You are exactly the person I want doing the HVAC in my home, talking about building a home to last 100 years and thinking about how things will deteriorate over time.
I’ve been an Sheetmetal worker for over 20yrs.. and I love your explanations, and your sincerity about your discovery process. You’re not pretending to be a professional installer. Very cool brother, very cool.
My friend, I am not trying to do this work for anyone else. This is my house. And your comments scream of a lack of home-as-a-system thinking. There is no elevation of mold, humidity, or contaminants in the home generally when all the systems are working together. Your HVAC does not have to fix problems in a home like this. I hope you get to work on one sometime, it’s pretty awesome.
Thank you so much for the info. It's hard being a widow/single parent and trying to afford all these things that breakdown around the house. If I can save money and do things myself, I'm on it. I really appreciate that you dedicated a website to helping people. 🖤
Advice for beginners: I've been installing heating systems in new homes for over 25 years and I just recently bought a pair of attachable uni-shears for my drill because of all my arthritis, carpel-tunnel, tennis elbow, golfer's elbow and bursitis. I'm pushing 50yrs old and I'm practically crippled by cutting thousands of miles of sheet metal by hand. I also bought that circular cutting tool but can't get the hang of it and getting burrs. I've mastered cutting metal without burrs but the pain in my wrist these days is killing me. I always worked piece pay and the older you get the less money you make. Pick the right employer that allows progression and seniority without bias or you will end up like me. I make less money today as an experienced journeyman than I did in my 20's as an apprentice. The piece pay hardly went up over the years and definitely not in par with inflation. Try to work for an hourly rate where you can.
I'm an installer as well and always worked piece rate with all 3 companies. Went hourly 4 years ago and now I make more money but can take the time to make my installs look nice and work correctly. I'm hoping in the future to get even more experience and seniority and eventually get a management position 👍
Listen I am new to learning house renovations and wanted to learn the process of hvac ducting and from watching your videos I must say this is the most well explained video I have ever seen excellent work and allowing people to follow your progress
I've been preparing to install new ductwork in my house. Your in-depth explanation will save me so many pitfalls along the way! Thank you so much for taking the time to make this video.
Mate, never were truer words spoken than 'everything that's worth having is difficult to do.' I just stumbled across your videos, but I appreciate your dedication to learning how to do something, and then doing that job properly and testing and quantifying. Cheap, quick and nasty short term stuff (whether it be a product or an installation job) needs to become a thing of the past, for the sake of the planet basically.
I am an everyday person without any experience with hvac. I love watching your videos for fun. They are so informative. I now feel motivated to invest a lot of effort into making sure we have a good hvac system whenever we decide to build our own house.
You can't go wrong that way. There's tons of information to assist. It's scary how many homes I've seen, some new and expensive, that have terrible ducts. Our house for ex. unit and ducts were replaced right before we moved in. 5 ton ac, ducts have 2.5 tons of capacity. Heat load on the house at 110 is right around 3 tons.
I wish more people thought about their hvac system when they try to build their dream home. As a hvac installer and service tech i can attest to the attention to detail that is frequently overlooked
I came across your video Colbert and I want to appreciate your talent. You and Grace are truly a blessing to our generation. Thanks for choosing this part to help make our world a better place! Congratulations and God's blessings in all your endeavors!
Thank you for your views on flex duct. As an hvac contractor,i use flex-duct very sparingly only for the final few feet of runs for sound purposes. Yes,flex duct will breakdown. I,ve torn out many duct systems where the old flex would simply crumble. Hard duct is expensive and time consuming and your customer needs to know this. A well educated customer is your best customer.
Wow. I'm installing a hvac system in my rental and this has been by far the most detailed and enjoyable video. I feel like so many questions I had have now been answered and on top of that i just learned so much extra stuff. Great video and thank you so much for your time and effort to make this informational video.
@HomePerformance: I'm so sorry that you got injured. I've found that Physical Therapy (PT) has been super helpful for, in my case, eliminating back pain because I strengthened my muscles before it got bad. I also learned to lift with my knees rather than my back.
I am DIYing some ductwork and this is very thorough and helpful. I have watched several videos of him and I think this guy’s great. Thanks for the upload
I admire your care and attention to detail to make sure everything is done as it should. HVAC installer here everyone just seems to be lazy and use rules of thumbs for everything. Nowadays everything is rushed instead of focusing on doing it right.
Three things you need to live: 1. food 2. Water 3. Air. When we get healthy we change our eating habits and start eating healthy and drink filtered water. We add water filters like R.O. systems. We never really think about the air, even though we need air to breath but also it surrounds us so that we are comfortable. This makes so much sense to work hard on bringing the home full of clean fresh air. So we can breath better and be healthy, so we can feel comfortable and after it's all said and done, we actually save money by being efficient. Thanks for the video
Thank you. Just a home owner researching some HVAC information and I'm so glad to have watched the entire video. So much great information. Again, thank for sharing your knowledge. Subscribed and will watch more vids .
I enjoyed the video. I’m a hvac tech with my local school system for the past two years. I just graduated votech school and want to potentially be licensed at some point. The draw back is that there are just something’s we just don’t do and contract out. So my only exposure is UA-cam. Other options are to leave and work somewhere that I can expand my knowledge which I do consider.
If you where to look down the flex duct you would see that where each of those straps are it creates a bump inside the duct. SO even taunt it has bumps internally. Its actually just the weight of the ductwork and the fact that the strap is only 1" to 2"s wide. But you can take a piece of card board from a box or whatever and cut it 12"ish wide, slide it between the duct and the strap. The cardboard then gives the strap a much wider "belly" for the ductwork and the "bump" is removed.....Not that you need it in your situation. Just a little trick that can be used sometimes when I see ducts that have bad "bumps" from strapping....Awesome video man.
Thank you for the video as I learned a lot. I am placing parts of my HVAC system, with this video providing a great overview and specifics for what I am up against.
Oh god! I've had my air return grills ALL covered. 4 level split home, and every single one has had a piece of furniture in front of it Damn, I learned something important Thank you!
Used a lot of duct sealant on that connection. Flex is good in certain situations and it holds up pretty well. The snips they have other red ones that’s righty snips. Crimp tool is mandatory. System looks good. Doing duct work without the right tools is a nightmare.
Thank you for the statement about dust! Our house is like living in the dust bowl. I happened to push too hard on a return and the grill fell off. It was completely open to joist and wall studs. What a mess.
Love the detail. 99% of people just don't get that a system needs to be sealed, including some HVAC installers. I have a home that was built in '88 and has a poorly designed duct system. I've been trying to wrap my arms around it and seal it up as well as I can. Sadly I will probably have to bring in a professional to give me an assessment on all new.
I really like the video and what you are doing and showing "working really hard to get the good things!!!". You have the knowledge and the experience to speak and doing what you are doing. It is, however, a bit harder to retrofit an old house with very little wiggle room. I hope you'll have a video on improve an existing old house ductwork. I love the idea of saying goodbye to flex duct. After seeing mice biting and making home inside a leftover flex in the garage, I decided to replace all newer flex return ducts in the attic with metal ones. It's a dauting task but like you said "good things" doesn't come easy. I would recommend you get a better drill. M12 is a more compact and light weight to lug around in tight spaces than this bulky cheapo one :).
