight and true, everything is wrapped nicely, nothing is hanging loose, or sagging, or wrinkly, the wrap is continuous, and you can't see any exposed fiberglass.

I will say the work they did on the Lake House is especially showy because of the shiny exterior wrapping material they used. Very impressive, but the dull, gray plastic wrapping costs less and works fine as well.

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I'll have to educate myself a little more before we get to that point!

As a matter of judging appearance, perhaps. I think it's pretty easy to see which installation I would want in my house. As far as performance, I don't think you need to take the time to learn the preferred materials and practices for HVAC installation. A City inspection and checking a few references should be all you need.

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Re the permit, what kind of permit is it? Do you have an idea of how much that adds to the costs?

In most municipalities you need what is called a "Mechanical" permit - a permit to change the furnace, condensing unit, and/or ductwork. Costs vary widely, but most cities around here are going to charge around $100 for that. If you call the building department they will tell you how much it costs.

Some will also require an electrical permit which might add $50. Other cities wrap the electrical connection permit in with the mechanical permit.

Ok, I found the various permit forms on the city website (should be under $100). I'll bring it up with the HVAC folks when I get the quotes.

I also was just googling the two companies. The one that's affiliated with HD is a little harder to get reviews for, but no red flags. The local company has a ton of reviews and almost all very good, I'm not surprised though, they have a great reputation.

Ok, HD guy got in touch with me. He wants to look again before finalizing the details, but when I pushed, he gave me a rough estimate of $8500 for HVAC and an additional $8500 for the ductwork. Now, ultimately this is almost a meaningless number without more info -- although IIRC he said either a Lennox or Rheem, but I don't have any other details, he was really pushing to come back out and I said I needed to wait til I finish a big project at work, so I put things on hold there.

Neverhtless, that seems like an awful lot to me. I did ask about not doing the ductwork now, and he said that would be an option but that I would have to sign a disclaimer that said something to the effect that we wouldn't hold them responsible for duct leakage. I said I'd need to see that disclaimer before moving forward.

So, let's see what my other two quotes will look like.

That sounds very high to me.

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That sounds very high to me.

The total number, or each part of it?

I don't understand why the ductwork should cost as much as the new equipment. Granted, the labor required might be more but the parts/ducts themselves shouldn't be.

Anyway, yes, each number sounds very high to me too and I am looking forward to the numbers from the local company.

Oh btw, the HD guy is pushing some 84-month financing thing. Um, no.

For comparison, I'm having a Rheem unit installed tomorrow for about $4,500. Ductwork is not an issue though. Mine is size appropriate for an 1800 square foot condo, actually I oversized it a bit. Don't remember the exact numbers. I can check when I'm home.

Hi Doug, lovely to see you!! And thank you for sharing this info, it's super helpful to have!!

In particular, any info you could share about the model and the size (how many BTUs or tons) would be much appreciated. Although, it might not be totally comparable, because here, the heating will be done with a heat pump. Oh and the whole thing is electric.

The current HVAC is a 3 ton system, and we are about 1600 sq. ft on the main level, but then the basement has two 11x18 rooms (one finished, one not). That's an additional 400 sq. ft (roughly), but it's not quite the same as having those rooms on the main level, since being in the basement mitigates some of the heating and cooling.... Anyway, I'm hoping I can stay at a 3 ton system.

Mine is a 4 ton, 14 seer Rheem. On the quotes I got, the bigger price break was between the 14 and 16 seer, not between 3 and 4 ton. They gave me the option of paying another $550 for the 16 seer. Since we only use the air conditioning about 2 1/2 months here, all the calculations I saw told me that the upgrade would not pay off.

I know that part of the labor charge I am getting is for hauling my air conditioner out of a very tight closet so they can replace the heat pump underneath it. I don’t know what any of those words mean, for all I know they are making it up…

I got three quotes. One for $4500 one for $5800 and one for $8000. I would have been suspicious of the price differences, but I have a very good personal reference for the guys that gave me the lowest bid. Better than the references on the high bidder. We will see…

Doug, this info is super, super helpful! Thank you!!

Obviously, different markets, different details mean I shouldn't expect the same exact prices, but I really doubt $8500 is a fair price!

Also, speaking of labor, this unit is in full-height, walk-out basement, there's perfectly easy access to the unit (no crawl spaces, no cramped attics), so I would imagine that will make things easier for the workers.

I really hope the local company comes up with a good quote. Besides the fact that that would allow them to sell me an HVAC, they will then have me as a customer for life, and I will go to them when it's time to replace the water heater etc. etc.