Real Estate Investor · Waterford, MI · Member since 2014 · 5 posts · 0 votes
My partner and I recently purchased a 1300 sq ft home in Detroit's Bagley neighborhood. It was built in 1929 and needs a complete rehab. The system is a boiler and all the radiators are missing. We had the heating system quoted and the contractor suggested we change to forced air and put a furnace in the basement and in the attic. He says this will make the duct work easier to install. Has anyone heard of this before? Any thoughts?
Rental Property Investor · Union, NJ · Member since 2014 · 16 posts · 6 votes
11y
I have been in the HVAC business since 1982 so I am very familiar with your options. What you are saying is done frequently in our area and a nice option to be able to zone (multiple thermostats) which helps comfort when done correctly but like the previous post said a 1300 sq ft home is rather small for a multiple system home. The question I have is, was ALL supply and return water lines removed or just the base board, meaning the stubs in each room are available to install new baseboard? If so I would say that would be your least expensive option. The benefit of switching to a hot air ducted system is to be able to add central AC which will add value to the home and may help sell the home. If you are renovating anyway this can be done with one system located in the basement and opening up Sheetrock walls to add proper ducting. You can then add a electronic zoning system if separate thermostats are wanted for the first and second floor. This option will add several thousand dollars to the project and not really needed if your flipping, if you where going to live in yourself then I would highly suggest it. Sight unseen these are my suggestions. I would get several estimates for re installing the baseboard and boiler and I would get several estimates for adding hot air/ central ac in both single and multiple (2) systems. As in most cases be careful that the contractors are reputable and GUARANTEE work to new homeowner! Nothing worse then selling a house and getting a call the first 20 degree or 90 degree day that the system will not maintain temperature and the contractor is not answering his phone :) good luck
Congrats on the rehab house. I am sure there is a contractor or HVAC guy here that can give you a better answer then I can.
Saying that, I have done at least 500 rehabs for flips and rentals and have very very rarely put in two furnaces and when we did it was because the house was very large in Sqft. Maybe a large upstairs and downstairs would call for two different units.
To me a 1300 sqft house should not need 2 hvac units.
Again, if there is a HVAC guy here on BP he can shine more light about it.
Peoria, IL · Member since 2011 · 365 posts · 182 votes
11y
My personal residence had an air handler(a/conly no heat) in the attic with proper ductwork and returns for A/C upstairs only, radiators for the whole house.
HVAC guy said it would be cheaper/easier to just install another furnace and A/C to cover the lower level which was a little colder and no Proper A/C ductwork.
The result is one heat/cool system, a heat system and a cooling system. 3 thermostats total.
The positive is that things are zoned. I can barely heat and cool the rarely used upstairs, and when a furnace or A/C breaks, I got a backup to keep it tolerable.
The downside is now I have more systems to maintain. (in your case double)
I'd look at your floorplan and see if there is some sort of closet up and down to run ductwork from basement to attic.
Of course it's easier from a ductwork standpoint to do two systems, but that doesn't mean it's best. There are pros and cons.
Rental Property Investor · Union, NJ · Member since 2014 · 16 posts · 6 votes
11y
I have been in the HVAC business since 1982 so I am very familiar with your options. What you are saying is done frequently in our area and a nice option to be able to zone (multiple thermostats) which helps comfort when done correctly but like the previous post said a 1300 sq ft home is rather small for a multiple system home. The question I have is, was ALL supply and return water lines removed or just the base board, meaning the stubs in each room are available to install new baseboard? If so I would say that would be your least expensive option. The benefit of switching to a hot air ducted system is to be able to add central AC which will add value to the home and may help sell the home. If you are renovating anyway this can be done with one system located in the basement and opening up Sheetrock walls to add proper ducting. You can then add a electronic zoning system if separate thermostats are wanted for the first and second floor. This option will add several thousand dollars to the project and not really needed if your flipping, if you where going to live in yourself then I would highly suggest it. Sight unseen these are my suggestions. I would get several estimates for re installing the baseboard and boiler and I would get several estimates for adding hot air/ central ac in both single and multiple (2) systems. As in most cases be careful that the contractors are reputable and GUARANTEE work to new homeowner! Nothing worse then selling a house and getting a call the first 20 degree or 90 degree day that the system will not maintain temperature and the contractor is not answering his phone :) good luck
Your concern should also be keeping the furnaces in the home.. heard horror stories of people stealing them and then when the house sells a person from around the corner walk up and says "hey I got a furnace that will fit in that house. want to buy it?" Good deals in D town for a reason.
Investor · Chicago, IL · Member since 2014 · 39 posts · 12 votes
11y
One of the first things an HVAC contractor should be asking you is are you doing a gut rehab? What type of windows, doors,insulation are you installing? Are you going to be making big changes to the building envelope to increase comfort and energy efficiency or are you just doing the minimum to flip it.
If you are just flipping and don't care about energy efficiency you don't really have to worry much about it because most hvac contractors are going to greatly oversize the equipment.
If you do intend to try and increase energy efficiency and comfort you need to tell the contractor what your plan and have him do a load calculation. If he doesn't know how to do one find a new guy.
Investor · Baltimore, MD · Member since 2014 · 1k+ posts · 688 votes
11y
Why use 2 furnaces? Are you sure you heard him correctly? Maybe he said run the duct in the basement and the attic?..which would make more sense in a 1300 sq ft home....either way, 2 furnaces is ridiculous for a home of that size, plus one additional thing that can go wrong/be stolen
@Mike Hurney lol, nope not carrying. Just some hope for the future of Detroit. I love Marblehead. :)
I have hope also. I just don't use my money on hope. That's not the best area. I would be scared getting 1 furnace ripped.
I did this on a property about the same size. Use closets on the first floor to get underneath the floor on the 2nd. This is not that hard for a pro. I would call some one else