Damn. I am in the process of planning a new construction. I hope I can find a an HVAC designer locally that seems as knowledgeable as you. I plan on doing the installation myself but I’m out of my depth on design stuff. Thanks for the knowledge, dude. Awesome.
@@HomePerformance Oh good idea. If I was going to do this more than once I’d probably be interested! For a one shot deal though, it makes sense to just get a pro to get it designed right. And honestly if you are interested in engineering my hvac system for me, it might be worth a quick conversation for starters. It’s a small 2 bedroom in upstate NY and I’m still playing with the layout. So shouldn’t be an enormous pain in the butt as I can still easily make room where needed. No pressure- just thinking out loud.
I love that you patiently explain the process of the tools I’d like to find a this is how you do it video 😆 lol love the mastic it’s so good and it lasts for ever stays flexible and it easy to see if you need to add more to seal from cracking etc
Great video. Not sure exactly how I stumbled on you (probably your eighth video of yours I've binged watched). I think from one of Matt Risinger's video as a you tube suggestion. I'm a full time building consultant that does rental rehabs and new construction. Only general suggestion I would add that applies to new construction or substantial rehab (gut jobs) is to start with big to small on ducting, piping, hoses or electrical. Ifthe duct work started first, some of the head aches would have not been there and would have been completed a little quicker with a few less connections. But again, sometimes timing other contractors gets in the way of scheduling my own stuff, which is probably the case here. Great work!!!Great explanation!!!! Gonna to check out your other videos. Always keep learning.
I really love the Malco tools that I have used. Thanks for showing the drill powered hole cutter. I hadn't seen that tool before and it looks like it works better than a hole saw.
@@caustinolino3687 Stainless steel plumbing supply pipes, not plastic or copper. Really good moisture control, especially in the structure of your external walls. And make the house easy to adapt or renovate! People building houses 500 years ago weren't planning for good wifi in every room, or electric lights, or even indoor plumbing. We have no idea what new technology will be expected in houses in the next 500 years, so all we can do is make it easy to add new pipes and wires.
Excellent video. Watched start to finish. Our duct work is original to the house, is all flex, has sider boxes, and dusts the house a lot. Unfortunately, most of the build shown is undoable (reasonably) in our case as we have a short attic space to work with (crests are 5 ft down spine of 2400sq/ft ranch style home) and I'd imagine to pull this off, the roof would have to come off. I've crawled around up there and everything is difficult, running CAT6, electrical, added insulation etc. Costs for a contractor to do this I'd imagine would approach what we payed for the house back in 2005. Still, I learned a lot and appreciate all the info. On new builds this is a great step-by-step almost tutorial. I wish there was a way to incorporate it into our 1967 built south Texas ranch. Our electric bills touch $500 this summer with the thermostat @ 78F. Brutal. Good luck with your business and channel.
Lstiiburek would say "ducts don't belong in the attic, they belong in the conditioned space of the house." Consider moving your duct work out of the attic, and instead run it along the top border of your rooms and hallways. You can disguise duct work into a new tray ceiling you also install at the same time. You can also disguise duct work into plant tray shelves made out 2"x10" and covered with sheet rock, giving your home the look of a transitional home. You can put high cubby-hole cabinets in a bedroom, similar to kitchen cabinets. Hide the ductwork in there. You can put long bench seats along your outside walls under windows, move your outlets to the base of the bench seat, and run the duct work under the bench. You can do this for adjacent bedrooms on the same side of a house--running bench seats in both bedrooms under their windows, and running a long duct from room-to-room, under the dual bench seats. Lots of ways to hide duct work that is inside the conditioned space of the house--where Lstiburek would want it. Hardest part will be insulating the ducts so they don't sweat and create moisture within your new constructed tray ceilings, cabinets, plant shelves, or window bench seats.
Pretty sad that a good job is considered nonstandard, but I suppose that’s what an inflationary fiat monetary system incentivizes. Keep up the good work Corbett, love the wealth of knowledge you share.
I was debating what I should do vs have done by a pro. This is super helpful. Sounds like you are working with a pro who is willing to help you were you need help. That's super lucky, I hope I find someone like that. At the moment, I'm contemplating buying the $300 install tool for Fantech HRVs instead of spending more on a pro to do it. That being said, I want a prop to install the coolant lines for my Heat pump it's a hard balance to strike and pros don't like when you take the easy work away from them.
Devil’s advocate but as a pro, I don’t want to only install a portion of a system due to the liability incurred. It’s like taking your own steak to Outback and asking them to cook it.
That flex will last for 20 +years if properly installed and in a conditioned space also just a tip, use wider support straps to hold up that flex, not plumbing strap. There is nylon strap to support flex and if my memory serves 2 to 3 inches wide. But, very good job with a challenging install.👍
Most people don’t have a nice conditioned crawl space like this guy has. Having to repair duct under houses, I wish I had that much room. Looks like he even has a rat slab to roll his creeper around. In our area, codes have changed, and crawl spaces have to be sealed and conditioned with a de humidifier.
The only video out of many that you’ve done that shows soooome how to (not enough). Most of the content on this channel is waxing lyrical. I need to know how to install the stuff.
I appreciate the demonstrations using the items and materials in the spaces. It does seem your discussion wanders. Maybe break up the topics into 10 minute slices. Eg. Air delivery. Air return. Conditioned air. Vs ambient air. Humidity, filtering, ozone, tools, etc…. Thank you.
Personally I prefer to put return ducts in the bedrooms so the doors can be shut for fire safety while sleeping and the rooms can be conditioned while the doors are shut. I suppose you could use jump ducts to accomplish that but it's not what I would do. I'd also make the filter grill 4 inches deep from the start. You could always add spacers for thinner filters.
UNDERCUTS on the doors silly. It’s actually in Man D- a 24 sq in undercut can return 50 cfm, a 36 sq in undercut can return 75 cfm. Very few rooms in any performance-tuned home will receive over 75 cfm.
Awesome video! You are very good at explaining things. And it's nothing like hearing from someone who is doing the actual work on their own home. You didn't mention the worst part of flex duct. It can't be cleaned! Dust will get in, then any moisture gets in and mold will grow. Any holes in that wimpy plastic, and the fiberglass fills with mold. There are so many moldy HVAC ducts around. (Not in your house of course because you've designed and built it to prevent that!) But what is that black "heavier duty flex" you showed? I've never seen that.
Wow. I live in a 111 yr old house and these modern houses and systems seem so complicated. Part of me wonders if we've overengineered and complicated things to the point where house designs are now like Mercedes engines where they are over tweaked for minor efficiency gains but at the cost of things like simplicity, cost efficiency, and serviceability. Older homes had many ways to increase comfort like very high ceilings to manage rising heat, simple ceiling fans, etc. Desire for pretty open design and a focus on central heating and air has made us build our homes into a pretty singular niche. Old russian houses were build around maintaining heat through a huge thermal mass, a giant stone fireplace with all rooms built around it. I'm not saying this "passive house" super efficient design is bad necessarily, but it does seem ultra complicated and tailored to mostly upper income level populations. Not everyone is an information sponge like us folks that suck youtube up for knowledge every day. I can't imagine the average person being able to service or maintain systems like these and even maybe half of HVAC service contractors. There's just a lot of considerations and extreme skill level involved that I dunno, I do feel like the simplicity and cost efficiency of a system and solution is just as important as the specs and ratings. Sorry long rambling thought train needed to dump a load. Not criticizing on the actual video or content.
