Air Duct Replacement

A new system, not a new-looking one

Some ductwork cannot be rescued. Liner that has begun to shed, duct board that has absorbed water, flex that has been crushed and re-crushed by decades of attic traffic, or a system that was undersized the day it was installed — these are not sealing problems. They are the reason a house has never been comfortable, and no amount of mastic changes them.

Replacement is also the moment to correct design mistakes rather than reproduce them. Before anything is ordered we look at the equipment capacity, the room-by-room loads, the return path and the physical routing available. Runs are sized so each room gets the air it needs, the return is large enough to actually feed the blower, and bends are kept generous instead of stacked one after another to save a metre of material.

The result should be invisible. You should not hear it, you should not feel one room fighting another, and you should not think about it again for a very long time.

What the service includes

• Load and airflow review before design — equipment capacity, room-by-room requirements, return sizing and the routes actually available in your attic or crawlspace.
• Removal and disposal of the old system, bagged and carried out rather than left in the attic.
• New insulated duct — typically R-6 or R-8 depending on where the run lives and your climate zone.
• Correctly sized trunk, takeoffs and returns, with generous radius bends instead of stacked elbows that strangle airflow.
• Every connection mastic-sealed and mechanically fastened, plenums rebuilt or resealed as needed.
• Proper support and strapping at code spacing so nothing sags, kinks or rests on framing.
• New boots, registers and grilles sealed to the building surface.
• Airflow balanced and verified at every register, with the readings recorded on your report.
• Photographic documentation of the finished installation, run by run, and the guarantee in writing.

Why replacement is sometimes the cheaper decision

A duct system that leaks a third of its air, cannot deliver to two bedrooms and has already been patched three times is costing money every month while delivering less comfort every year. Replacement puts an end to the recurring bill, and it lets the equipment you already own run the way it was designed to: shorter cycles, better dehumidification in summer, quieter operation, and even temperatures instead of a hot upstairs and a cold back room.

It also resets the clock on the part of the system nobody sees. Properly installed insulated duct with sealed connections is a long-lived assembly — the failures we are usually called to fix are the result of poor original workmanship, water intrusion or physical damage, not age alone. Building it right the first time is what makes the next twenty years uneventful.

If a partial replacement will do the job — the deteriorated branches replaced, sound trunk lines kept and sealed — we will quote that instead. We would rather do the smaller job well than sell the larger one.

Signs you need this service

• Ductwork older than roughly two decades that has never been documented or serviced
• Interior liner visibly deteriorating, shedding fibres, or duct board that has been wet
• Repeated repairs to the same system, or patches on top of patches
• Rooms that have never been comfortable since the day you moved in
• Mould growth inside ducts that cannot be removed from a porous surface
• Rodent infestation with nesting and contamination inside the runs
• A remodel, addition or new equipment that the existing duct sizing was never designed for