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arborardor

1923 Foursquare, HVAC Question

arborardor
9 years ago

Hello all,

We've purchased a 1923 foursquare home near the Shenandoah Valley...very excited about making her shipshape before moving in.

The home has no HVAC system, an old corroded fuel tank in the basement is connected to ductwork on the ground floor. I'm planning for two zone HVAC, one unit in the basement tapped into the ductwork and was hoping to put second unit in the attic with ductwork connecting to the BR and bath ceilings on second floor.

My question for the group: Has anyone done a similar HVAC installation on an older home and did you run into any trouble, any recommendations or warnings?

Thanks in advance!

Comments (4)

  • sombreuil_mongrel
    9 years ago

    Hi,
    I live and work in the NOVA area, and that's the way a lot of people retrofit AC into old houses. Consider hi velocity(Unico) for upstairs as it can be easier to run the "spaghetti" ducts. (and the outlets are much tinier)
    Don't be surprised if the AC guy condemns the old basement ducts, he may actually be onto something.
    Casey

  • chibimimi
    9 years ago

    As Casey said, consider the high-velocity systems. We retrofitted two older homes. The 1914 received standard ductwork and it cut into attic space considerably, even with the installers trying to route it around the edges. The 1927 got Unico and we lost no attic space, aside from the air handler (as I recall).

  • lazy_gardens
    9 years ago

    Ask about "mini split" systems for ductless AC. They have the compressor outside and the heat exchanger inside ... the cooling fluid is running in thin tubes.

    One compressor can feed several exchangers, so you can have multiple zones.

    It's easier to retrofit where space is limited.

    ==========
    However, get an AC contractor who has done houses of that vintage and check his references ... if you have attic room and basement room, running insulated ducts should be fairly easy.

  • arborardor
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Wow, thanks everyone!

    I'll look into the high velocity ducts and research my options.

    Much appreciated. It's a beautiful home, just want to make sure our famous Virginia summers stay tolerable. :)