I understand what you're saying, but we really can't go back to the way we used to do it which was super leaky and inefficient. The planet simply cannot survive with the amount of energy we waste doing it the old way. And we're also not going back to using the better materials like they used 100 years ago which could do things like tolerate moisture better. And frankly many of those old homes were not very comfortable. But you're right that we could stop trying to be lazy and expecting the house do all the work, and instead could be willing to do things like open and close shades, turn fans on and off. People need to become educated as to how homes work. And builder knowledge has a long way to go!
@@HomePerformance not rapture, anyone with a brain knows eventually the sun will expand and make the planet uninhabitable, we are heading towards our nearest galaxy, good chance we won’t survive that, and catastrophic events have happened throughout history, which is properly why recorded history only goes back 3,500 years BC. Not to mention all this worry about limited resources, when the population will peak around 2050, then it will start decreasing, it already is in China, flat in India. Yes I do everything I can to eliminate waste, and I’m an outdoors person that loves nature, I just have a problem with this panic about man’s influence, when there is so much that happens beyond our control. Seas rising, tectonic plates are moving, land sinks, rises, continents break up, come together. volcanoes, asteroids, etc. Yet never a mention of the good, the planet has actually become 20% greener with it warming up, and what is the ideal temperature of the planet? No one has an answer.
My dad had the first geothermal house in his rural part of the pacific northwest. It has been fairly flawless except that several automated dampers have failed and gotten stuck over the years. Annoying but not terrible to fix as long as they are accessible.
on the straight long runs of insulated flex ducting add a board/ metal strip so the pipe does not compress at the strap or sag adding resistance to air flow
Great video..... truly shows me all I don't know and how doing something right the first time is key.... know anyone in Bend OR that you would suggest? Thanks
Crimpers >> use with the 3 blades to the inside of pipe.... Those reds are straight cut bulldogs.. get a pair of reds like the greens you have and you will love them.
Hi Corbett, great timing I am just reviewing my strategy for HVAC for my self build. Thanks for the great info. The question I have is if the HVAC is planned around a variable compressor ( not 2 stage) you could get away with a smaller dehumidifier and only use it on the fresh air?
Thanks for a very informative video! At 4:30, you show an example of an insulated supply duct running up in a stud cavity in an interior wall, terminating at a boot. Do I understand correctly that it's a 2x4 wall and the rigid duct itself is 3" deep? If so, is the remaining 1/2" of cavity depth enough to fit that insulation, which appears to be bulging out pre-drywall? I want to plan a similar design on a ducted minisplit retrofit, and am worried that my interior 2x4 walls aren't thick enough.
Flex duct is cheap and "easy". Thats why they like it. Along with duct board. Both of which are only 15year ( if i remember). Metal duct takes far more precision, building, sealing, and insulating. Its costlier in all ways. I recomend put something between the strap and the flex.. Spread out its contact area that tiny contact will split the fiberglass and potentially be a sweat point.
You are a very good instructor. My background/education is in Mechanical Engineering Thermo and fluid mechanics. I used to be able to design a system but I don't have my ASRAE handbook anymore so I if you have some sources for instruction, etc. I would like to know. I bought a house with a f**ked up system that uses all flex duct. I am going to replace it with galvanized steel but I suspect that the 10 inch supply lines (corrugated flex crap) are 10 inch because of the poor flow characteristics. I really like your instruction style. What is the black flex duct you used to isolate the machinery sounds? It look like industrial flex duct made from impregnated cloth with wire sandwiched between the layers. If that is what you are using it will probably last more than 20 years. That is some very tough stuff. I am in Houston, TX.
@@HomePerformance What is the mastic sealant you are using on the ducts you are assembling? Type or manufacturer would be handy information. I saw the TerraBloom as well as another product that has a smooth interior surface.
Fantastic video. Will share with a friend who's planning a self-build. Curious, why is the video unlisted? Seemingly I was only able to find it through the playlist. (BTW, your ducting is beautifully installed, joyous crawl space to work in).
@@HomePerformance Amazing! I didn't even realize I was getting the advanced screening. Great channel/build, it's such an amazing resource that you're creating. I've found your videos especially helpful as I'm designing a house for a friend of mine who's planning to self build for the first time. Are there aspects of your build/design you would change now given all your experiences?
Hmm, I’d definitely check out our ‘Lessons Learned’ vid from a couple months back, but I can’t say I’d change anything at this point. Ask me again after we move in at Christmas! If you need any consulting, FYI, I enjoy that quite a lot.
Scoops are really bad for downstream airflow. The 45 degree take off is a much better way to go. This has been proven on the bubble machine. Great system other than the scoops. I with everything had to be put in like this. It would eliminate so many problems in the field
@@HomePerformance Thanks man, I was unable to find that info in that video though. Is the size of the duct needed promotional to the volume flow rate? Sindenote; "you said if you have a lakefront lot that faces west with all your windows on that side......" haha hits very close to home.
@@HomePerformance can you tell me how to find it; I have cfm needed at each point in the duct and btu for each room already. Just don''t know how to size my rectangular duct or where to find out how to do it. just do cfm/(some constant air speed) to ged a cross section size needed? if so what is the speed i should plug in?
i got a 4ton for 1300sqft thats 350ft per ton in southern Nevada easy 115 degree days, i aim to get 1600cfm and my filter is 20x20x1 side by side for a total of 20x40 filter return. i currently use the honeywell HD merv 11 filters but i think ill start using the 3m 1200 merv 11 because of the more surface area on the filter to help decrease static pressure if that doesnt help ill try to use 4in filter
Speaking of surface area, the thicker the filter the more you have [assuming pleated design]. I have used everything from 1" to 4" over the years in various commercial settings and... it would be SO nice if 3" became standard for houses - that would nest easily in standard framing for ease of construction or retrofit. Occasionally you see houses where the fan pulls so hard a brand new 20x30x1" filter behaves almost like it's loaded with dirt - owner spends more money changing those out at greater frequency than if they bought 4" which would make the same opening behave like it was 20x50 with a 1".
@@flinch622 ya i ended retrofitting a 4in filter in my duct opening so far so good, i haven't had any issues but the initial startup closes my bedroom door after that is works like normal been using it for 4months and i plan to push it to 6-8months instead of the 1 yr filter that they claim is doable
So this is phenomenal - thank you! I am building an ICF house with ICF flat roof in South Florida. Walls are 12 feet tall on the inside and no attic. I am planning to install sheet metal duct that is right below the ceiling, inside the house. My understanding is that I don't need to seal all the duct joints because the duct is inside the cooled area. If some cold air escapes before it hits the register it is not a big deal. Is my reasoning proper?
Great video man I loved it. I hate to see when people use 10ft flex and tape instead of duct sealer, also I would love to know where are you located and if you do jobs?
