Think HVAC During Your Home Remodeling

Yes, plan your heating and cooling during a remodel, and do it before the walls are closed. Ductwork that is hard to reach on a normal day is suddenly accessible, and the changes you are making probably affect how much heating and cooling each room needs.

Many homeowners treat HVAC as an afterthought, then discover that the new great room is too hot in July or the finished basement never warms up in January. A short conversation early avoids that.

Your house is changing, so the load is changing

Adding square footage, moving walls, installing larger windows, adding insulation or converting a garage all change the amount of heating and cooling the house needs. The existing equipment was chosen for the old floor plan. A proper load calculation, done by a professional, tells you whether it still fits or whether the system is now too small or too large. Sizing by rule of thumb is how homes end up uncomfortable.

Insulation upgrades and better windows can shrink the load, which sometimes means a smaller system than before, while an open-plan kitchen or a room over a garage can push it the other way. Either way, you want the numbers before the equipment is chosen, not after the first hot week in July.

Ducts, zoning and thermostats

With drywall off, it is the time to repair leaky or crushed ducts, add returns, and reroute runs that were never quite right. Zoning is worth a look in homes with a second story or a sunny addition. It uses dampers in the ductwork and separate thermostats so different areas can be controlled independently rather than the whole house running to satisfy one hallway.

A smart or programmable thermostat is a small upgrade that fits easily into a remodel. It lets you set schedules and adjust from your phone, though whether it suits your system depends on the equipment, so ask before you buy.

Plan access too. Equipment buried behind a finished wall or under a new staircase is hard to service later, so ask that the furnace, air handler and cleanouts stay reachable. Timing matters as well. Rough-in work for ducts and refrigerant lines happens before drywall goes up, and a change after that point costs far more in time and patching. Share your floor plan and point out where the current system already struggles.

Ductless for additions

Extending existing ductwork to a new room can overload a system that was not designed for it. A ductless mini split sidesteps the problem by serving the new space on its own with only a small line set through the wall. Air-Tech is a Mitsubishi Electric Diamond Contractor, and ductless systems are a strong fit for additions, bonus rooms and finished garages.

Ventilation and sealing

New windows, insulation and air sealing make a house tighter. That saves energy, but a tighter home also holds onto moisture, cooking odors and stale air, so ventilation planning matters more. Bath fans, kitchen exhaust and sometimes a dedicated fresh air system all belong in the plan. In new construction, Air-Tech installs AeroBarrier air sealing, which is one way of building a tight home on purpose.

Replacing equipment while you are at it

If your furnace or air conditioner is already in the last stretch of its life, a remodel is a convenient time to replace it, because the mess and the disruption are already scheduled. Financing is available through GreenSky for homeowners who want to spread the cost out.

Bring your HVAC contractor into the conversation at the design stage, not after the framing. Call Air-Tech at (509) 392-2021 and we can look at your plans with you before the first wall comes down.