We have an ancient ducted system in our 1900 Victorian. The ductwork in the basement is the HVAC equivalent of the Winchester Mansion. The ducts are old, leaky, covered with asbestos, and seem to wander aimlessly often ending at nowhere. We have chosen to live with the $500/month heating and cooling bills (when the upstairs was an inferno in summer and an icebox in winter) because fixing it while it still had life, seemed daunting. Well, it finally died. And it seems a bit foolish to get a new system and just live with the crappy ducts. Also, the hodgepodge of ducts has chewed up an enormous amount of basement space. So, I started thinking about ductless (again)--but in the past I had encountered many contractors who warned me off with horror stories of drops in resale value, general climate discomfort, higher costs of installation and operation...and the unsightly lines climbing up the exterior walls to the second floor and attic. The final point is oddly the biggest deal breaker, as I do not have the heart to wrap a lovely piece of art like the exterior of this house in ugly refrigerant lines. However, I have stumbled upon several sources that contradict these horror stories. And to be honest in a super tall house like this one, zoned systems make more sense to me.
Details:
1900 three story Victorian
Located in Northern Kansas
Typical heat Above 90 and 100 degrees for at least 3 months
Typical winter temps Vary--but single digits off and on for 3 months is common.
The first floor ~1000 sq. Feet, 10 foot ceilings, is quite open with the east and south covered mostly in 24x48 inch windows. But only one window gets sunny.
The second floor ~1000sq. Feet , 8 feet, is a maze of closed off rooms.
The attic~700 sq. Feet, with ceilings rising 15 feet in several spots, is open and unfinished (future master)
The basement is ~1000 sq. Feet. 8 foot ceilings. Unfinished--but on the docket for renovation, as in Kansas it's not uncommon to live down there during storm season.
So, questions:
1. Do you have experience with threading the lines through interior walls? Good experience? Bad experience?
2. In a 3 story house with large windows and poor insulation, are we better off just choking down the $25,000-35,000 price tag of new ductwork for central air--and just live with the loss of precious square footage? Or could we just get a more powerful ductless system?
3. Insulation is an issue--something we are trying to work on without wrecking the original plaster and siding. So, with the old walls we will be working within--are there thing we need to look out for? I'm a total novice--so please don't worry about talking down to me.
4. How do we know if a contractor is skilled enough to manage the job. We live in a very rural area--and this is UNHEARD of out here.
5. We are looking at clever little hidey spots (under window seats with a grate that lets out air, nestled between floor joists of the basement and vented through our old floor grates, etc...does anyone have thoughts on the impact this will have on efficiency? I want to maintain a period look with respect to the original architecture, if I can...but I like to joke that I prefer to historically preserve...not hysterically preserve.
6. Right now our attic and basement are unfinished. But once we pay down our loan--5 years--they are up next for renovation. Should we pull the trigger and install lines for all levels now? Take adavantage of some unfinished walls in the main floors of the house? Or is that something that could wait until we finish those areas.
Anything else that folks might find pertinent--don't hesitate to educate. If I didn't ask, it's not from lack of curiosity--it's because I don't know what I don't know.
Thanks!! |