Hi, I'm just beginning to learn the in and outs of HVAC and ducting systems, to build my small house, and there are a couple or three things you have that I don't understand and hope you'll help me with: 1 - there seems to be no insulation between your crawlspace and the upper floor plus your ducts are not insulated, is this a conditioned space and if so, are you returning air from a service space to your living spaces? I've been told to never return air from service areas like kitchens, bathrooms, laundries, and such 2 - is 100 feet run of hydrocarbon in your line set a good thing (sounds long)? Does the distance between the compressor and evaporator matter?
"I'm recommending a total duct replacement" Of course you do, it doubles or triples the money you make. Now, that's not to say they're aren't times this is needed. Flex is fine so long as it's installed properly. To say otherwise is simply spreading FUD.
Thanks for the great explanation in here. A quick question for @Home Performance though. Around 35:20 when you're discussing the dampers in the ducting, I see that you have a hole in the ducting where the "arm" of the damper sticks through and is stabilized on the side that doesn't have the handle. That seems like a decently large hole that isn't sealed. IS there a later step (not shown) where you cover that or seal it in some way?
adjustable elbows are convenient, i’d do a proper measure and non adjustable, make sure you seal the gores, and put a screw in middle gore once you have the angle you want
31:41 amen to that brother, unfortunately that line also cues the laugh track from the rest of the blue collar guys we have to work with. I remember one job I was on, putting in a new run for an old house renovation. I was working in small single room basement that would never see a true finish, for this run I was putting in I needed a particular chase to make it work, unfortunately the electrician had already put in a new light in that chase where I needed to use it. So I did what anyone sane person would have done and I moved it. The electrician didn't like that very much, in fact he hated it so much he called up the general contractor to come on over to chew me out. So the next time I was there GC shows up asks what the hell I was thinking, so I showed him and luckily he at least understood and could tell the electrician was being very whiney and essentially told the guy to shove off. But it speaks volumes when the people you work around feel entitled to never play second fiddle to what you're doing. Unfortunately HVAC and what it does is often not well respected by the other trades. At least that's my experience around my area. 32:20 I saw one guy once who had developed this skill, he would take 30 gauge round pipe unsnapped, curl it up and shove it into place, then would snap it into shape. It was crazy, he could do it real fast too. Flex duct is probably the right solution for most people, but it was impressive what this guy had taught himself. 34:36 that's not really how ducts work precisely. The actual idea of how a trunk line works is to just think of it like a pressure box, it has a bunch of air pressure that wants to escape where ever it can, so just poking a hole, guided or not, will cause that pressure relief and the air will guide itself out. In fact putting a scoop on, if it's too big relative to the trunk line, may cause enough of a blockage downstream of it, that it ends up eating more static pressure than it should and will over velocity the run in question while taking away from anything downstream of it. Scoops can be useful if you're dealing with unusual static and velocity interactions. Like if you've got 1600cfm coming down at 1100fpm and for w/e reason you want to take a 4 in off of it, okay a scoop might be helpful there. Perfect ductwork doesn't need scoops nor does it want them and they will actively hurt it in fact, but when life inevitably comes a knocking and you have to use imperfect ductwork that causes an issue, a scoop might be the solution.
I just had new 2 stage heat pump installed. New duck work and everything. It has very little air flow coming out. You can't feel it standing under the vents. I asked the guy that installed it about the low air flow, and he says that's normal on the new units. Does that sound right? It's a 14.3 ream 2 ton unit. In a 1600 square feet home
Yes, that sounds fine to me, Terry- smaller systems (properly sized) shouldn’t blow on you. As long as it maintains temp and humidity, it’s working well. If you’d like to feel the breeze, use room fans.
Don’t you want the registers to be on the floor only because hot air rises so when heating the the air will rise and fill the room. It be okay for cooling since cold air falls but not heating.
You are exactly the person I want doing the HVAC in my home, talking about building a home to last 100 years and thinking about how things will deteriorate over time.
I’ve been an Sheetmetal worker for over 20yrs.. and I love your explanations, and your sincerity about your discovery process. You’re not pretending to be a professional installer. Very cool brother, very cool.
Wow, that is so nice to hear man- thanks!!
I don't think I have ever seen such a detailed duct and HVAC video on UA-cam before. Great details, great video. 👍🏾
Thank you!!
Thank you
You have anyone that can help? In GA
Are you building the ductwork yourself?
My friend, I am not trying to do this work for anyone else. This is my house. And your comments scream of a lack of home-as-a-system thinking. There is no elevation of mold, humidity, or contaminants in the home generally when all the systems are working together. Your HVAC does not have to fix problems in a home like this. I hope you get to work on one sometime, it’s pretty awesome.
Thank you so much for the info. It's hard being a widow/single parent and trying to afford all these things that breakdown around the house. If I can save money and do things myself, I'm on it. I really appreciate that you dedicated a website to helping people. 🖤
Advice for beginners: I've been installing heating systems in new homes for over 25 years and I just recently bought a pair of attachable uni-shears for my drill because of all my arthritis, carpel-tunnel, tennis elbow, golfer's elbow and bursitis. I'm pushing 50yrs old and I'm practically crippled by cutting thousands of miles of sheet metal by hand. I also bought that circular cutting tool but can't get the hang of it and getting burrs. I've mastered cutting metal without burrs but the pain in my wrist these days is killing me. I always worked piece pay and the older you get the less money you make. Pick the right employer that allows progression and seniority without bias or you will end up like me. I make less money today as an experienced journeyman than I did in my 20's as an apprentice. The piece pay hardly went up over the years and definitely not in par with inflation. Try to work for an hourly rate where you can.
I didn't realize piecework was even legal unless you were a self sufficient contractor
@@2brazy4ubitchi bet you dont realize alot 😂😂
I'm an installer as well and always worked piece rate with all 3 companies. Went hourly 4 years ago and now I make more money but can take the time to make my installs look nice and work correctly. I'm hoping in the future to get even more experience and seniority and eventually get a management position 👍
Listen I am new to learning house renovations and wanted to learn the process of hvac ducting and from watching your videos I must say this is the most well explained video I have ever seen excellent work and allowing people to follow your progress
Hey thanks my friend, happy to help
I've been preparing to install new ductwork in my house. Your in-depth explanation will save me so many pitfalls along the way! Thank you so much for taking the time to make this video.
Excellent to hear, Mike! Happy it helps you.
Mate, never were truer words spoken than 'everything that's worth having is difficult to do.' I just stumbled across your videos, but I appreciate your dedication to learning how to do something, and then doing that job properly and testing and quantifying. Cheap, quick and nasty short term stuff (whether it be a product or an installation job) needs to become a thing of the past, for the sake of the planet basically.
Thanks man! High five.
I am an everyday person without any experience with hvac. I love watching your videos for fun. They are so informative. I now feel motivated to invest a lot of effort into making sure we have a good hvac system whenever we decide to build our own house.
You can't go wrong that way. There's tons of information to assist. It's scary how many homes I've seen, some new and expensive, that have terrible ducts. Our house for ex. unit and ducts were replaced right before we moved in. 5 ton ac, ducts have 2.5 tons of capacity. Heat load on the house at 110 is right around 3 tons.
I wish more people thought about their hvac system when they try to build their dream home. As a hvac installer and service tech i can attest to the attention to detail that is frequently overlooked
I came across your video Colbert and I want to appreciate your talent. You and Grace are truly a blessing to our generation. Thanks for choosing this part to help make our world a better place! Congratulations and God's blessings in all your endeavors!
Very well done. Your presentation technique, personality and subject matter knowledge is unmatched on UA-cam.
Wow, that’s amazing to hear, thanks!
Thank you for your views on flex duct. As an hvac contractor,i use flex-duct very sparingly only for the final few feet of runs for sound purposes. Yes,flex duct will breakdown. I,ve torn out many duct systems where the old flex would simply crumble. Hard duct is expensive and time consuming and your customer needs to know this. A well educated customer is your best customer.
Great to hear from pros who think the way you do, William!
Flex are just for the registers.and drops
Thanks for talking about the downsides of flex duct. It should not be used for the complete system. You are doing things the correct way.
Wow. I'm installing a hvac system in my rental and this has been by far the most detailed and enjoyable video. I feel like so many questions I had have now been answered and on top of that i just learned so much extra stuff. Great video and thank you so much for your time and effort to make this informational video.
Hey, thanks so much for the awesome reply, Travis! So glad to hear this helped.
@HomePerformance: I'm so sorry that you got injured. I've found that Physical Therapy (PT) has been super helpful for, in my case, eliminating back pain because I strengthened my muscles before it got bad. I also learned to lift with my knees rather than my back.
I am DIYing some ductwork and this is very thorough and helpful. I have watched several videos of him and I think this guy’s great. Thanks for the upload
Hey man, thanks a lot! Glad to have been of any help at all.
I admire your care and attention to detail to make sure everything is done as it should. HVAC installer here everyone just seems to be lazy and use rules of thumbs for everything. Nowadays everything is rushed instead of focusing on doing it right.
Yes, sadly- but if we trained more people right, and gave them the time and tools and pay to do things the best way, that would solve most of it.
👍🏽👍🏽
You are a great teacher who knows the points and explained them well. Thank you for your time and efforts
Thank you- glad you found us!
Three things you need to live: 1. food 2. Water 3. Air. When we get healthy we change our eating habits and start eating healthy and drink filtered water. We add water filters like R.O. systems. We never really think about the air, even though we need air to breath but also it surrounds us so that we are comfortable. This makes so much sense to work hard on bringing the home full of clean fresh air. So we can breath better and be healthy, so we can feel comfortable and after it's all said and done, we actually save money by being efficient.
Thanks for the video
Amen
Thank you. Just a home owner researching some HVAC information and I'm so glad to have watched the entire video. So much great information. Again, thank for sharing your knowledge. Subscribed and will watch more vids .
I enjoyed the video. I’m a hvac tech with my local school system for the past two years. I just graduated votech school and want to potentially be licensed at some point. The draw back is that there are just something’s we just don’t do and contract out. So my only exposure is UA-cam. Other options are to leave and work somewhere that I can expand my knowledge which I do consider.
Nice, moonlight! Always cool new dtuff to learn.
Wow! This is a fantastic video. As a homeowner/builder, I appreciate it!
Thanks for being well-spoken and comprehensive! Much more useful than the more ubiquitous "quick and cute" youtube strategy. Keep it up.
Hey Benjamin, thanks so much! Glad it hits.
If you where to look down the flex duct you would see that where each of those straps are it creates a bump inside the duct. SO even taunt it has bumps internally. Its actually just the weight of the ductwork and the fact that the strap is only 1" to 2"s wide. But you can take a piece of card board from a box or whatever and cut it 12"ish wide, slide it between the duct and the strap. The cardboard then gives the strap a much wider "belly" for the ductwork and the "bump" is removed.....Not that you need it in your situation. Just a little trick that can be used sometimes when I see ducts that have bad "bumps" from strapping....Awesome video man.
Thank you buddy- nice tip too
I had a lot of fun watching your luxury system. Thanks for sharing
With pleasure. Thx for taking the time.
I am building a audio and video studio. With a saloon. This was very helpful. Thank you.
Holy crap, Victor, that sounds awesome. Good luck.
Thank you for the video as I learned a lot. I am placing parts of my HVAC system, with this video providing a great overview and specifics for what I am up against.
Awesome, enjoy being a rockstar Rob
Oh god!
I've had my air return grills ALL covered.
4 level split home, and every single one has had a piece of furniture in front of it
Damn, I learned something important
Thank you!
The world is a better place now! Thank you for watching!
Awesome doing the work yourself and using quality tools for the job!!
👍🏽👍🏽
Enjoyed that video. You provuded So much detail and rationale that a diyer or typical homeowner can undersrsnd and makes a lot of sense.
Thanks very much Ronald
Used a lot of duct sealant on that connection. Flex is good in certain situations and it holds up pretty well. The snips they have other red ones that’s righty snips. Crimp tool is mandatory. System looks good. Doing duct work without the right tools is a nightmare.
Great video, and involving Bryan Orr is a no Brainer!
Thanks Dan
Thank you for the statement about dust! Our house is like living in the dust bowl. I happened to push too hard on a return and the grill fell off. It was completely open to joist and wall studs. What a mess.
I love the way you describe and approached the 100 year life span of items
Thanks William ✊
Love the detail. 99% of people just don't get that a system needs to be sealed, including some HVAC installers. I have a home that was built in '88 and has a poorly designed duct system. I've been trying to wrap my arms around it and seal it up as well as I can. Sadly I will probably have to bring in a professional to give me an assessment on all new.
I really like the video and what you are doing and showing "working really hard to get the good things!!!". You have the knowledge and the experience to speak and doing what you are doing. It is, however, a bit harder to retrofit an old house with very little wiggle room. I hope you'll have a video on improve an existing old house ductwork. I love the idea of saying goodbye to flex duct. After seeing mice biting and making home inside a leftover flex in the garage, I decided to replace all newer flex return ducts in the attic with metal ones. It's a dauting task but like you said "good things" doesn't come easy. I would recommend you get a better drill. M12 is a more compact and light weight to lug around in tight spaces than this bulky cheapo one :).
Right on, and yes, I would get a smaller drill if I was making a habit of this kind of work.
Thank you so much for all of this! Trying to learn how to do my own!
You can do it!
Damn. I am in the process of planning a new construction. I hope I can find a an HVAC designer locally that seems as knowledgeable as you. I plan on doing the installation myself but I’m out of my depth on design stuff. Thanks for the knowledge, dude. Awesome.
Thanks very much, Thomas- glad it helps you, and FYI I’m working on a design course to make this type of system more possible for folks like you.
@@HomePerformance Oh good idea. If I was going to do this more than once I’d probably be interested! For a one shot deal though, it makes sense to just get a pro to get it designed right. And honestly if you are interested in engineering my hvac system for me, it might be worth a quick conversation for starters. It’s a small 2 bedroom in upstate NY and I’m still playing with the layout. So shouldn’t be an enormous pain in the butt as I can still easily make room where needed. No pressure- just thinking out loud.
I love that you patiently explain the process of the tools I’d like to find a this is how you do it video 😆 lol love the mastic it’s so good and it lasts for ever stays flexible and it easy to see if you need to add more to seal from cracking etc
Thank you, you are very proper! I love proper work. Do it right even if difficult
Thank you madam
Great video. Not sure exactly how I stumbled on you (probably your eighth video of yours I've binged watched). I think from one of Matt Risinger's video as a you tube suggestion. I'm a full time building consultant that does rental rehabs and new construction. Only general suggestion I would add that applies to new construction or substantial rehab (gut jobs) is to start with big to small on ducting, piping, hoses or electrical. Ifthe duct work started first, some of the head aches would have not been there and would have been completed a little quicker with a few less connections. But again, sometimes timing other contractors gets in the way of scheduling my own stuff, which is probably the case here. Great work!!!Great explanation!!!! Gonna to check out your other videos. Always keep learning.
Hey thanks Brandon, and keep up the great work out there, the world needs you
I really love the Malco tools that I have used.
Thanks for showing the drill powered hole cutter. I hadn't seen that tool before and it looks like it works better than a hole saw.
Oh my gosh, so much better. No broken wrists or ears.
That’s a kink for a lot of HVAC techs
Absolutely fantastic video, thank you
Glad it helped you my friend
Fantastic video - you have a great way of explaining things
Thanks my friend!
I’m learning so much. Thanks for your knowledge. 😍
You’re so welcome, Victor!
I respect that 100 year house mindset. I'm working on a 500 year house design and wow, it's not easy to find the right materials and systems!
What have you found so far? Share the knowledge!
@@caustinolino3687 Stainless steel plumbing supply pipes, not plastic or copper. Really good moisture control, especially in the structure of your external walls. And make the house easy to adapt or renovate! People building houses 500 years ago weren't planning for good wifi in every room, or electric lights, or even indoor plumbing. We have no idea what new technology will be expected in houses in the next 500 years, so all we can do is make it easy to add new pipes and wires.
@@tealkerberus748 Good tips! I'm curious, why no PVC supply pipes?
I am so thankful for you doing this breakdown!
👍🏽👍🏽
Excellent video. Watched start to finish. Our duct work is original to the house, is all flex, has sider boxes, and dusts the house a lot. Unfortunately, most of the build shown is undoable (reasonably) in our case as we have a short attic space to work with (crests are 5 ft down spine of 2400sq/ft ranch style home) and I'd imagine to pull this off, the roof would have to come off. I've crawled around up there and everything is difficult, running CAT6, electrical, added insulation etc. Costs for a contractor to do this I'd imagine would approach what we payed for the house back in 2005. Still, I learned a lot and appreciate all the info. On new builds this is a great step-by-step almost tutorial. I wish there was a way to incorporate it into our 1967 built south Texas ranch. Our electric bills touch $500 this summer with the thermostat @ 78F. Brutal. Good luck with your business and channel.
Lstiiburek would say "ducts don't belong in the attic, they belong in the conditioned space of the house." Consider moving your duct work out of the attic, and instead run it along the top border of your rooms and hallways. You can disguise duct work into a new tray ceiling you also install at the same time. You can also disguise duct work into plant tray shelves made out 2"x10" and covered with sheet rock, giving your home the look of a transitional home. You can put high cubby-hole cabinets in a bedroom, similar to kitchen cabinets. Hide the ductwork in there. You can put long bench seats along your outside walls under windows, move your outlets to the base of the bench seat, and run the duct work under the bench. You can do this for adjacent bedrooms on the same side of a house--running bench seats in both bedrooms under their windows, and running a long duct from room-to-room, under the dual bench seats. Lots of ways to hide duct work that is inside the conditioned space of the house--where Lstiburek would want it. Hardest part will be insulating the ducts so they don't sweat and create moisture within your new constructed tray ceilings, cabinets, plant shelves, or window bench seats.
Pretty sad that a good job is considered nonstandard, but I suppose that’s what an inflationary fiat monetary system incentivizes. Keep up the good work Corbett, love the wealth of knowledge you share.
Thanks much Old Skool
I was debating what I should do vs have done by a pro. This is super helpful. Sounds like you are working with a pro who is willing to help you were you need help. That's super lucky, I hope I find someone like that. At the moment, I'm contemplating buying the $300 install tool for Fantech HRVs instead of spending more on a pro to do it. That being said, I want a prop to install the coolant lines for my Heat pump it's a hard balance to strike and pros don't like when you take the easy work away from them.
Devil’s advocate but as a pro, I don’t want to only install a portion of a system due to the liability incurred. It’s like taking your own steak to Outback and asking them to cook it.
Of course, This Guy- 100% get it.
no kidding sherlock that’s why we don’t do your scut work
Great job Corbett! It takes a fair amount of skill to install a duct system well. Respect.
Well, thanks for coaching me on this, and on ping pong.
Home Performance you are waayy better at ductwork than ping pong 🏓
I compensate by talking a lot of $#!%
Home Performance 😂 that’s my move too.
This was very enjoyable and knowledgeable video. Well done!
Thanks Alfredo!
What an excellent video. Very detailed, informative, and enjoyable.
Thank you my friend
Fantastic work and great explanation.
Thanks Chris!
Nicely done, sir.
Thanks Daniel
Holy moly....miraculously well done. Thank you!
Thanks for watching P
That flex will last for 20 +years if properly installed and in a conditioned space also just a tip, use wider support straps to hold up that flex, not plumbing strap. There is nylon strap to support flex and if my memory serves 2 to 3 inches wide.
But, very good job with a challenging install.👍
Thanks buddy!
Most people don’t have a nice conditioned crawl space like this guy has. Having to repair duct under houses, I wish I had that much room. Looks like he even has a rat slab to roll his creeper around. In our area, codes have changed, and crawl spaces have to be sealed and conditioned with a de humidifier.
Anything good that is worth doing is hard work. I like that
The only video out of many that you’ve done that shows soooome how to (not enough). Most of the content on this channel is waxing lyrical. I need to know how to install the stuff.
Yeah, that’s not really the goal of the channel, but there are certainly good HVAC installer channels out there.
Learned a lot and enjoyed this video thanks
Beautiful video man thanks. I have a house that was probably built by Leif Erikson
NICE. Old can make your life interesting. Thanks for commenting.
I appreciate the demonstrations using the items and materials in the spaces. It does seem your discussion wanders. Maybe break up the topics into 10 minute slices. Eg. Air delivery. Air return. Conditioned air. Vs ambient air. Humidity, filtering, ozone, tools, etc…. Thank you.
Personally I prefer to put return ducts in the bedrooms so the doors can be shut for fire safety while sleeping and the rooms can be conditioned while the doors are shut. I suppose you could use jump ducts to accomplish that but it's not what I would do. I'd also make the filter grill 4 inches deep from the start. You could always add spacers for thinner filters.
UNDERCUTS on the doors silly. It’s actually in Man D- a 24 sq in undercut can return 50 cfm, a 36 sq in undercut can return 75 cfm. Very few rooms in any performance-tuned home will receive over 75 cfm.
Awesome video! You are very good at explaining things. And it's nothing like hearing from someone who is doing the actual work on their own home. You didn't mention the worst part of flex duct. It can't be cleaned! Dust will get in, then any moisture gets in and mold will grow. Any holes in that wimpy plastic, and the fiberglass fills with mold. There are so many moldy HVAC ducts around. (Not in your house of course because you've designed and built it to prevent that!) But what is that black "heavier duty flex" you showed? I've never seen that.
Thanks Cindi- good points. That black flex I found online, called the Terrabloom 10” 4-layer flex.
Wow. I live in a 111 yr old house and these modern houses and systems seem so complicated. Part of me wonders if we've overengineered and complicated things to the point where house designs are now like Mercedes engines where they are over tweaked for minor efficiency gains but at the cost of things like simplicity, cost efficiency, and serviceability. Older homes had many ways to increase comfort like very high ceilings to manage rising heat, simple ceiling fans, etc. Desire for pretty open design and a focus on central heating and air has made us build our homes into a pretty singular niche. Old russian houses were build around maintaining heat through a huge thermal mass, a giant stone fireplace with all rooms built around it. I'm not saying this "passive house" super efficient design is bad necessarily, but it does seem ultra complicated and tailored to mostly upper income level populations. Not everyone is an information sponge like us folks that suck youtube up for knowledge every day. I can't imagine the average person being able to service or maintain systems like these and even maybe half of HVAC service contractors. There's just a lot of considerations and extreme skill level involved that I dunno, I do feel like the simplicity and cost efficiency of a system and solution is just as important as the specs and ratings. Sorry long rambling thought train needed to dump a load. Not criticizing on the actual video or content.
I understand what you're saying, but we really can't go back to the way we used to do it which was super leaky and inefficient. The planet simply cannot survive with the amount of energy we waste doing it the old way. And we're also not going back to using the better materials like they used 100 years ago which could do things like tolerate moisture better. And frankly many of those old homes were not very comfortable.
But you're right that we could stop trying to be lazy and expecting the house do all the work, and instead could be willing to do things like open and close shades, turn fans on and off. People need to become educated as to how homes work. And builder knowledge has a long way to go!
The planet cannot survive period. I find it odd that people think they can stop the inevitable.
Sounds like somebody’s looking forward to Rapture
@@HomePerformance not rapture, anyone with a brain knows eventually the sun will expand and make the planet uninhabitable, we are heading towards our nearest galaxy, good chance we won’t survive that, and catastrophic events have happened throughout history, which is properly why recorded history only goes back 3,500 years BC. Not to mention all this worry about limited resources, when the population will peak around 2050, then it will start decreasing, it already is in China, flat in India. Yes I do everything I can to eliminate waste, and I’m an outdoors person that loves nature, I just have a problem with this panic about man’s influence, when there is so much that happens beyond our control. Seas rising, tectonic plates are moving, land sinks, rises, continents break up, come together. volcanoes, asteroids, etc. Yet never a mention of the good, the planet has actually become 20% greener with it warming up, and what is the ideal temperature of the planet? No one has an answer.
Thank you very much for this video!
Rock on Tony
My dad had the first geothermal house in his rural part of the pacific northwest. It has been fairly flawless except that several automated dampers have failed and gotten stuck over the years. Annoying but not terrible to fix as long as they are accessible.
0
on the straight long runs of insulated flex ducting add a board/ metal strip so the pipe does not compress at the strap or sag adding resistance to air flow
Awesome video. You’re hired when we design our house lol
Awesome Pete, thanks- I’d be delighted to help you.
Such a great informative video. Thanks for sharing!
Glad it was helpful!
Great video..... truly shows me all I don't know and how doing something right the first time is key.... know anyone in Bend OR that you would suggest?
Thanks
Thanks! None at top of mind, but use this to find them:
homediagnosis.tv/pro
Crimpers >> use with the 3 blades to the inside of pipe.... Those reds are straight cut bulldogs.. get a pair of reds like the greens you have and you will love them.
Very interesting. Good stuff.
Glad you enjoyed it
Great video. I respect your attention to the details.
Curious to one central return, can you explain?
Intentional pressure imbalances. They keep the air moving in a constant, predictable way.
Hi Corbett, great timing I am just reviewing my strategy for HVAC for my self build. Thanks for the great info. The question I have is if the HVAC is planned around a variable compressor ( not 2 stage) you could get away with a smaller dehumidifier and only use it on the fresh air?
Thanks for a very informative video! At 4:30, you show an example of an insulated supply duct running up in a stud cavity in an interior wall, terminating at a boot. Do I understand correctly that it's a 2x4 wall and the rigid duct itself is 3" deep? If so, is the remaining 1/2" of cavity depth enough to fit that insulation, which appears to be bulging out pre-drywall? I want to plan a similar design on a ducted minisplit retrofit, and am worried that my interior 2x4 walls aren't thick enough.
Flex duct is cheap and "easy". Thats why they like it. Along with duct board. Both of which are only 15year ( if i remember).
Metal duct takes far more precision, building, sealing, and insulating. Its costlier in all ways.
I recomend put something between the strap and the flex.. Spread out its contact area that tiny contact will split the fiberglass and potentially be a sweat point.
Kinisou kinisou ngenuk hoo 💕🙏💕
Nice duct work!!
Thank you buddy
You are a very good instructor. My background/education is in Mechanical Engineering Thermo and fluid mechanics. I used to be able to design a system but I don't have my ASRAE handbook anymore so I if you have some sources for instruction, etc. I would like to know. I bought a house with a f**ked up system that uses all flex duct. I am going to replace it with galvanized steel but I suspect that the 10 inch supply lines (corrugated flex crap) are 10 inch because of the poor flow characteristics.
I really like your instruction style. What is the black flex duct you used to isolate the machinery sounds? It look like industrial flex duct made from impregnated cloth with wire sandwiched between the layers. If that is what you are using it will probably last more than 20 years. That is some very tough stuff.
I am in Houston, TX.
Thanks for your message, John, and I’m rooting for you with your re-duct. The black stuff I actually found on A**zon, called TerraBloom.
@@HomePerformance What is the mastic sealant you are using on the ducts you are assembling? Type or manufacturer would be handy information.
I saw the TerraBloom as well as another product that has a smooth interior surface.
I like to use RCD Mastic #6
Fantastic video. Will share with a friend who's planning a self-build. Curious, why is the video unlisted? Seemingly I was only able to find it through the playlist. (BTW, your ducting is beautifully installed, joyous crawl space to work in).
Ha, glad you found it, Alex, but it’s not been made public yet officially. Thanks for following closely enough to get the advance screening!
@@HomePerformance Amazing! I didn't even realize I was getting the advanced screening. Great channel/build, it's such an amazing resource that you're creating. I've found your videos especially helpful as I'm designing a house for a friend of mine who's planning to self build for the first time. Are there aspects of your build/design you would change now given all your experiences?
Hmm, I’d definitely check out our ‘Lessons Learned’ vid from a couple months back, but I can’t say I’d change anything at this point. Ask me again after we move in at Christmas!
If you need any consulting, FYI, I enjoy that quite a lot.
Excellent video. Did you do one for wrapping the duct? I can’t find it. Did you use insulation or reflective bubble wrap?
Scoops are really bad for downstream airflow. The 45 degree take off is a much better way to go. This has been proven on the bubble machine. Great system other than the scoops. I with everything had to be put in like this. It would eliminate so many problems in the field
Awesome, Can you do a video explaining how to calculate the duct size needed for each room? I'm lost.
Already done Alex- learn the foundations here:
ua-cam.com/video/aCIrbSFWD20/v-deo.html
@@HomePerformance Thanks man, I was unable to find that info in that video though. Is the size of the duct needed promotional to the volume flow rate?
Sindenote; "you said if you have a lakefront lot that faces west with all your windows on that side......" haha hits very close to home.
Haha, happens to all of us sometimes. And yes, the duct size entirely depends on the Btuh and CFM needed in each location.
@@HomePerformance can you tell me how to find it; I have cfm needed at each point in the duct and btu for each room already. Just don''t know how to size my rectangular duct or where to find out how to do it. just do cfm/(some constant air speed) to ged a cross section size needed? if so what is the speed i should plug in?
Aha- you need Manual D. But I hope to have a training in a slightly better way to do it by next year. Too late for you I bet.
I would have set the filter support for a 4" deep filter to start with and made a 2" spacer for the 2" deep filter.
i got a 4ton for 1300sqft thats 350ft per ton in southern Nevada easy 115 degree days, i aim to get 1600cfm and my filter is 20x20x1 side by side for a total of 20x40 filter return. i currently use the honeywell HD merv 11 filters but i think ill start using the 3m 1200 merv 11 because of the more surface area on the filter to help decrease static pressure if that doesnt help ill try to use 4in filter
Speaking of surface area, the thicker the filter the more you have [assuming pleated design]. I have used everything from 1" to 4" over the years in various commercial settings and... it would be SO nice if 3" became standard for houses - that would nest easily in standard framing for ease of construction or retrofit. Occasionally you see houses where the fan pulls so hard a brand new 20x30x1" filter behaves almost like it's loaded with dirt - owner spends more money changing those out at greater frequency than if they bought 4" which would make the same opening behave like it was 20x50 with a 1".
@@flinch622 ya i ended retrofitting a 4in filter in my duct opening so far so good, i haven't had any issues but the initial startup closes my bedroom door after that is works like normal been using it for 4months and i plan to push it to 6-8months instead of the 1 yr filter that they claim is doable
So this is phenomenal - thank you! I am building an ICF house with ICF flat roof in South Florida. Walls are 12 feet tall on the inside and no attic. I am planning to install sheet metal duct that is right below the ceiling, inside the house. My understanding is that I don't need to seal all the duct joints because the duct is inside the cooled area. If some cold air escapes before it hits the register it is not a big deal. Is my reasoning proper?
turn your crimpers around.the3 blade goes to the inside. It makes it smaller and able to insert easier
thx
Great video man I loved it. I hate to see when people use 10ft flex and tape instead of duct sealer, also I would love to know where are you located and if you do jobs?
Hi, I'm just beginning to learn the in and outs of HVAC and ducting systems, to build my small house, and there are a couple or three things you have that I don't understand and hope you'll help me with:
1 - there seems to be no insulation between your crawlspace and the upper floor plus your ducts are not insulated, is this a conditioned space and if so, are you returning air from a service space to your living spaces? I've been told to never return air from service areas like kitchens, bathrooms, laundries, and such
2 - is 100 feet run of hydrocarbon in your line set a good thing (sounds long)? Does the distance between the compressor and evaporator matter?
I love your work you take pride that’s gone anymore they want the money and run no pride
Thanks Tracy
What is a reasonable price for new duct work?
10 runs (10ft - 30ft each).
2000 square feet ranch, single story, AC in attic center of the home.
"I'm recommending a total duct replacement" Of course you do, it doubles or triples the money you make. Now, that's not to say they're aren't times this is needed. Flex is fine so long as it's installed properly. To say otherwise is simply spreading FUD.
Ever did HVAC for the Agriculture industry. Vertical farms to be precise?
That is a clean crawl space
Thankyou
Great setup! How much should customer pay for a very similar system like this ?
Unsure- I did it myself bc the bid came back at 40k
Thanks for the great explanation in here. A quick question for @Home Performance though. Around 35:20 when you're discussing the dampers in the ducting, I see that you have a hole in the ducting where the "arm" of the damper sticks through and is stabilized on the side that doesn't have the handle. That seems like a decently large hole that isn't sealed. IS there a later step (not shown) where you cover that or seal it in some way?
adjustable elbows are convenient, i’d do a proper measure and non adjustable, make sure you seal the gores, and put a screw in middle gore once you have the angle you want
Wow, I wouldn't trust my measurement skills if I couldn't adjust during install, but I'm sure there are wizards out there who can do it.
31:41 amen to that brother, unfortunately that line also cues the laugh track from the rest of the blue collar guys we have to work with. I remember one job I was on, putting in a new run for an old house renovation. I was working in small single room basement that would never see a true finish, for this run I was putting in I needed a particular chase to make it work, unfortunately the electrician had already put in a new light in that chase where I needed to use it. So I did what anyone sane person would have done and I moved it. The electrician didn't like that very much, in fact he hated it so much he called up the general contractor to come on over to chew me out. So the next time I was there GC shows up asks what the hell I was thinking, so I showed him and luckily he at least understood and could tell the electrician was being very whiney and essentially told the guy to shove off. But it speaks volumes when the people you work around feel entitled to never play second fiddle to what you're doing. Unfortunately HVAC and what it does is often not well respected by the other trades. At least that's my experience around my area.
32:20 I saw one guy once who had developed this skill, he would take 30 gauge round pipe unsnapped, curl it up and shove it into place, then would snap it into shape. It was crazy, he could do it real fast too. Flex duct is probably the right solution for most people, but it was impressive what this guy had taught himself.
34:36 that's not really how ducts work precisely. The actual idea of how a trunk line works is to just think of it like a pressure box, it has a bunch of air pressure that wants to escape where ever it can, so just poking a hole, guided or not, will cause that pressure relief and the air will guide itself out. In fact putting a scoop on, if it's too big relative to the trunk line, may cause enough of a blockage downstream of it, that it ends up eating more static pressure than it should and will over velocity the run in question while taking away from anything downstream of it. Scoops can be useful if you're dealing with unusual static and velocity interactions. Like if you've got 1600cfm coming down at 1100fpm and for w/e reason you want to take a 4 in off of it, okay a scoop might be helpful there. Perfect ductwork doesn't need scoops nor does it want them and they will actively hurt it in fact, but when life inevitably comes a knocking and you have to use imperfect ductwork that causes an issue, a scoop might be the solution.
I just had new 2 stage heat pump installed. New duck work and everything.
It has very little air flow coming out.
You can't feel it standing under the vents.
I asked the guy that installed it about the low air flow, and he says that's normal on the new units.
Does that sound right?
It's a 14.3 ream 2 ton unit.
In a 1600 square feet home
Yes, that sounds fine to me, Terry- smaller systems (properly sized) shouldn’t blow on you. As long as it maintains temp and humidity, it’s working well. If you’d like to feel the breeze, use room fans.
Don’t you want the registers to be on the floor only because hot air rises so when heating the the air will rise and fill the room. It be okay for cooling since cold air falls but not heating.